Recent Improvements to the Section 8 Tenant-Based ProgramAbstractOver the past 25 years, the Section 8 tenant-based program (now known as the Housing Choice Voucher Program) has helped millions of low-income families afford decent-quality rental housing. Under the program, participating families locate modest-cost rental units of their choice in the private market. Participants typically pay 30 percent of their adjusted income for rent and utilities, with the government subsidizing the balance of the costs up to a locally determined maximum.Although the broad parameters of the Section 8 tenant-based program have remained constant over time, the details have changed considerably as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Congress have sought to strengthen the program to better serve families' needs. Over the past 2 years, in particular, there has been a series of significant program improvements that, together with HUD's new policy of targeted increases in the fair market rent (FMR) and HUD 's proposed Housing Voucher Success Fund, will substantially increase the proportion of housing voucher recipients that succeed in using their vouchers to rent housing. Many of these initiatives also will help to improve the proportion of allocated Section 8 funds that the State and local public housing agencies (PHAs) responsible for administering the program spend each year. Recent Improvements to the Section 8 Tenant-Based Program (*.pdf)
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