Funding Shortfalls Causing Cuts in Housing Vouchers — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

By Douglas Rice
As a result of a shortfall in funding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program for calendar year 2009, an estimated 400 state and local housing agencies across the country will be forced to reduce or eliminate rental assistance for a significant number of the 500,000 low-income families they serve. While landlords may absorb some of the cuts through reduced rents, the burden will fall primarily on low-income families, often in the form of sharply increased rental costs. Most of these housing agencies are also reducing the number of low-income families they serve, despite rising need as a result of increasing unemployment and poverty. By the end of this year, it is likely that through program attrition alone, about 15,000 fewer low-income families will be receiving assistance from these agencies than in May. These cuts are being made in the face of growing waiting lists for rental assistance, as the economy continues to shed jobs and hardship increases.

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