Agenda, Scope, and Goals
HUD’s Moving to Work Demonstration, launched in 1996, grants 39 selected Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) the flexibility to implement strategies to increase cost-effectiveness, promote household self-sufficiency, and increase housing choice for assisted households. These PHAs have special statutory authority to change many Housing Choice Voucher program rules, including rent rules.
This project evaluates the impact of a reform made by one PHA, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority (SCCHA), using its Moving To Work flexibility. In 2013, federal budget cuts significantly reduced the budget for PHAs operating voucher programs. To avoid having to terminate households from the program, SCCHA chose to increase tenants’ rent contribution from 30 percent of their adjusted incomes to 35 percent of their unadjusted incomes (later adjusted to 32 percent of their unadjusted incomes). It also changed the policy governing what size housing units tenants could rent, which resulted in some households getting vouchers to cover units with fewer bedrooms.
This study examines two primary research questions:
