The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development is asking researchers to look at the potential consequences of giving low-income households cash instead of vouchers to help them rent apartments, reports NPR.
The thought is that landlords might be more willing to accept cash, shortening search times and ultimately getting more people into housing.
Many property owners dislike working with the voucher system, in part due to the red tape involved. NPR referenced one HUD study indicating that 40% of voucher holder take more than six months to find a landlord willing to rent to them. Tight post-pandemic housing markets have worsened the problem.
HUD previously explored the idea of cash aid in the 1970s, shortly before launching the voucher program. The cash rental assistance provided during the pandemic, and pilot programs in Philadelphia and elsewhere, are among the factors prompting a fresh look.
HUD does not have funding to launch a study itself, so it has issued a request for third-party research.
The questions include how to handle other aspects of the program, such as inspections; and whether cash should be given directly to families, which would give them flexibility but also raise the possibility of them falling behind on rent if they spent it on other things.
In the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, administrators paid rent and utility assistance directly to landlords.
In Lancaster County, the city and county housing authorities both operate HUD-funded voucher programs.
Last fall, the county housing authority opened up its voucher waiting list for the first time since 2007, and received nearly 4,000 applications for 500 slots. It expects to work through the waiting list over the next couple of years.
