< Back To Index 08.15.2008 - HPP

Thousands of tenants in HUD subsidized buildings can now breathe more easily.  As a result of a threat by HPP to sue, HUD has changed national policy so that certain enhanced voucher-holders who are "over-housed" (occupying a unit larger than their household size) will no longer be pushed out of their homes.

When owners of HUD Section 8 properties prepay their mortgages or opt out of the Section 8 program, tenants receive "enhanced vouchers" enabling them to remain in their homes with HUD subsidizing their rental payments.  A recurring problem of the last few years has been how to treat tenant households who have become "overhoused," that is, their household size has shrunk so they are now occupying a unit larger than what they would normally qualify for.  The most common situation is an elderly resident who has lost a spouse.  If there is a vacant smaller sized unit in the building to which the tenant can transfer, there is no problem.  In many cases, however, there are no such units available.  In such cases, HUD policy has been to eventually to reduce the subsidy for the overhoused tenant (causing the tenant a major rent increase) and/or requiring the tenant to move elsewhere.  Particularly for elderly tenants, having to choose between an involuntary move or a huge rent increase is traumatic.

In the course of representing tenants in the Willow Creek apartments in Plymouth, Minnesota, HPP discovered that tenants there were being faced with this unfair choice.  HPP also concluded that HUD's unnecessarily harsh policy violated the requirement in federal law that enhanced voucher tenants have the right to remain when their owner exited the HUD program.  HPP advised HUD that it would sue if necessary to protect the Willow Creek tenants, and provided HUD with a detailed proposal for how to change its policy.  HUD responded by indicating that it had been struggling with this issue across the country, and that it was interested in using this opportunity to change its approach.  Shortly thereafter, HUD issued a new policy notice changing its treatment of overhoused enhanced voucher tenants to largely adopt the procedures advocated by HPP.  Thousands of tenants in this situation will now be relieved of the choice between a forced move and an unaffordable rent increase.