National Housing Law Project Summarizes HUD Emergency Housing Voucher FAQ and Offers Advocacy Tips

The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) released a 12-page “FAQ and Advocacy Tip Sheet for Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs).” HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) has posted frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program created by the American Rescue Plan Act (see Memo, 6/14). Public housing agencies (PHAs) were eligible to apply for a share of 70,000 EHVs (see Memo, 5/10), and PIH announced EHV allocations available to 696 PHAs (see Memo, 5/17). PIH maintains a list of public housing agencies (PHAs) that applied for and were awarded EHVs on a special EHV website.

Many of the rules applicable to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program are also applicable to EHVs, but PIH has waived several important HCV requirements. As part of administering EHVs, PHAs must collaborate with community partners, primarily the local Continuum of Care (CoC), to identify and serve eligible families.

The NHLP “FAQ and Advocacy Tip Sheet” addresses 17 questions in detail, frequently citing Notice PIH 2021-15, which described the process PIH used to allocate EHVs to PHAs, the operating requirements for the EHV program, and the applicable waivers of regular HCV regulations and alternative requirements for EHVs. Question 12 elaborates on rules PHAs can waive to make it easier to admit people with a negative rental history or criminal history. Question 13 lists other types of waivers available to PHAs administering EHVs. Question 14 discusses the types of documentation PHAs can accept regarding a household’s eligibility for EHV, including self-attestation by the assisted household. Questions 16 and 17 address assisting survivors of gender-based violence.

Pages 10-12 offer ten advocacy tips, including advocating for higher EHV payment standards, meaningful housing search assistance, and posting and publication of a PHA’s emergency transfer plan to facilitate a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) emergency transfer.

NHLP’s “FAQ and Advocacy Tip Sheet for Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs)” is at: https://bit.ly/3wvLDHD

Notice PIH 2021-15 is at: https://bit.ly/3vsRLiz

PIH’s Emergency Housing Voucher website is at: https://bit.ly/2SvmE8Z

More information about regular Housing Choice Vouchers is on page 4-1 of NLIHC’s 2021 Advocates’ Guide.