Federal Government Late On Section 8 Payments The Real Deal

The federal government shutdown has been over for weeks, but the ramifications are hitting Section 8 landlords hard. The government failed to deliver funds designated for Section 8 housing vouchers at the start of the month, Bisnow reported. The delay leaves more than 500 public housing authorities in the lurch and may create a shortfall between $700 million and $800 million for operators. Public housing agency association groups learned of the funding shortfall on Monday. Housing authorities in New York City, Georgia, Boston and Boca Raton are among those affected. “Following notice from HUD that payments to Section 8 landlords would be delayed this month, NYCHA is assessing interim options and will distribute funding as soon as it becomes available from HUD,” NYCHA said...

“HUD is working to make these awards to PHAs to ensure no disruption in program services,” a spokesperson for the Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a statement. The agency also took the federal government’s typical line of blaming Democrats for the historic 43-day shutdown. 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 Apartments for Rent Updated Every 15 Min for 2024 Apartment Click to View Beacon Hill Apartment recent rental data & stats Ford Realty is located in 137 Charles Street in Beacon Hill <iframe style="border: 0;" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m28!1m12!1m3!1d11793.575900265356!2d-71.0903584699499!3d42.35544237384462!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m13!3e6!4m5!1s0x89e37a0ef815f5b1%3A0xbca3cc92599b5bc4!2sBack%20Bay%2C%20Boston%2C%20MA!3m2!1d42.3502648!2d-71.0809757!4m5!1s0x89e37098df159413%3A0xed73f683cb89ccb8!2sFord%20Realty%20Inc%2C%20Charles%20Street%2C%20Boston%2C%20MA!3m2!1d42.3601508!2d-71.0706556!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1641571781439!5m2!1sen!2sus" width="600" height="450" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe> Byline – John Ford – Boston Seaport Condo Broker.

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2025. Donate today Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations The federal shutdown may be over, but it is still wreaking havoc on low-income New Yorkers. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development told the New York City Housing Authority and others on Tuesday that funding for the Section 8 rental assistance program will be delayed this month in... The Section 8 program provides federal dollars to landlords who lease units to low-income tenants in order to subsidize the rent.

Typically, someone in the Section 8 program is required to pay about 30 percent of their income toward housing and the government picks up the rest. 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! The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in early October announced Section 8 is funded through the remainder of 2025. Fiscal year 2026 housing and rental assistance budgets still await full congressional approval or a continuing resolution, which will require the House of Representatives to return to session. Although both chambers voted in July to reject President Trump’s proposals for 40 percent cuts and block-granting of rental assistance, neither offered a spending bill that covers renewal costs for all existing vouchers. Under the House bill, an estimated 181,900 households would lose rental assistance; under the Senate plan, 107,800 would.

Also HUD has floated the idea of using rule changes to institute time limits and work requirements. The Housing Choice Voucher program, better known as Section 8, helps low-income renters afford private-market housing by restricting their portion of the monthly rent to 30 percent of their income. The federal government pays the remainder. The program is run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which transfers its portion of the rent to local public housing authorities (PHAs) each month. The PHAs then pay landlords directly.

But Section 8 is facing increased fiscal and administrative uncertainty under the current executive leadership. In late January, for example, Section 8 recipients nationwide wondered if February’s rent would get paid when the White House called for a freeze on all federal funding. So, what happens when a Section 8 tenant pays their portion of the rent, but the government fails to pay its share? According to statute, the tenant cannot be held responsible for the unpaid amount. (HUD in an email declined to provide specific information, instead referring Shelterforce to the Housing Assistance Payments contract. The applicable information can be found on page 9, subsection 5d, which states that “PHA failure to pay the housing assistance payment to the owner is not a violation of the lease.

The owner may not terminate the tenancy for nonpayment of the PHA housing assistance payment.”) HUD rules also prohibit landlords from demanding tenants cover the housing authority’s portion and may not evict tenants solely... But that doesn’t mean tenants aren’t at risk. Here is more information on what protections HUD provides, how tenants should protect themselves, and what risks they still face. Although the Section 8 program is designed to incentivize landlords to participate by promising (and providing) reliable, government-backed rent payments, that guarantee can break down if a housing authority delays or fails to pay... In such cases, landlords—who are still prohibited from collecting the missed subsidy directly from tenants—may face financial strain, particularly if they rely on timely payments to cover mortgages or maintenance costs. This could discourage landlords from accepting Section 8 vouchers in the first place, or prompt those already in the program to opt out once their contracts expire, further limiting the pool of affordable housing...

The federal government shutdown continues into its second week, and people using housing assistance programs are feeling the ripple effects. For renters relying on Section 8 vouchers and landlords who depend on steady housing payments, the disruptions aren’t just annoying — they could threaten someone’s home. In this article, we’ll walk through what’s changed recently, how Section 8 and HUD operations are being affected, and what renters and landlords can do now to reduce harm. Although many programs are “continuing” in name, parts of the system that require new approvals or oversight are in limbo. Here’s a look at what specifically is happening: Requests for waivers, exceptions, or changes in payments often require HUD sign-off.

Those are currently stuck until HUD staff return.

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