Critics: Changes in rent formula will hurt voucher families

WASHINGTON – Changes in a government program that helps with the rent for nearly 2 million poor families could force many to pay more out of their own pockets or move into substandard housing, lawmakers from both parties and advocacy groups contend.

The worth of a Section 8 housing voucher is determined by the amount needed to pay rent and utilities for a typical apartment. The figure varies by city according to “Fair Market Rent” calculations from the Housing and Urban Development Department.

While the fair rent figure is used for a number of agency programs, nearly all the criticism involves the $14.5 billion Section 8 program.

Adjustments to the rent formula, set to take effect Oct. 1, may have the effect of lowering values in many parts of the country, said Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities.

As a result, more landlords who voluntarily participate in the program may decide to stop taking vouchers, Zaterman and other critics say.

HUD earlier this month restored $156 million to the 2004 budget after reviewing public housing authorities appeals of government changes over how the program is funded.

Fair rent revisions are updated annually, typically without much fanfare. But the latest changes were more dramatic in part because of revisions using 2000 census housing and population statistics, said Barbara Sard, director of housing policy for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning research group in Washington.

Rent values were also affected by changes to boundary lines for many metropolitan areas. Instituted by the Office of Management and Budget, the changes in large part accounted for new commuting patterns from farther out suburbs into downtowns.