Boston Housing Authority Delays Funds To Section 8 Landlords After Lag

Leo Migdal

-Dec 7, 2025, 5:17 PM

boston housing authority delays funds to section 8 landlords after lag

Boston landlords who rent to tenants through the federal Section 8 voucher program will only get 25% of their December payments from the Boston Housing Authority for the time being as the country continues... A Tuesday letter from Kathlin McGonagle, chief of leased housing and admissions at the BHA, said that housing authorities across the country have not yet received approval of “shortfall funding,” which the BHA relies... “As a result of these federal approval and processing delays at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, due in part to the federal government shutdown, our ability to release payments to our Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher Program landlords on the regular schedule has been negatively... Section 8 is a federal program that helps with rental payments for low-income households, seniors and those with disabilities. The letter also said that the BHA anticipates that full payments may not be given out until around the middle of the month.

In the meantime, they’re giving out a quarter of the monthly payment to those who receive direct deposits. That percentage reflects the portion of funds the BHA currently has. A shortage of federal dollars has left the Boston Housing Authority unable to fully pay rent to Section 8 landlords this month. In a letter sent to property owners this week, the housing authority wrote that it had not yet received the full amount it expected from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development because of “federal approval and processing delays” caused in part by the 43-day government shutdown that ended last month. Landlords who receive direct deposits will be paid about 25% of the rent due to them, and the remaining funds will be disbursed sometime in mid-December, housing authority officials wrote.

“We deeply value our partnership with our Section 8 landlords, who provide housing to many thousands of low-income families across the region,” Boston Housing Authority Administrator Kenzie Bok said in a statement. “We felt it was important to distribute the $10 million that we received so far, as we await the remaining $30 million, and we’re committed to providing them with updated information on this evolving... Tenants who hold a housing voucher, such as Section 8, pay about 30% of their income toward rent each month, with the voucher covering the remaining amount. While the funds for Section 8 come from HUD, local housing authorities such as Boston’s distribute the money. BHA will release 25% of December landlord payment. The remaining balance will be issued immediately upon receipt of full funding from the federal government.

The Boston Housing Authority sent the following letter to its landlord partners: (PDF Link) Unfortunately, the Boston Housing Authority is experiencing delays in receiving the full amount of federal Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) funding for December for our Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher program. Housing authorities like ours across the country have not yet received approval of “shortfall funding”, a mechanism that covers the gap when rental inflation outstrips the original voucher budget allocations for the year. As a result of these federal approval and processing delays at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), due in part to the federal government shutdown, our ability to release payments to our Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher Program landlords on the regular schedule has been... At this time, we anticipate that full HAP payments may not be disbursed until approximately mid-month.

However, in order to mitigate the impact of this delay, for those who receive direct deposits, BHA will send out 25% of the monthly payment, which reflects the portion of funds we currently hold. The remaining balance will be issued immediately upon receipt of full funding from the federal government. We are hopeful that HUD will approve shortfall payments at the end of this week, and funds will become available next week, but we have not yet had formal confirmation of the timeline. Please note: We understand the importance of timely payments and sincerely regret the inconvenience this temporary disruption may cause. We appreciate your patience and continued partnership during this period.

Landlords with Section 8 tenants are only getting 25 percent of their payments from the Boston Housing Authority this month. The apparent cause: last month’s federal government shutdown. “We deeply value our partnership with our Section 8 landlords, who provide housing to many thousands of low-income families across the region.,” BHA Administrator Kenzie Bok wrote in a letter posted to the BHA’s... “We felt it was important to distribute the $10 million that we received so far, as we await the remaining $30 million, and we’re committed to providing them with updated information on this evolving... The letter says the BHA is experiencing delays in receiving the full amount the federal government owes it for housing assistance payments, similar to other housing authorities throughout the country. Housing authorities have not yet received approval of “shortfall funding,” a mechanism that covers the gap when rental inflation outstrips the original voucher budget allocations for the year.

“At this time, we anticipate that full HAP payments may not be disbursed until approximately mid-month,” the letter stated. “However, in order to mitigate the impact of this delay, for those who receive direct deposits, BHA will send out 25% of the monthly payment, which reflects the portion of funds we currently hold. The remaining balance will be issued immediately upon receipt of full funding from the federal government. We are hopeful that HUD will approve shortfall payments at the end of this week, and funds will become available next week, but we have not yet had formal confirmation of the timeline.” Update: On Friday, Dec. 5, after this story was published, the Brookline Housing Authority received word from HUD that its shortfall funding for December had been awarded, according to BHA Executive Director Ben Stone.

BHA is planning to make payments to landlords shortly, Stone said. The Brookline Housing Authority was unable to pay hundreds of Section 8 landlords on Dec. 1 because of delays in processing federal funds caused by the recent government shutdown. It’s a situation being faced by public housing agencies all over the country, including next door. In Boston, the Globe reported earlier this week, the Boston Housing Authority was only able to pay $10 million of the $40 million it owed landlords on Dec. 1 because of the same issue.

In Brookline, the housing authority was short $1.2 million and unable to pay the landlords of about half of its voucher holders on time because of the delays, according to Brookline Housing Authority Executive... More than 400 landlords responsible for 614 low-income households were not paid on Dec. 1, he said. Get our FREE newsletter in your inbox; now twice a week! Thousands of landlords who rent to some of Boston’s poorest households through the federal government’s Section 8 voucher program will see rent payments temporarily slashed this month due to funding delays in the aftermath... The Boston Housing Authority, which administers the federal vouchers, sent a letter Tuesday to some 6,000 Section 8 landlords saying it has yet to receive a significant chunk of funding for monthly payments from...

The BHA owes landlords about $40 million this month, and only has $10 million on hand to distribute, meaning landlords will only receive about 25 percent of their expected monthly payments. The remaining $30 million was supposed to be sent to BHA by HUD for payments on Dec. 1, but hasn’t yet due to delays following the shutdown. “We deeply value our partnership with our Section 8 landlords, who provide housing to many thousands of low-income families across the region,” BHA administrator Kenzie Bok said in a statement. “We felt it was important to distribute the $10 million that we received so far, as we await the remaining $30 million, and we’re committed to providing them with updated information on this evolving... Landlords will receive the rest of their expected funding when the additional funds from HUD come through.

Thousands of landlords who participate in the federal Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program will not receive their December payments on time due to delayed funding from HUD, as reported by Bisnow. The issue is tied to a recent 43-day government shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — which ended in November. Public housing authorities in cities like New York, Boston, and Boca Raton are among those notifying landlords of the delay, with many warning that full payments may not be made until mid-December or later. Stay ahead of trends in commercial real estate with CRE Daily – the free newsletter delivering everything you need to start your day in just 5-minutes New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the nation’s largest housing agency, said it’s exploring interim solutions but has not yet received its December funding.

Boston Housing Authority (BHA) expected a $40M disbursement from HUD on Dec. 1 but has received nothing. It’s now using $10M in reserves to make partial payments — about 25% of the total owed. Thousands of affordable housing operators won’t be getting paid by the government on time this month. Some funds earmarked for Section 8 vouchers haven’t been distributed by the federal government to hundreds of local housing authorities, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development has notified the agencies that the... More than 500 public housing authorities have a shortfall for December payments that total between $700M and $800M, an industry representative familiar with the details of the program told Bisnow.

A HUD spokesperson said the missed payments were caused by complications associated with the government shutdown, which was the longest in U.S. history at 43 days and ended in the middle of November. “Democrats shut the government down for more than 40 days. As HUD warned from the beginning, this careless decision resulted in real-world consequences for vulnerable Americans. HUD is working to make these awards to PHAs to ensure no disruption in program services,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Bisnow.

Boston Housing Authority Delays Funds To Section 8 Landlords After Lag

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