Public Housing

The public housing program provides safe, decent, and affordable rental housing to over 2.2 million low- and very low-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. 

There are approximately 1.1 million public housing units owned and managed by more than 3,000 housing authorities.  

The majority of public housing agencies are very small, with over 2,200 agencies having 250 units of public housing or less. However, the majority of the stock is concentrated within medium-large sized housing authorities (1,001 units or more). Although these medium-large housing authorities only comprise 5% of the number of agencies, they represent approximately 60% of the public housing unit stock.

CLPHA represents some of the largest public housing authorities in the country. Collectively, CLPHA members own and operate approximately 40% of the nation’s public housing stock.

Latest Public Housing News
10.11.18
HUD and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) recognized the Chicago Housing Authority’s recently-redeveloped Rosenwald Courts community with the 2018 ACHP/HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. 
6.28.18
Jeffery K. Patterson, CEO of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority of Cleveland, Ohio, and Vice President of the CLPHA Board of Directors, appeared on behalf of CLPHA before the U.S.
10.18.17
This Worst Case Housing Needs report is the sixteenth in a longstanding series providing national data and analysis of the critical problems facing very low-income renting families. Households with worst case needs are defined as very low-income renters who do not receive government housing assistance and who paid more than one-half of their income for rent, lived in severely inadequate...
10.17.17
Public housing agencies (PHAs) have struggled heroically to maintain the country’s 1.1 million public housing units, but the backlog of capital needs has grown to $26 billion, and there is little hope today that federal resources will rise to meet it. Congress authorized the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) in 2012 to meet this funding challenge.
10.16.17
Executive Summary Public housing occupies a unique and essential place on the affordable housing spectrum. It is home to about 2.2 million lowincome families, seniors and people with disabilities. A multibillion dollar asset, public housing authorities’ (PHAs) spending on operations and capital improvements also generates significant economic activity.
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What are the benefits of public housing? 

Public housing:

  • Lowers health care costs
  • Improves student achievement
  • Bolsters economic productivity

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