Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Reform Proposals

On June 25, the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA). During the 110th Congress, similar legislation passed the House by a strong bipartisan vote, and a companion measure was introduced in the Senate.

Housing Choice Vouchers are the leading form of low-income housing assistance, serving nearly two million households, including families with kids, the elderly, and people with disabilities. SEVRA would reform the program for the first time in ten years and will help the program continue to provide affordable housing to millions of households, while using federal resources more efficiently.

SEVRA would streamline the Housing Choice Voucher program and permanently address a formula problem that led to the loss of 150,000 vouchers over three years. Under SEVRA, funding for vouchers would be based on each public housing agency’s actual spending for vouchers in the previous year. Any public housing agencies with large unspent balances would have some of their reserves reallocated to agencies that could immediately assist families on their waiting lists. If a public housing agency faced a shortfall, it could temporarily borrow from the following year’s allotment. The bill would also reform the financing of “portability” moves, so that families could more easily exercise their right to move with a voucher and agencies could save burdensome paperwork and avoid cash-flow problems.

SEVRA simplifies the rules governing the calculation of rents in public housing, project-based Section 8 properties, and the voucher program. Tenants would still be required to pay 30 percent of their income toward the rent, but the bill would streamline the process for determining tenants’ incomes and deductions. Income of families on fixed income would only have to be recertified every 3 years. SEVRA also includes some modest changes in housing inspection rules designed to ease burdens on agencies and encourage landlords to offer apartments to voucher holders.

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On June 25, the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) was introduced in the House. The legislation, H.R. 3045, was introduced by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), along with Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA), Joe Baca (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Judy Biggert (R-IL). It has been referred to the Financial Services Committee.