HUD PIH Publishes Notice on Transitioning EHV Families into HCV Program

By Alayna Calabro, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst 

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) issued Notice PIH 2025-19 on June 20, providing guidance to public housing authorities (PHAs) on transitioning families receiving Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs) into the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. EHV families are to be transitioned so that they do not lose housing assistance. Furthermore, the notice informs PHAs that they have 60 days from the notice publication date to expend service fees. 

Background 

The EHV program was created by the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” (ARPA), which provided $5 billion for new tenant-based rental assistance vouchers specifically targeted to people experiencing or at immediate risk of homelessness, as well as people escaping intimate partner violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking. The EHV program mandates that PHAs, who are responsible for administering the program, work with their local Continuums of Care (CoCs) to identify people and families at risk of or experiencing homelessness and connect them to an EHV.  

HUD also awarded an additional $3,500 per EHV to support the leasing of EHVs and to retain and support EHV owners. HUD exercised authority provided through ARPA to adjust HCV program practices and provide PHAs with flexibility to expedite and facilitate HCV use. PHAs could set higher payment standards for EHVs—up to 120% of HUD’s Fair Market Rent (FMR)—making a wider range of units eligible for the program. 

While ARPA made EHV funds available for obligation until September 30, 2030, historic increases in rent over the last four years have caused funding to run out much more quickly than expected. HUD estimates that the Department will only have sufficient funds to cover all EHV families through most of 2026. 

Transitioning EHV Families into the HCV Program 

HUD encourages PHAs to transition EHV families into the HCV program to prevent EHV families from losing assistance and potentially facing homelessness. To transition a family into HCV, a PHA will make assistance payments using funding under its consolidated HCV Annual Contributions Contract. A PHA must have HCV unit-months available to use for EHV families. HUD’s notice reminds PHAs that EHV funding cannot be used for HCV Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) costs, even for former EHV families, once they have been transitioned to the regular HCV program. 

EHV families must be selected through the PHA’s HCV waiting list. The notice outlines steps PHAs should take depending on whether they have an open or closed HCV waiting list. The notice states that PHAs may establish a local preference that includes EHV families. Additionally, HUD is providing a streamlined submission and review process for a regulatory waiver that would permit PHAs to place all EHV families on its HCV waiting list with the appropriate preference.  

The notice advises that when transitioning an EHV family to HCV assistance, PHAs are not required to execute a new HAP contract or tenancy addendum if the family is remaining in the same unit. 

EHV Waivers and Alternate Requirements 

The notice reminds PHAs that the EHV waivers and alternate requirements detailed in PIH Notice 2021-15 (see Memo 5/10/21) do not apply to the HCV program. HUD addresses the requirements that apply when a PHA transitions a family from EHV to HCV assistance and outlines existing flexibilities PHAs may use in lieu of the EHV waivers. 

Criminal Rescreening: Applicant screening requirements do not apply when the PHA is transitioning a family from EHV to HCV assistance. HCV requirements on termination of assistance do apply to EHV families when they are transitioned to the HCV program. 

Income Eligibility and Targeting: Income eligibility and targeting requirements do not apply to EHV families when they are transitioned to HCV assistance. HCV requirements concerning participant family income and composition do apply. 

Social Security Number and Citizenship Verification: For the EHV program, HUD waived the requirement to obtain and verify documentation of social security number (SSN) and eligible noncitizen status before admitting families to the EHV program. Instead, HUD established an alternate requirement that individuals may provide the required documentation within 180 days of admission to continue receiving assistance. Notice 2025-19 states that a PHA must verify documentation of SSN and eligible noncitizen status before transitioning an EHV family to the HCV program. 

Payment Standards and Rent Reasonableness: Notice 2021-15 allowed PHAs to establish EHV payment standards up to 120% of FMR without HUD approval. Notice 2025-19 outlines two options to minimize harm to families that benefited from higher payment standards for EHV. If the EHV payment standards were set between 110% and 120% of FMR, the PHA could align both programs’ payment standards by using a process described in Notice PIH 2024-34 (see Memo 10/7/24). Alternatively, the PHA could choose not to reduce the payment standard amount used to calculate a family’s subsidy as long as they continue to reside in the same unit. The requirement limiting the family share to 40% or less than the monthly adjusted income at initial occupancy does not apply to EHV families transitioning to HCV assistance. 

Service Fees 

The notice states that PHAs have 60 calendar days after publication of the notice to use service fees on eligible expenses and must complete all services fee expenditure reporting 120 days from notice publication. HUD stated that it will describe the recapture and reallocation of service fees in a future notice. 

Read Notice PIH 2025-19 at: https://tinyurl.com/chwwaf8n  

Find the PIH EHV website at: https://www.hud.gov/ehv