Chronic Rants

It started with a message from a friend, asking what I knew about the situation. This was the first I’d heard of it. My friend heard about it from a friend. That friend of my friend heard about it from a friend of hers. The news spread, and we scrambled to learn the details, and how it would affect us. The news? The federal government is changing Section 8 housing voucher requirements this year. Today, two months later, I have more information, but none of the housing authorities in my area that I’ve checked have notified their tenants. Word is still spreading by word of mouth. And it’s spreading slowly.

I don’t want anyone to panic, but I also don’t want folks left in the dark. So I’m going to share what I know so far.

First, let’s take a moment to consider just how shitty this is. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) apparently changed the rules back in 2016, and the change was to take effect in 2024. That gave everyone 8 years to get their shit together. But they didn’t. The director of my housing authority told me that she only recently received information about this, and is still waiting for even more details. WTF? There are millions of people on Section 8. You’d think HUD would have a plan for this, but apparently, they don’t. Or they do, but it’s not a great one. Because every housing authority should really have gotten this information in enough time to formulate plans.

Section 8 is a federal program in the U.S. to help low income folks with housing. It’s a federal program, but it is administered by local housing authorities, and each can have slightly different rules. For example, one town might require housing inspections yearly while another could require them twice a year. I liked living in my former city, but the rental limits allowed on those Section 8 vouchers were unrealistically low. A big reason I moved to my current town was because they had much more realistic voucher limits – with effort, I could actually find a 1-bedroom apartment that met their requirements. No amount of effort would have made it work in my former city. These kinds of allowed differences are going to be very important for the current situation.

So far, I have learned about 3 changes, but my impression is that there could be more coming. Of course, it’s hard to tell, given the lack of transparency or notifications. I have spoken with my state and U.S. rep’s offices (and I spoke to my state rep directly), my town’s social worker, and the executive director of my housing authority. The representative’s offices didn’t even know about this until I informed them! One even told me that there is no asset limit, and sent me a pdf with that statement. I had to remind him that this is something new in 2024, and point out that the pdf he sent me was dated 2020. That’s how horrible the communication is.

The first change is an asset limit. Until now, there hasn’t been any asset limit. The new asset limit is $100,000. As the head of my housing authority said, to some people this is a huge amount of money and to others it’s very little. My understanding is that folks with more than $100,000 in assets will not be eligible for a first-time voucher. For folks who already have a voucher, it is up to their individual housing authority! Yes, that’s right, one town might enforce this new rule and the neighboring town might not. And it’s just down to luck whether your city/town enforces it or not. Just like whether your city/town requires one or two housing inspections per year. And while some housing authorities have already made decisions about this, others have not. Either way, there’s still a chance to say something. I’ll get to that in a moment.

The second change has to do with medical deductions. I spend a fair amount on medical practitioners, equipment, tests, and treatments that aren’t covered by insurance. This reduces my reported income, which in turn reduces my rent. Apparently, this is going to be changing. Unfortunately, I learned about this on the phone, like with all of the other information, because nothing is in writing yet. And I’m not sure I understood. It sounded like the minimum amount of medical expenses that would count is currently $4000, and that would be going up to $8000. That would be a huge problem for a lot of people! But again, I’m not 100% sure about this, so please check for yourself (once they actually know what they’re doing, that is.)

The third change seems like a good, but strange, one. Current voucher holders will be asked if their income is under a certain amount. On the phone, I couldn’t tell if she said $15,000 or $50,000. I’m guessing the former, but I’m not certain. If they say yes, then they won’t need to send in proof.

Apparently, these changes are meant to decrease the paperwork that housing authorities are dealing with. I can see how this would be the case. If someone says they earn under, say, $15,000, and based on their initial paperwork this seems likely, then the housing authority won’t need to go to so much trouble. If the minimum amount of medical expenses to count is doubled then fewer people with bother to submit receipts. If assets of over $100,000 knock people out of the program, then a quick asset check will take care of things and there will be no need for income verification. Yup, that part makes sense.

The problem is the human toll. HUD says they want to reduce homelessness. That’s a good goal. But these measures won’t do that! Let’s say I had $150,000 in assets. That would kick me off my voucher in some towns. In my case, without the voucher, my rent would go up $2000 in my current “affordable housing” apartment. Maybe I could find someplace cheaper to live, but the options are very limited, especially because I need a home without stairs. I would need to get a roommate, but then the chances are that they would eat gluten and I would get a lot sicker. A friend is currently looking for an apartment with a roommate and even then, her budget (which is $1100 more than I currently pay) is making that very difficult. Still, let’s say I get a roommate (a bad idea!) and only pay another $1100 per month. In three years and two months, I’ll be under the asset limit. If I pay the extra $2000 to stay in my current apartment, I’ll be under the limit in under two years. The problem is that I’ll need to reapply for Section 8. In my area, the wait lists are 10 years long. In other areas, the waitlists are closed altogether. In my current home, that $150,000 in assets would be gone in under 6 years, long before I’d be likely to get another voucher. Then what?!?

Now, I want to state here that I am very privileged, and I am grateful for it, while also feeling horrible that so many others are not. First, my housing authority is not implementing the asset limit which, yes, would cause me to lose my voucher. At least, this is what they say. I’ll feel better when I see it in writing. And second, my parents are able to help me financially. While they can’t cover all of my bills, they can give me enough to make things work. And as a last result, I could move in with them. This isn’t a great option, though, because (1) none of us would like it (2) their home has stairs to get in and the guest room is on the second floor (3) they eat a lot of gluten foods and wouldn’t stop if I moved in. Still, at least I wouldn’t be homeless, like so many others will be.

Now, if HUD really wants to reduce homelessness, you know what they could do? They could offer more vouchers! There’s obviously a need for more vouchers when wait lists are so long. What they should not do is kick people out of the program. These are folks who are saving up for a house, using their funds to cover medical expenses, paying off debts, and more. Taking away their housing vouchers doesn’t mean they’ll land on their feet. It will only perpetuate the cycle.

If you have a Section 8 voucher, there is one thing you can do: speak up! It seems that housing authorities are required to have a 90-day public comment period before instituting major changes like these. Few people go to these meetings or send in comments, so the ones that do speak up are heard even louder. Speaking up doesn’t mean the housing boards will listen, but it’s worth a try! Call your local housing authority and ask then their public comment period will start and how you can best comment. Attend their meetings. Make your voice heard!

Of course, the other thing we need to do is to elect more politicians at all levels who work to help low-income and disabled folks – I mean politicians who actually help us, and don’t just implement these kinds of policies (or appoint people who implement these kinds of policies) that might look nice on paper but which actually harm a lot of people. Low-income and disabled people are blamed for so many of society’s ills. We’re convenient scape-goats. But those problems aren’t our fault, and taking away our lifelines won’t improve anyone else’s lives. We need people who will fight for us, not against us.

Before I leave, one last thought: please share this. It is disgraceful that this isn’t being talked about. The only article I have seen came the National Low Income Housing Coalition. No major news outlets are discussing it, housing authorities (at least in my area) aren’t putting out statements, and even our politicians don’t know about it. I don’t want someone to get a letter in the mail letting them know they’ll be losing their voucher in just a few months. Or that their medical expenses will no longer count as deductions. That won’t be enough time for people to make arrangements, and the emotion turmoil will be so much worse. People have a right to know that they might be facing these changes. I rarely ask you to post my blog posts to social media or to share them with friends, but I think this is one case where it’s worth asking. We need to let people know what’s coming so they can prepare.

If you have more details about this situation, please comment below or email me! I want to have as much information as possible. I’ll update this post with anything I learn.