Housing Choice Voucher Program Celebrates 50 Years

This month, HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program celebrated its 50th anniversary. The HCV program is HUD’s single largest investment in affordable housing. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon, the program encompasses a network of about 2,200 state and local public housing agencies (PHAs). And more than 5 million people in 2.3 million low-income families use vouchers.

The Context:  With the passage of the Housing and Community Development Act in 1974, the U.S. Congress authorized HUD to create a new way to provide rental assistance. Until then, the federal government supported low-income renters through project-based public housing developments and subsidies for private developers to build affordable housing. However, for the next 50 years, tenant-based rental assistance would emerge as the largest program administered by HUD. 

Congress annually provides funding for vouchers through the appropriations process. Most agencies receive voucher “renewal” funding each year, based on the number and cost of the authorized vouchers in use during the prior year, adjusted for inflation. If Congress provides less renewal funding than agencies are due, each agency’s funding is reduced proportionately. Funding for new vouchers and administrative costs is provided separately.

One level deeper: Each PHA has a cap on the number of vouchers it may administer. An agency’s number of authorized vouchers is essentially the sum of the vouchers the agency has been awarded since the start of the voucher program. Since 2003, most new vouchers that Congress has funded have been either tenant protection vouchers (which replace public housing that is demolished or sold, or other affordable housing units that lose federal subsidies) or special purpose vouchers (which are set aside for particular types of households, such as veterans experiencing homelessness or youth leaving foster care).