Last week, ProPublica reported that the Trump Administration is considering two major rule changes to federal housing programs that could deprive countless families of housing assistance and put them at risk of homelessness.
Both changes would have to undergo a public comment period prior to adoption. But, if allowed to take effect, they would: (1) permit public housing authorities and private landlords to implement work requirements and time limits for residence in public housing and receipt of certain federal housing subsidies (i.e., Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Rental Assistance); and (2) largely prohibit federal housing assistance from going to qualified people—including many American citizens—who happen to live in a home with an ineligible non-citizen (a “mixed-status” home).
While these regulatory reforms would be devastating for countless families with low incomes across the country, including many here in the Bay State, there is still time to push back. CHAPA strongly opposes both proposals and urges the federal government to reject them.
As we grapple with a nationwide affordable housing shortage and sky-high housing costs, our leaders should be championing proven solutions to our housing challenges. That’s why CHAPA works tirelessly on evidence-backed initiatives to boost affordable housing production, expand supportive housing programs, and implement inclusionary zoning reform.
Those are the kinds of policies we need to ensure that everyone in Massachusetts has access to a safe, stable, and affordable home. However, much like the policies propounded in the Administration’s recent executive order on homelessness, the justifications for these new rule changes run counter to the evidence and hinge on false premises.
Experts cited by ProPublica estimate that opening the door to work requirements and time limits could lead to a staggering 4 million people losing housing assistance. Although the Administration has claimed that these kinds of program constraints help generate “self-sufficiency,” a mountain of research supports that work requirements and time limits do not boost employment. The reality is that such constraints will strip vulnerable families of desperately needed assistance, exposing them to housing instability and homelessness without advancing the Administration’s purported underlying goal.
Likewise, HUD predicts that the new mixed-status rule will cause nearly every subsidy recipient in 20,000 mixed-status homes to relinquish their housing assistance to avoid family separation. This will subject thousands of children, many of them American citizens, to the numerous harmful effects of housing instability. The Administration contends that this change is needed to “ensure that only eligible persons receive benefits.” But not only do they point to no evidence that benefits are going to ineligible non-citizens, HUD’s current rules prevent that by prorating subsidies for recipients in mixed-status homes. Put simply, this change will operate to kick many thousands of eligible people out of vital HUD programs to fix a non-existent problem.
Fundamentally, in the midst of our affordable housing crisis, the facts tell us that more people need access to rental assistance, not fewer. CHAPA thus implores the Administration to drop these cruel and shortsighted proposals, which will only serve to hurt vulnerable families. Until that happens, we encourage everyone to join us in formally opposing the rules during the public comment period and vehemently advocating against their implementation.