The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $30 billion in renewal funding for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program.

This funding will help public housing authorities (PHAs) continue to provide assistance to families and individuals who are in need of affordable housing options.

“These HCVs will create stability and certainty for individuals and families throughout the country,” said HUD acting secretary Adrianne Todman in a statement. “As HUD’s single-largest investment in affordable housing, these funds make accessing affordable housing less burdensome for renters, public housing authorities, and landlords.

Since last year, the HCV program saw a $2 billion increase in funding to help maintain housing vouchers for families across the country. Since 2022, this budget allocation has grown nearly 20% (over $4 billion), allowing the value of a voucher to keep pace with rising rental costs and helping to make sure that voucher holders can continue to access neighborhoods of opportunity, said HUD on May 14.

Housing vouchers assist over 2.3 million families in need of housing, including families with children, older adults, veterans, and people with disabilities.

Click here to see a list of communities who have received funding.

A day earlier, HUD announced that housing agencies can now request to accept self-certification of income to determine program eligibility for people experiencing homelessness. This move aims to expedite housing assistance for people experiencing homelessness under the HCV program.

People experiencing homelessness often may not have the necessary documents readily available that are typically required to establish their eligibility for voucher assistance such as Social Security cards or pay stubs. Because missing documents can significantly delay assistance and timely access to housing, these HCV waivers will allow housing agencies to accept self-certification of income, disability status, and other specific information to expedite assistance to people experiencing homelessness. Agencies must then verify tenants’ eligibility within 90 days after they begin receiving assistance.