On October 20, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced that the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) will begin covering last month’s rent starting on November 1, 2022.
In December 2021, DHCD began the new AHVP security deposit program, which paid for security deposit and first month’s rent for AHVP voucher holders to help mitigate the upfront leasing costs that often prevented program participants from renting a home with their voucher. Since the security deposit program begin in January 2022, leasing success rates for voucher holders have increased by 12% — this means 76 households with disabilities that have moved into a new home because of the security deposit program.
Given current program resources and the continued need for AHVP voucher holders to secure housing, DHCD is now making last month’s rent available through the AHVP security deposit program as well. DHCD anticipates that covering last month’s rent, in addition to the security deposit and first month’s rent, will further increase the success rate of voucher holders finding affordable homes.