Did you know... Table: Characteristics of Households in Public and Assisted Housing Table: Rents Paid in Public and Assisted Housing by Type of Household and Program ...that only about half of all public and assisted housing residents receive public assistance? Or that families with children receive three-fourths of all Section 8 vouchers, compared to only one-third of project-based Section 8 assistance? Such significant and occasionally surprising facts about HUD-assisted families are to be found in the two easy-reference tables below that were developed by HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R). The demographic and income data in these tables, compiled from housing authority records collected for HUD's Multifamily Tenant Characteristics System (MTCS) and Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS), represent the same timely, authoritative information used by Federal policymakers to develop new policies and evaluate existing programs. They provide direct confirmation of what has long been suspected about the plight of these families and the importance of the programs that serve them. These two simple tables put facts essential to understanding HUD-assisted housing and the families who rely on it at the fingertips of housing professionals and other concerned citizens. Save them...use them in your work...share them with your colleagues.

Characteristics of Households in Public and Assisted Housing

Rents Paid in Public and Assisted Housing by Type of Household and Program

Notes: a Within multifamily projects, these estimates do not include units that receive only shallower subsidies, such as interest reduction subsidies under Section 236 without Section 8 assistance. Also excludes Indian housing and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation. b Includes families with children and certain other dependents, regardless of the age or disability status of the head of household. c Not actual rent paid by tenants in the voucher program, but the amount used to determine maximum subsidy, which is 30 percent of adjusted or 10 percent of gross income.

Source: For Public Housing and Certificates and Vouchers, analysis files are based on Multifamily Tenant Characteristics System, April 1995; Project-Based Section 8 analysis files are based on Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System, March 1995. Program totals are based on budget and accounting data. Public Housing total assumes an 8.2 percent vacancy rate. All other units are assumed to be fully utilized. Estimates based on MTCS and TRACS are not weighted for underreporting by some PHAs and owners. Efforts are under way to improve reporting.