Housing Choice Voucher

Applications Due October 13

Tomorrow, HUD will publish a notice in the Federal Register that outlines the research design, eligibility criteria, application process, and requirements for its housing voucher mobility demonstration. HUD estimates that the demonstration, which received $25 million each in FY19 and FY20 appropriations, will provide mobility-related services to approximately 9,500 families with children.

CLPHA members have been at the forefront of developing and implementing innovative mobility strategies. This demonstration will provide an opportunity for more housing authorities to engage in mobility efforts. In 2018, CLPHA co-sponsored the National Conference on Housing Mobility, bringing together practitioners, researchers and policy makers to expand mobility initiatives across the country. CLPHA will be co-sponsoring a webinar with national partners on the mobility demonstration. Once the date is set, CLPHA will notify our members.

The demonstration will be implemented over a six-year period. Families participating in the demonstration will be randomly assigned to a control group or one of two treatment groups - a group receiving full mobility services and a second group receiving lighter-touch services. To conduct a valid randomized study, HUD estimates that PHAs participating in the demonstration will need to serve a minimum of 1,950 families across treatment and control groups. Applications for the demonstration are due by 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on October 13, 2020.

Most of the demonstration funds will be used for mobility-related services, with approximately $10 million of those funds being used for 1,000 new vouchers. Due to the small number of new vouchers, participating PHAs must make their existing vouchers available for demonstration families as vouchers turn over. HUD estimates that PHAs will need to make available for use in the demonstration approximately half of the number of vouchers they are awarded through the demonstration.

Families participating in the demonstration will primarily be existing voucher holders, but some families will be new admissions. Participating PHAs will adopt a waiting list preference for families who meet the demonstration criteria of having at least one child aged 13 and under and living in a census tract with poverty rate of 30 percent or higher.

PHAs can be eligible to apply under four eligibility criteria, some of which may require multiple PHAs applying together with one PHA designated as the lead PHA: 

• PHAs that together serve areas that contain high concentrations of voucher holders within low-opportunity areas and have an adequate number of moderately priced rental units in high-opportunity areas.
• PHAs in a planned or partial consortium of PHAs that includes at least one PHA with a high-performing FSS program.
• PHAs in a planned or partial consortium that includes one or more small PHAs that will together run a consolidated mobility-focused operation.
• A single PHA that serves areas containing high concentrations of voucher holders within low-opportunity areas and has an adequate number of moderately priced rental units in high-opportunity areas.