The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a new set of policy changes that will help more veterans receive assistance under the HUD-Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, and improve their access to supportive housing developments.
Veterans experiencing homelessness often receive VA benefits as a result of an injury or illness that was acquired or worsened during military service. Before this change, these benefits were considered income when determining eligibility for certain supportive housing developments—causing some veterans to exceed the income threshold for these programs. HUD’s policy changes will help more homeless veterans with service-connected disability benefits gain access to these housing developments.
The VA recently announced that, three-quarters of the way through fiscal year 2024, it has granted benefits to 1.1 million U.S. veterans and their survivors, an all-time record. In total, VA has awarded $137 billion in benefits, including $127 billion in compensation and pension benefits, to veterans and survivors this year.
Additionally, HUD today awarded $20 million to public housing agencies to continue to improve the HUD-VASH program.
“No veteran should ever have to experience homelessness, but when they do, they should not face barriers to getting help they deserve,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “This policy change will ensure that veterans who are receiving the disability benefits they earned through service and sacrifice can access the housing assistance and supportive services they need to resolve their homelessness.”
Immediate Assistance for Homeless Vets
The HUD-VASH Program is a key resource to house veterans experiencing homelessness. HUD-VASH pairs rental assistance through housing vouchers targeted to veterans experiencing homelessness from HUD with case management and other supportive services provided by VA. VA homeless program staff at local VA medical centers identify veterans experiencing homelessness and refer them to public housing agencies who issue vouchers to eligible veteran and their families. VA staff provide case management and other “wrap-around” supportive services to assist the veteran household to find and enter rental housing, retain housing, and connect to health care, employment, and other supports.
“The days of a veteran having to choose between getting the VA benefits they deserve and the housing support they need are finally over,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “This is a critical step forward that will help veterans nationwide–and bring us one step closer to our ultimate goal of putting an end to Veteran homelessness for good.”
HUD is expanding access to HUD-VASH for veterans by:
- Requiring public housing agencies (PHAs) that administer HUD-VASH to set the initial income eligibility for veterans at 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), rather than 50% of AMI. The use of this higher initial income eligibility threshold is currently optional and many housing agencies have already adopted the higher threshold, but HUD is now making this increase mandatory.
- Adopting an alternative definition of annual income for applicants and participants of the HUD-VASH program that excludes veterans’ service-connected disability benefits when determining eligibility. This alternative annual income definition could be adopted by other housing subsidy programs to determine income eligibility.
HUD has been working with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to determine the effect of the alternative income definition for HUD-VASH participants seeking housing subsidized by Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). The Treasury Department expects to issue guidance on this issue in the near term. HUD will also encourage state and local governments to make corresponding changes in their subsidy programs to ensure that all veterans experiencing homelessness have access to supportive housing.
Housing 200,000+ Vets
The HUD-VASH program combines HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance for homeless veterans with case management and clinical services provided by the VA. The VA provides these services for participating veterans at VA medical centers (VAMCs), community-based outreach clinics (CBOCs), through VA contractors, or through other VA designated entities.
Since the program’s inception, HUD-VASH has assisted more than 200,000 veterans to exit homelessness and obtain permanent affordable housing.
“Every veteran deserves a roof over their head, and the Biden-Harris Administration is doing everything we possibly can to end veteran homelessness,” said White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden. “Today’s actions reflect President Biden and Vice President Harris’s commitment to breaking down barriers to housing so that every veteran gets the benefits they have earned.”
The revised HUD-VASH operating requirements also include additional policy changes that will improve the administration of the HUD-VASH program. This will allow PHAs the authority to:
- Make non-competitive awards of project-based HUD-VASH contracts to housing projects or units on VA facilities that serve HUD-VASH families;
- Approve exception payment standards as a reasonable accommodation up to 140% of the fair market rent; and
- Set a separate minimum rent policy (including a zero minimum rent) for HUD-VASH participants.
Additional Assistance to Vets
In addition to these policy changes, HUD has awarded $20 million available for additional administrative fee funding to 245 public housing agencies in 43 states currently administering HUD-VASH. With this funding, PHAs are encouraged to expand their housing search assistance to support veterans, expand landlord recruitment for the program, offer incentives and retention payments, help veterans with security deposits, and provide landlord-tenant mediation activities.
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