Federal funding that pays rent for families and individuals impacted by homelessness or domestic violence could run out by next year. The Emergency Housing Vouchers program assists roughly 60,000 families and individuals who would be left scrambling to pay rent if funding runs out.
A letter from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) warned that funding is on track to be used up by the end of 2026, according to an Associated Press report. The loss of rental assistance provided by the program could force recipients back onto the streets or into abusive relationships after working to escape those situations.
“To have it stop would completely upend all the progress that they’ve made,” said Sonya Acosta, policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which researches housing assistance. “And then you multiply that by 59,000 households.”
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The program began in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. It allocated $5 billion to assist people impacted by homelessness, domestic violence and human trafficking. Funding was expected to last until the end of the decade, according to AP.
However, rising rents are eating through the allocation faster than expected, which prompted HUD to alert the groups responsible for dispersing the money that they should manage their programs with the expectation that no additional funding from HUD will be forthcoming.
Congress could act to allocate additional funding for the program as part of its budget process, but that could be challenging amid a new administration set on cutting federal spending, noted AP. Rep. Maxine Waters, an advocate of the program, has asked for an additional $8 million in funding.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
