Low-income subsidized renters may have to pay higher rents

Low-income subsidized renters may have to pay higher rents

By Lynda Carson -- February 14, 2012

Oakland -- Tens of thousands of low-income public housing and Section 8 renters in the Bay Area, may be forced to pay more than 30% to 40% of their income for rent, if the Affordable Housing and Self-Sufficiency Improvement Act (AHSSIA), is passed as it's currently being proposed, and the expansion of MTW demonstration housing authorities are allowed to proliferate across the nation.

Members of Congress voted on a radical proposal that would allow the expansion of MTW demonstration housing authorities. This would result in stripping low-income tenants in public housing and the Section 8 rental housing programs, of many long-time tenant protections. This proposal would affect millions of low-income renters across the nation, if passed into law in it's current form.

As recent as February 7, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity passed the discussion draft of the Affordable Housing and Self-Sufficiency Improvement Act (AHSSIA). The full Committee consideration of "AHSSIA," is scheduled for February 28.

According to the records of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Oakland has 2,048 public housing units and 13,100 subsidized Section 8 rental housing units. San Francisco has 6,542 public housing units and 8,416 units of subsidized Section 8 rental housing units. Berkeley has 61 public housing units, and 1,866 Section 8 rental housing units. Richmond has 679 public housing units, and 1,750 Section 8 rental housing units. Alameda has 1,845 Section 8 rental housing units, with no public housing units. Alameda County has 208 public housing units and 5,975 Section 8 rental housing units. Contra Costa County has 1,185 public housing units and 6,783 Section 8 rental housing units, and Marin County has 496 public housing units and 2,145 Section 8 rental housing units.

Out of the above mentioned local housing authorities, only the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA) is currently also known as an MTW demonstration housing authority, meaning that the normal rules that apply to housing authorities across the nation, do not apply to the OHA.

Public Housing Authorities (PHAs)

Out of around 3,100 PHAs across the nation and it's territories, there are currently only 35 MTW demonstration housing authorities in operation.

If the full Committee in Congress passes AHSSIA in it's current form and it's eventually passed into legislation, it would allow for the unlimited expansion of the MTW demonstration program all across the nation.

In it's current form, AHSSIA would allow any or all PHA's to convert to the MTW operating system, allowing for the elimination of all the basic rights and tenant protections that low-income tenants have, in the nations federally subsidized housing programs.

This is especially very bad news for the low-income renters in the nations public housing and Section 8 voucher housing programs, and will result in much more homelessness as low-income renters are charged with higher rents, and are eventually replaced with higher income renters in the nations federal subsidized housing programs.

In brief, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), if AHSSIA is passed into law as currently written, each Public Housing Authority (PHA) that converts to an MTW operating system would be allowed to divorce rents from incomes and charge rents that are unaffordable to residents, serve higher income residents even as the lowest income households have the greatest need, merge voucher and public housing accounts, eliminate portability rights, and gives other freedoms from basic programmatic mainstays and protections.

In a nut shell, when a PHA converts to an MTW operating system, basic existing tenant protections for the poor, are thrown out the window.

Additionally, as an MTW housing authority, no longer would the federal requirements be in place to keep the Section 8 program funding accounts from being merged with the public housing program accounts, which thus allows it all to become one huge big slush fund, making it very difficult to keep track of where all the money goes.

Attacks Against The Poor In Subsidized Housing Programs

If AHSSIA becomes federal law as currently being proposed, low-income tenants in federal subsidized housing programs would lose their federal protections that currently limit the PHA's from making the poor pay for more than 30% to 40% of their income, for their monthly rent.

President Obama released his FY 2013 federal budget proposal on Feb. 13, being a week later than the usual annual FY federal budget release.

The President's budget proposals call for more budget cuts to some of the nations housing assistance programs, that will additionally affect the poor.

This years budget cutting proposals to the nations housing programs for FY 2013, depend on the poorest of the poor to make further sacrifices. There is a proposal to increase the minimum rents to $75.00 per month, for the poorest households in all of HUD's federally assisted housing programs.

Among the budget cuts to various programs being proposed by the Obama Administration, funding cuts to public housing continue under President Obama's FY 2013 budget proposals. In FY 2011, the public housing operating appropriations was $4.626 billion, and for FY 2013, Obama is only proposing $4.524 billion in funding, being over $100 million less in funding than in FY 2011.

President Obama is also proposing a major funding cut of $639 million to the Project-Based Voucher Rental Assisted Program, a cut of $15 million from the Section 811 housing program for the disabled, plus a major cut of $165 million from the Community and Development Block Grant Program (CDBG).

The country is now waiting for the House and the Senate to come up with their own budget proposals for FY 2013, which may end up being more draconian than the President's budget by the time the budgets are reconciled, and are finally passed into law.

Advocates are urging low-income tenants to speak out against AHSSIA, and the proposals to allow the conversion of PHAs into MTW housing authorities.

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