Section 8 use barriers analyzed in new study

RAND and the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California at Berkeley have released a joint report examining how local housing agencies can more effectively use federal housing vouchers.

The study, funded by the Cooper Housing Institute, found that while the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program — popularly known as Section 8 — allows more than 2 million low-income families each year to rent housing in the private market, thousands of vouchers go unused due to high costs, rigid rules and administrative barriers.

“The key takeaways from this research for our team were that the HCV program is, in general, doing a remarkable job of providing critical rental assistance but is hampered by many aspects of the incredibly difficult and unaffordable housing market in the U.S. today,” said Jason Ward, co-director of the RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness and lead author of the report.

“That said, across the country, PHAs (public housing authorities) have a wealth of collective knowledge about how to best overcome these challenges and the primary goal of our report is to try to make this knowledge and the policies and practices informed by it widely available to PHAs, stakeholders, and policymakers at all levels of government.”

The report recommends strategies for public housing authorities and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These include strengthening partnerships with local governments and nonprofits; improving landlord engagement; using flexibility in payment standards to reflect local markets; extending search times for families; issuing vouchers strategically; and expanding project-based vouchers tied to specific properties.

“This project was designed through the lens of action to make every voucher count,” said Will Cooper Jr., president and co-founder of the Cooper Housing Institute. “We asked, what can be done right now, by PHAs, their local partners, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, not what requires years-long processes.

“The findings show that practical flexibility, smarter processes, and modest supports can help more families rent housing quickly, bring more landlords to the table, and get more vouchers to families who need them.”

Report co-author Ryan Finnigan — deputy director of research at the Terner Center — said the report highlights how some housing agencies are already adapting.

“The report aims to highlight the creative and effective ways that local agencies are making the best use of their voucher resources, including how the HCV program is woven into broader efforts to make housing affordable, accessible and stable for as many families as possible,” Finnigan said.

Multiple reports this year have pointed to a White House desire to drastically cut Section 8 funding. Proposed cuts — first reported by NPR — target core HUD programs like Section 8 vouchers and replace them with block grants to states.