HUD Maintains Fiscal 2004 Voucher Renewal Policy Despite Warnings of Possible Evictions

摘要

Under a barrage of criticism from housing groups and congressional Democrats, HUD officials said the department does not intend to change its policy of renewing fiscal 2004 Section 8 voucher funding by using the most recent per-unit cost data received before August 2003 adjusted by HUD's annual adjustment factors (AAFs). Several housing organizations told HUD at an April 27 meeting that its contract renewal policy has created a crisis for 800 to 900 housing authorities where per-unit costs are rising faster than the AAFs and that thousands of voucher families may be evicted because their vouch-ers can no longer be funded. The groups urged HUD to use current costs as updated from routine quarterly reports submitted after August 2003 to ensure that all leased vouchers can be funded. Several lawmakers have told HUD that its interpretation of the appropriations statute is wrong, but so far the Republican leaders on the VA/HUD appropriations subcommittees have not disputed the renewal policy.