Choice in Affordable Housing Act

Summary#

This bill, the Choice in Affordable Housing Act of 2025, aims to increase the number of landlords who accept Housing Choice Vouchers. It adds new tools for public housing agencies (PHAs) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (the Secretary), including: one-time incentive payments to owners of units in census tracts with poverty rates under 20 percent; payments to cover security deposits or portions of them on behalf of voucher tenants; annual bonus payments to PHAs that employ or plan to employ a dedicated landlord liaison; and a new Herschel Lashkowitz Housing Partnership Fund to pay for these activities and other landlord recruitment and retention work. The bill also allows certain units that recently passed inspections for other federal housing programs (LIHTC, HOME, Rural Housing Service) to be treated as meeting HUD inspection standards for voucher use, and lets PHAs pre-inspect units for new landlords before a tenant signs a lease. The Secretary must increase use of small-area fair market rents in more metropolitan areas and explore changes to the Section 8 Management Assessment Program to promote better landlord relations and more leasing in low-poverty neighborhoods. The Secretary must report annually for five years on how well the law works, including counts of landlords and voucher-assisted units and data on units in high-opportunity areas.

What it means for you#

• If you are a landlord: You could be eligible for a one-time payment when you first rent a unit to a voucher-holder in a low-poverty census tract. You could also receive a security-deposit payment for a voucher tenant and benefit if your local PHA hires a landlord liaison to help with outreach and questions. PHAs may pre-inspect units before lease signing at a new landlord's request.
• If you are a tenant who uses a voucher: PHAs may help pay security deposits or a portion of them. You may see more listings in low-poverty neighborhoods that have been pre-inspected and labeled as meeting HUD standards.
• If you are a PHA or local housing official: You can receive funds from the new Housing Partnership Fund to offer incentives, pay security deposits, hire or contract landlord liaisons, and carry out other approved recruitment and retention activities. You must report to HUD on use of funds.

Expenses#

• The bill creates the Herschel Lashkowitz Housing Partnership Fund and authorizes $100,000,000 to be appropriated for deposit into the Fund for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, to remain available until expended.
• Incentive payment limits in the bill include a cap that any one-time owner incentive may not exceed 200 percent of the monthly housing assistance payment for the unit. The landlord liaison bonus may not exceed 150 percent of the average local cost to employ or contract for such a liaison.
• No publicly available information on total projected federal outlays or budgetary offsets beyond the authorization language in the bill.

Proponents' View#

The bill text states that Housing Choice Vouchers help low-income families, elderly people, and people with disabilities afford housing and that voucher programs rely on private landlords. It finds that landlord participation has declined and is especially low in higher-opportunity neighborhoods. The bill frames these incentive tools, inspection flexibilities, and the new fund as ways to recruit and retain landlords, expand housing choice, and further fair housing.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.