On Wednesday, HUD Secretary Ben Carson announced a package of reforms designed to offer Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), property owners and HUD-assisted families a simpler, less invasive and more transparent set of rent structures, and places HUD’s rental assistance programs on a more fiscally sustainable path.
According to the release, currently, Congress requires HUD-assisted households to contribute 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent while the government pays the difference, up to a maximum amount. This approach, with its complicated set of income certification requirements, imposes substantial administrative burdens on PHAs and owners and may suppress residents’ earned income.
A proposal by President Trump would increase the rate to 35%. Under Carson’s plan, the poorest families currently pay $50 in rent a month. If this proposal passes Congress, that would rise to $150 a month.
Following the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) announcement that they will raise rent paid by public housing residents, U.S. Senators Kamala. D. Harris and Dianne Feinstein (both D-CA) sent a letter to HUD Secretary Ben Carson expressing serious concerns. In the letter, Senators Harris and Feinstein highlight how these increases would jeopardize Californians’ ability to pursue the American dream, and how their communities are already some of the most cost-burdened in the nation.
“These proposals would leave even more low-income people without stable housing, making it harder for them to achieve upward economic mobility, and live with dignity,” said the Senators. “If we begin to cut access to critical resources like the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program, even more low-income individuals and families would be homeless, living in substandard or overcrowded conditions, or struggling to meet other basic needs because too much of their limited income would go toward paying rent.”
The senators continued, “As California’s Senators, we will not stand for such an obvious attack on our constituents and our State. We strongly urge you to reconsider this dangerous proposal as soon as possible. We also implore you and your agency to lead by example and commit to engage in proactive discussions with critical stakeholders who can produce fresher ideas and common-sense solutions that will actually help struggling families, not punish them.”
Both Harris and Feinstein cited rent in Los Angeles, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,037. In San Francisco, it’s $3,239
The full text of the letter may be found below and HERE.
Here is the official Press Release from HUD:
WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson today unveiled a package of reforms designed to offer Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), property owners and HUD-assisted families a simpler, less invasive and more transparent set of rent structures, and places HUD’s rental assistance programs on a more fiscally sustainable path. Through its Making Affordable Housing Work Act, HUD is seeking to reform decades-old rent policies that are confusing, costly and counterproductive, in that the incentives they create often fail to adequately support individuals and families receiving HUD rental assistance in increasing their earnings.
HUD helps 4.7 million families to access affordable, quality housing and pay their rents, more than half of which are currently headed by senior citizens or persons living with a disability. The rent reforms proposed today will not increase rents paid by qualifying households currently receiving assistance that are comprised of elderly persons or persons with disabilities.
“The system we currently use to calculate a family’s rental assistance is broken and holds back the very people we’re supposed to be helping,” said Secretary Carson. “HUD-assisted households are now required to surrender a long list of personal information, and any new income they earn is ‘taxed’ every year in the form of a rent increase. Today, we begin a necessary conversation about how we can provide meaningful, dignified assistance to those we serve without hurting them at the same time.”
PHAs and landlords participating in HUD’s rental assistance programs must currently navigate a complex set of rules to properly calculate a household’s rent contribution. Under these existing rules, tenants are required to surrender vast amounts of personal information each year and are often charged wildly different rents even though they have similar wages. Likewise, owners and PHAs, many with limited staff, must spend many hours calculating the correct payments for their tenants, who may themselves be confused by byzantine rent rules for tenant income calculations. The complex annual income recertification process creates a perverse set of conditions that increase the risk of inaccurate income reporting and discourage family unification and progress toward self-sufficiency.
Currently, Congress requires HUD-assisted households to contribute 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent while the government pays the difference, up to a maximum amount. This approach, with its complicated set of income certification requirements, imposes substantial administrative burdens on PHAs and owners and may suppress residents’ earned income.
HUD is proposing a simplified structure of ‘core rents’ that offers a more transparent and predictable rent calculation that streamlines program administration for PHAs and owners and is easier for both landlords and tenants to understand. Under this core rent proposal, PHAs and owners would only be required to verify income every three years rather than annually. This would substantially ease the administrative burden on PHAs, owners, and residents and would effectively encourage increased earned income without adversely impacting a household’s rent for up to three years. HUD will also create a menu of ‘choice rents’ that PHAs and owners may implement to promote greater flexibility, local control, and self-sufficiency for non-elderly/non-disabled households.
7 comments
Yes, make them pay more rent. Far too many people lie about their income and take advantage of the program.
So? They pay 30% of the rent and WE the TAXPAYERS pick up the rest? Since when am I supposed to be paying someone’s rent?
“HUD helps 4.7 million families to access affordable, quality housing and pay their rents, more than half of which are currently headed by senior citizens or persons living with a disability” (from the article)
So should we just throw these people to the curb instead?
No … They should find housing in areas with much lower cost of housing and living.
Your a moron. You want people to move so they can afford rent. Have you ever moved? Where in the hell are they supposed to get the money to move, rent a new place and still feed their family. And if your rent went up and someone told you to move so you could afford to live and eat, you’d tell them to go to hell. Like I said your a non-thinking moron.
Dale .. and the other half on SECTION 8 are nothing but the worst families with thugs for kids who terrorize good neighborhoods by vandalizing swimming pools and common grounds, threatening people walking their dogs, trashing neighborhood schools. These are ghetto sewer rats who are moved from high crime cities (read: Oakland). Why should my tax dollars go to pay for their rent? This is insane!
I don’t know much about Section 8, but how can they get away with lying about their income? Don’t they verify everything, including income?
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