Housing Authorities Prepare For Section 8 Housing Cuts

Housing Authorities Prepare For Section 8 Housing Cuts

by Lynda Carson -- July 30, 2011

Oakland - Local housing authorities across the nation are preparing for major cuts to HUD's Section 8 housing voucher programs (Housing Choice Voucher Program), after being directed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to come up with lists to prioritize which voucher recipients would be dumped from the program in the event of major cuts to the subsidized housing program. There are over 3,000 Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) across the nation serving over 2 million low-income households in the section 8 voucher program.

During the month of June, HUD sent notice to the nation's PHAs telling them to change their administrative plan, and to come up with a new plan to figure out which low-income households should be dumped from their federal subsidized section 8 housing programs.

Tens of thousands of low-income families across the nation face homelessness if HUD's housing programs including the section 8 program are cut any further, and the recent HUD notice telling PHAs to prepare lists of who should be dumped from their section 8 programs is a very ominous sign of a catastrophe in the making.

HUD's housing programs were cut by around 14% during a round of major budget cuts last April, and it appears that an additional 6% percent or more in budget cuts may occur in the near future, to further shred the federal housing programs all across the nation.

On July 29, it was reported from Cecil County, Maryland, "This is the first time the federal government has ever required us to change our administrative plan to indicate a priority list for voucher recipients. The HUD office is not saying this is going to happen, but they are saying we have to be prepared if it does happen. In the event we have to cut funding I'm recommending the last to receive funding would be the first to get cut, but other options are available, including a lottery system or cutting the ones who been on the program the longest first," said Dave Mahaney, director of housing and community development in Cecil County.

According to HUD, 75% of section 8 vouchers are made available to families earning less than 30 percent of the area median income (AMI), to assist in their monthly rental payments. The tenants have to pay around 30 to 40 percent of their income towards rent, and the government subsidizes the rest of the rent payment to the landlords.

According to the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, more than 2,357,977 children are assisted by the section 8 program. Around 303,499 seniors are also served by the section 8 housing program, representing 16% of all section 8 households, with the seniors having an annual median income of $9,594. Section 8 also offers assistance to around 458,124 households that include a disabled member in the family. The average income for a family in the section 8 program is around $11,049.

Locally, the Oakland Housing Authority offers housing assistance to around 15,000 households in the section 8 voucher program, representing approximately 10% of Oakland's families.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com