Today HUD Secretary Ben Carson will be proposing tripling the amount the poorest households are expected to pay for rent as well as encouraging those receiving housing subsidies to work.
What we know:
- Tenants currently pay in general about 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent or a public housing agency minimum rent, which is capped at $50 a month for the poorest families.
- The proposal would set the family monthly rent contribution at 35 percent of gross income or 35 percent of their earnings working 15 hours a week at the federal minimum wage.
- The proposal would also increase the cap for the poorest families to approximately $150 a month, three times higher than the current minimum.
- The White House budget proposal for the 2019 fiscal year indicated that it would “encourage work and self-sufficiency” across its rental assistance programs and reforms would require adults who are able to work to “shoulder more of their housing costs and provide an incentive to increase their earnings”
- Changing the deductions that could be considered when determining a tenant’s rent, eliminating deductions for medical and childcare costs, are also being considered.
- The move would affect more than 4.5 million families relying on federal housing assistance and requires congressional approval.
We will continue to provide updates as they develop at UrbanNewsroom.com.
