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Emergency housing vouchers face funding refusal as HUD says funding ends
Congress set aside $264M to help tenants on the Emergency Housing Voucher program, but the federal government is not distributing it and HUD says the vouchers will not be available after this year.
Emergency Housing Voucher payments that were introduced during the pandemic are facing disruption after the federal government refused to release newly appropriated assistance, leaving tenants and landlords uncertain about whether support will continue through the end of the year, according to Bisnow. In a New York City Housing Authority program that was supposed to last until 2030, one tenant described receiving an email warning that voucher funding would run out by the end of this year, and said she is still waiting more than a year later. Bisnow reports that elected officials have set aside $264M for renters still relying on the Emergency Housing Voucher program, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development is refusing to distribute the funding. Tenants worry they could be pushed into shelters, while landlords face the challenge of renewing leases as program income becomes less certain.
The Emergency Housing Vouchers program was originally launched as a temporary measure to help vulnerable, low-income residents avoid eviction, with a $5B scale intended to run for 10 years. Bisnow notes that housing costs rose sharply, funding has been exhausted four years early, and of the 70,000 vouchers issued in 2021, nearly 42,000 were still being used to lease apartments, based on federal data.