Housing advocates are worried that a series of policy changes
proposed by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development
threaten to put affordable housing out of the reach of the
county
’s poorest residents living in Section 8 housing.
Housing advocates are worried that a series of policy changes proposed by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development threaten to put affordable housing out of the reach of the county’s poorest residents living in Section 8 housing.
“No one knows exactly what’s going to happen, but there are enough moving pieces that we’re uncomfortable,” said Candy Capogrossi, the deputy executive director of housing programs for the Housing Authority of Santa Clara County. “Advocates want to make sure that the lowest-income people get help, but when housing authority funds get cut that translates into helping fewer people.”
At issue are changes to three funding mechanisms HUD uses to disburse money to local agencies. HUD in the near future release its plan to change the formula it uses to fund day-to-day operating costs for housing authorities. It is trying to hand off a community grant program to the Department of Commerce, and it is in the process of transforming Section 8 housing into a block grant rather than a need-based program.
“What they’re doing is saying, ‘here’s the money, you figure out how to make it work’ ” Capogrossi said. “In a market where the rent is soft, we’re OK, but when rents go back up we will have to make a choice of either not reissuing (vouchers) when people move out or taking people out of the program.”
There are 15,978 county families living in Section 8 housing, which allows residents to pay just 30 percent of their income in rent, with the rest subsidized with vouchers from the federal government. Of those, 831 live in Gilroy, 324 in Morgan Hill and 23 in San Martin. There are a total of 193 South County families on the Section 8 waiting list. Because the voucher system is tied to income, any increase in rent or decrease in a person’s income must be covered by the housing authority.
In theory, when one Section 8 tenant earns enough to pay full rent, the voucher is passed along to someone on the waiting list. Marilyn Roaf, Gilroy’s housing and community development coordinator, said the changes may result in Gilroy having to freeze its waiting list because the city may not be able to afford to honor all of its subsidies.
Currently, 75 percent of the vouchers issued in any city must be given to families who earn less than 30 percent of the county’s median income, which is about $96,000 for a family of four. One change proposed by HUD would require that 90 percent of vouchers go to families earning up to 60 percent of the median income.
HUD spokeswoman Donna White said she could not comment on the policy changes because they are not official, but she did say the agency wanted to add about $1 billion to the money it provides for rent subsidies.
“We see it as a reform to the Section 8 program to make it more effective and more efficient,” White said. “The flexibility of the program will help housing authorities serve those in their communities with the most need.”
But Capogrossi said that if the housing authority loses funding, or if the economy boosts rents and other costs of living, vouchers will be more likely to go to higher income applicants who meet the new eligibility requirements.
“We have a charge to serve as many people as possible, and if we decide to help just very low income people, we’ll be able to help fewer people,” she said.
Linda Couch, deputy director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition in Washington, D.C., said that Congress may appropriate enough money for vouchers, but that HUD does a poor job of apportioning the funds.
The changes would take effect in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006.
Gilroy Dispatch reporter Matt King can be reached at [email protected] or 847-7240.
