HUD PIH Issues Guidance on Transitioning Emergency Housing Voucher Households to Tenant Protection Vouchers
Oct 05, 2026
By Alayna Calabro, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst
HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) issued Notice PIH-2025-25, “Availability of Tenant Protection Vouchers for Emergency Housing Voucher Families,” on September 29. The notice outlines the requirements, funding process, and timeline for awarding tenant protection vouchers (TPVs) to all households with emergency housing vouchers (EHVs), as authorized in the continuing resolution (CR) that was signed into law on September 2.
The CR—the “Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027”—includes language requiring HUD to make TPVs available by the end of the calendar year to all households still receiving assistance through the EHV program as of September 30, 2026. This provision will ensure that the more than 40,000 families relying on EHVs can continue to receive the assistance they need to afford their home.
The notice provides TPVs for all EHV families under lease as of September 30, 2026, and requires that these families be converted from EHV to EHV-TPVs by the end of the calendar year. Once the conversion is complete, the EHV program will end.
Award Calculation, Process, and Timeline
EHV-TPVs are funded from the $600.6 million made available for TPVs under the 2027 CR. HUD will calculate funding eligibility for EHV-TPVs based on the average per-unit cost in the public housing agency’s (PHA) EHV program and the total units estimated to be under lease as of September 30, 2026. PHAs will receive administrative fees for the converted vouchers on the same basis as the rest of their HCV program.
The notice states that around October 1, 2026, HUD will provide PHAs an estimate of EHV-TPV award amounts intended to cover December 2026. PHAs must respond to HUD to correct HUD’s estimate if necessary, by October 15.
In December, HUD will award all EHV-TPV funds in one round of funding, and PHAs will transition families from EHV to EHV-TPV assistance. The TPV awards will cover one month (December 2026), and future months will be covered as renewals. All funding is subject to future appropriations. The notice states that PHAs must track EHV-TPVs separately from other vouchers since they cannot be reissued over turnover.
Other Important Provisions
HUD’s notice makes clear that EHV families should not be rescreened when they transition to TPVs, and families can remain in their units currently under lease.
Additionally, HUD states that a PHA’s administrative plan regarding payment standards for HCV tenants is applicable to tenants with EHVs transitioning to TPVs. Since some EHV tenants have higher payment standards than HCV tenants, advocates should help ensure that households maintain the same payment standard as they transition to TPVs, so they do not experience a sudden rent increase.
NLIHC, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and the National Housing Law Project sent a letter to HUD on September 9 urging the department to swiftly release guidance on how PHAs can apply for and administer TPVs to help families with EHVs remain stably housed (Memo, 9/21).
Read the notice.
Read NHLP’s resource on the CR’s EHV/TPV provisions.