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M REPORT | 49 O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST DATA Housing Choice Vouchers Examined by Race A new report from the Urban Institute revealed some 65% of voucher holders nationwide are Black or Hispanic, versus 40% of the overall U.S. renter population. U nder the Housing Choice Voucher pro- gram, the government pays the difference between the HUD-approved rent on a unit and 30% of the renter's household income, up to the HUD-prescribed area fair market rent (FMR). Voucher holders are very low-income families, with 63% earning less than $15,000 a year, 1 and 78% are extremely low-income fami- lies, earning below 30% of area median income (AMI). Although 31% of all voucher recipients include wages as part of their total incomes, the most recent data indicates this is true for 69% of all nonelderly, nondisabled households. Seventy-eight percent of voucher holders are female- headed households (Fannie Mae 2022), including 32% living with children in their households. Sixty-five percent of voucher holders are Black or Hispanic, versus 40% of the U.S. renter population (Fannie Mae 2022); 25% of all voucher households include a family member with disabili- ties. Sixty-five percent of voucher households occupy homes with zero to two bedrooms, which is consistent with data showing two-thirds of voucher households consist of one or two people, including 46% who live alone. Thirty-four percent of voucher holders live in units containing three or more bedrooms, which is consistent with data showing one-third of voucher households consist of three or more people. Despite recent increases in HCV funding, demand continues to far exceed the voucher supply. But even when families can access a voucher, many cannot find a suitable housing unit within the 90-day search period HUD gener- ally allows, forcing them to return their unused voucher, which the housing authority then allocates to another wait-listed applicant. Many of these housing searches fail because landlords are unwill- ing to accept vouchers. HUD's most recent data indicates that 30% of voucher recipients return their unused vouchers because they cannot find a suitable unit, though this figure varies signifi- cantly across housing agencies and markets. According to the most re- cent data, "9 out of 10 families successfully used their vouchers in about 12% of agencies, while at the other extreme only about half of families issued vouchers were successful in 15% of agen- cies" (CBPP 2019). And recent rental price increases have likely exacerbated this issue, as local rents have often increased more than FMRs allow. Moreover, to get a rent increase approved, the landlord has to give the public housing authority a 60- or 90-day notice and get written permission from the housing authority before the rent change can go into effect. There is regulatory risk as well, as some public housing authorities refuse to approve rent increases. Several states, counties, and cities have enacted source of in- come laws that prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to voucher holders solely because of their source of income. Evidence of the effectiveness of these laws does show lower voucher denial rates in jurisdictions with these protec- tions, but the evidence is mixed as to whether these rules lead to voucher holders accessing homes in areas with low poverty rates. The HCV program's success de- pends on landlords being willing to rent to voucher holders. Landlord acceptance in turn determines where those units are located and whether the program can place more voucher holders outside areas of concentrated pov- erty. Even with source of income laws in effect, many landlords are still reluctant to rent to voucher holders. And a recent HUD study indicates that the number of land- lords participating in this program is declining. Cunningham and co- authors (2018) found that voucher denial rates were high but varied widely by jurisdiction. In the five jurisdictions the researchers examined, they found denial rates were highest in Fort Worth (78%) and Los Angeles (76%) and only somewhat lower in Philadelphia (67%). Denial rates were substantially lower in Newark (31%) and Washington, D.C. (15%). In addition, across the five sites, another 9 to 15% of the landlords said vouchers were ac- cepted under certain conditions or were unsure.