County freezes housing vouchers amid budget woes

Harris County’s housing authority said Friday that it has halted issuing housing choice vouchers and even rescinded some amid federal budget constraints, dealing a blow to low-income families seeking assistance to pay for the rising cost of living in the Houston area.

The move follows a similar announcement earlier this week by Houston’s housing authority. Together, the actions restrict access to one of the most important affordable housing programs in the area, where thousands of families are seeking rental assistance.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had notified the county agency that it was “at risk” of a budget shortfall, and should take “proactive steps” to reduce the cost of the voucher program, said housing authority spokeswoman Timika Simmons.

HUD faces budget uncertainty as Congress keeps funding the federal government with continuing resolutions.

“We are working closely with HUD and our clients to monitor the situation and remain diligent in doing our part to support efforts that will secure housing services for our region,” Simmons said.

For Harris County, that means no new vouchers will be given out for the foreseeable future, despite a 5,000-person waiting list. More than 24,000 families applied to be on the waiting list late last year.

“It’s kind of business as usual,” Simmons said. “They still have to wait to hear from us, but it just takes a little longer.”

The Houston Housing Authority has more than 28,000 people on its wait-

“We are working closely with HUD and our clients to monitor the situation.” Timika Simmons, county housing authority spokeswoman

ing list, and the authority said earlier this week it will not be issuing new vouchers through the end of the year.

On average, the county had added 40 new voucher holders every month as roughly 40 dropped left the program.

The 3,900-plus families currently using vouchers to rent apartments in the county will not be affected, Simmons said. But in the last two weeks, the county rescinded vouchers from almost 60 families who were searching for apartments; they have been placed at the top of the waiting list, Simmons said.

Meanwhile the need for the voucher program is growing: roughly 400,000 low-income Harris County families were spending more than 30 percent of their earnings on housing as of 2013, according to the most recent federal data, up from 250,000 in 2000.

The county housing authority serves the unincorporated parts of the county, which in the past decade has seen about 80 percent of the growth in the Houston region, as well as substantial increases in poverty.

“Harris County has large deficits in the quantity, quality, and affordability of 3-plus bedroom units,” the county fair-housing plan states. “The combination of larger families (and the increased cost associated with them) and limited housing options creates major impediments in affirmatively furthering fair housing.”