Editing Section 8 (housing) (section)

==History==
[[Subsidized housing in the United States|Federal housing assistance programs]] started during the [[Great Depression]]. In the 1960s and 1970s, the federal government created [[Subsidy#Consumption subsidies|subsidy]] programs to increase the production of low-income housing and to help families pay their rent. In 1965, the Section 236 Leased Housing Program amended the U.S. Housing Act. This subsidy program, the predecessor to the modern program, was not a pure housing allowance program. Housing authorities selected eligible families from their waiting list, placed them in housing from a master list of available units, and determined the rent that tenants would have to pay. The housing authority would then sign a lease with the private landlord and pay the difference between the tenant's rent and the market rate for the same size unit. In the agreement with the private landlord, housing authorities agreed to perform regular building maintenance and leasing functions for Section 236 tenants, and annually reviewed the tenant's income for program eligibility and rent calculations.

The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 introduced the federal Experimental Housing Allowance Program (EHAP) and the Community Development Corporation and authorized larger outlays for housing subsidy programs and rent supplements for moderate-income households.<ref>[http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/about/hud_history "HUD History"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231010927/http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=%2Fabout%2Fhud_history |date=2012-12-31}}, HUD website</ref><ref>Winnick, Louis, [http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/cityscpe/vol1num3/winnick.pdf "The Triumph of Housing Allowance Programs: How a Fundamental Policy Conflict Was Resolved"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128232923/http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/cityscpe/vol1num3/winnick.pdf |date=2012-01-28}}, ''Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research'', Volume 1, Number 3, September 1995, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research</ref>

In the 1970s, when studies showed that the worst housing problem afflicting low-income people was no longer substandard housing, but the high percentage of income spent on housing, Congress passed the [[Housing and Community Development Act of 1974]], further amending the [[Housing Act of 1937|U.S. Housing Act of 1937]] to create the Section 8 Program. In the Section 8 Program, tenants pay about 30 percent of their income for rent, while the rest of the rent is paid with federal money.

The Section 8 program initially had three subprograms—New Construction, Substantial Rehabilitation, and Existing Housing Certificate programs. The Moderate Rehabilitation Program was added in 1978, the Voucher Program in 1983, and the Project-based Certificate program in 1991. The number of units a local housing authority can subsidize under its Section 8 programs is determined by Congressional funding. Since its inception, some Section 8 programs have been phased out and new ones created, although Congress has always renewed existing subsidies.

The 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 110-161) enacted December 26, 2007, allocated $75 million in funding for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) voucher program, authorized under section 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act of 1937. This new program combines HUD Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance for homeless veterans with case management and clinical service support which is provided by the Veterans Affairs administration at its own medical centers and also in the community.<ref>HUD, [http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/vash/ "Overview of HUD-VASH Vouchers"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211034112/http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/vash/ |date=2010-02-11}} – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development</ref>

The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA) was signed into law on July 29, 2016, and amended the United States Housing Act of 1937 and made changes to several federal housing programs, particularly Section 8. Key provisions include reforms to income calculation methods, adjustments to asset limits, and modifications to the income review processes.<ref name="HUD HOTMA">{{cite web |title=Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act |website=U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) |url=https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/mfh/hotma |access-date=December 10, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Navigate 2024">{{cite web |title=Understanding HOTMA (HUD) in 2024 |website=Navigate Housing |year=2024 |url=https://www.navigatehousing.com/hotma/ |access-date=December 10, 2024}}</ref>