Housing vouchers (HVs), funded by the central government and allocated locally, are the most common United States mechanism to ensure rents are affordable. HVs aim to increase purchasing power and improve housing choices for very low-income renters, and more recently have used to encourage poor households to move to areas of greater labour opportunity. The voucher is provided to eligible tenants according to a waiting list maintained by city or county housing agencies, who are searching for housing of a defined quality and cost. When a suitable dwelling and willing landlord is found, the HV can be used to help pay the tenant’s rent[1]. This HV payment reflects the difference between a Fair Market Rent (FMR) which is calculated locally, and affordable rent defined as 30 per cent household income. If an HV recipient cannot find suitable housing within 60 days, the voucher must be returned to the issuing local housing authority.

The budget for HVs is capped and both demand and need outstrips availability. HVs are targeted strictly based on income – 75 per cent of recipients have a very low income.[2] It is estimated that only 25 per cent of eligible households are actually assisted by HVs due to limited supply, leading to long waiting lists and occasional government crises measures.[3] Voucher recipients also face discrimination when searching for suitable homes. Only a few local governments have passed “source of income laws”[4] to combat this problem.