NLIHC and Other National Housing Organizations Urge HUD To Release Guidance on Using Tenant Protection Vouchers to Help Families with Emergency Housing Vouchers

By Alayna Calabro, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst

NLIHC, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the National Alliance to End Homelessness (The Alliance), the National Housing Law Project (NHLP), and nine other national housing organizations sent a letter to HUD on May 28 urging the department to quickly release guidance on how public housing agencies (PHAs) can apply for Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPV) to help families with Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV), as authorized in the final fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bill. 

The FY26 spending bill included more than $600 million for TPVs and a provision that made these funds available to PHAs that would otherwise be required to terminate EHVs for families due to insufficient funding. A recent HUD notice (PIH Notice 2026-12) suggests that HUD is interpreting the appropriations language as only appropriating TPV funds to address the funding shortfall in the EHV program, not as authority to issue TPVs. Yet, this interpretation is counter to congressional intent and the purpose of the TPV program. Additionally, this interpretation of the appropriations language would create a funding cliff that would leave tens of thousands of families without the assistance they need to stay stably housed. 

The letter calls on HUD to publish guidance as soon as possible about how PHAs can apply for TPVs for households that still have EHVs. While some PHAs may have the resources to transition families with EHVs to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, many more do not. Some of these agencies expect to exhaust their funds as soon as next month. Moreover, HUD is actively encouraging PHAs to not reissue HCVs when a household leaves. The letter explains that this approach would cut the number of families assisted in the HCV program far more than is necessary to meet budget constraints. It would also make it impossible for PHAs to absorb EHVs without additional resources. 

The letter emphasizes the urgent need for HUD to issue guidance by highlighting that some PHAs have notified households with EHVs that their assistance will end in 2026. Reporting from New York, Las Vegas, San Diego, Georgia, and Florida captures the anxiety that families are experiencing and reveals the lack of information PHAs have about the availability of resources. 

While HUD published guidance on May 6 outlining how PHAs can apply for repurposed EHV service fees to address immediate shortfalls, the notice leaves a great deal of uncertainty for PHAs and the families they serve. The letter calls on HUD to take urgent action to get funding to PHAs and provide clear, comprehensive guidance to ensure that families with EHVs are stably housed. 

The letter was signed by CBPP, Compass Working Capital, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA), Council of State Community Development Agencies, Housing and Development Law Institute, MTW Collaborative, National Affordable Housing Management Association, The Alliance, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), NHLP, National Leased Housing Association (NLHA), NLIHC, and Public Housing Authorities Directors Association. 

Read the letter here.