Recent Research Results PD&R, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Policy Development and Research
RRR logo Improving Community Through the Housing Choice Voucher Program

The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), once known as Section 8 tenant-based assistance, provides an essential and positive response to the affordable housing needs of low-income households. In 1999 HUD sponsored a study to gain a better understanding of the conditions that precipitate opposition by local communities to HCVP. Tools and Strategies for Improving Community Relations in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, recently released by HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research, is a product of that 1999 study.

Tools and Strategies is a guidebook that advises local public housing authorities (PHAs) on how to administer the program in a way that promotes good relations with the broader community. Based on research, this report discusses specific measures that eight housing agencies from across the United States have taken to better manage HCVP and to be more responsive to the concerns of their respective local communities about the program.

At the outset, the guidebook suggests five steps that PHAs can follow to resolve community conflicts over HCVP: (1) take community concerns seriously, (2) identify the real issues in conflict, (3) take ownership of the problem, (4) be part of the solution, and (5) broaden perspectives to take on nontraditional roles in the community. The guide presents real-world experiences from PHAs to illustrate and validate this strategy's effectiveness to resolve conflict and make HCVP a good neighbor.

Focusing on local administration of HCVP, the guide discusses the most frequently cited community concerns with PHAs:

  • Faulty tenant screening.
  • Inappropriate application of payment standards and rent reasonableness procedures.
  • Poor quality housing and lax enforcement of housing quality standards.
  • Unwillingness or inability to take action against program applicants, participants, and landlords who fail to meet program requirements or behave responsibly.
  • Practices that create concentrations of assisted tenants in some neighborhoods and send other assisted families to new neighborhoods without adequate orientation and support.

The guide offers realistic solutions for dealing with these community concerns by drawing on examples from PHAs in the field. The last of the guide's four chapters, "Engaging Productively with Your Community," recommends how PHAs can tackle these tough issues through initiating effective communication, establishing a collaborative relationship with the broader community, and problem solving.

Order Tools and Strategies for Improving Community Relations in the Housing Choice Voucher Program from HUD USER for $5. Please use the order form. The guidebook can also be downloaded from the HUD USER website at www.huduser.gov.

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