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The Section 8 housing program, also called the Housing Community Development Act of 1974, targets the issue of housing affordability specifically for low income individuals throughout the US. After undergoing significant changes since its inception, Section 8 grants subsidies to certain recipients in government allocated residential properties. In particular, Section 8 housing is enforced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Recipients are expected to contribute a minimum of thirty percent of their income toward rent payment, and the HUD pays the remainder. Various preceding housing laws helped lay the foundation for the incorporation of civil rights within housing regulations. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was established specifically to promote the protection of civil rights in the area of housing. Although Section 8 was introduced to continue the mandate of the Fair Housing Act in serving low income and minority residents, the act has scope for improvement.
Historically persistent inequities in housing can be attributed to a variety of factors, one of which being the systemic underinvestment in certain communities. The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, a federal agency, created residential security maps of major American cities during the 1930s. The agency labeled certain neighborhoods as ‘high risk’ or ‘hazardous.’ As a consequence, lending institutions denied these areas access to valuable capital resources. This type of systemic underinvestment created and continues to perpetuate disastrous consequences for racial minorities; many of whom are often vulnerable to living conditions characterized by poor infrastructure and substandard housing. Programs such as Section 8 housing are intended to direct aid to communities disadvantaged by historically persistent inequities.
The Section 8 program has several strengths. First, it has expanded the reach of affordable housing programs. Rather than a single voucher funding contract with HUD, different agencies are able to have their own separate contracts. This policy has subsequently facilitated access to Section 8 housing for more regions across the nation. The decentralization of housing contracts through the program has been an asset in terms of increasing the scope of the program. Further, the breadth of locations for low income housing has since expanded following the implementation of Section 8 housing. Previously, low income housing was overwhelmingly concentrated in projects. More recently, Section 8 housing has expanded its options for residents into more developed regions with stronger infrastructure.
Although the program has potential for expanding residential options, Section 8 does still grant a myriad of options to recipients. Previously, individuals could only be housed in Section 8 apartments, while they now have the option of renting and purchasing various homes under the program. Additionally, Section 8 housing has been instrumental in expanding residential options for individuals with disabilities. In Olmstead v. L.C (1999), the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of justified community-based integration of individuals with disabilities. This ruling opposes the alternative of involuntary submission in isolated institutions. Two women with developmental disabilities were treated at a psychiatric unit, and they later sought to transfer into a community-based setting to rehabilitate. However, both women were involuntarily kept admitted to the institution. With the availability of affordable options for integration, individuals such as these two women would gain both autonomy and accessibility of resources. Programs such as Section 8 housing support the goal of community-based integration for individuals with disabilities by making affordable housing accessible to such minorities. A notable strength of Section 8 is that it increases integrative opportunities for different groups of people. As a consequence, communities are restructured in a manner that is conducive to creating more inclusive and diverse environments.
Although Section 8 housing has been persistent in achieving its original mandate over recent decades, the program has not evolved much since 1974. In recent years, there has been a growing housing shortage resulting in an additional need for over 6.8 million more units of affordable housing. In turn, potential recipients spend months, if not years, on Section 8 housing waiting lists. Particularly when financial volatilities are present in the housing market, the program experiences difficulties meeting demand for it. Another key issue is the inefficiency of federal spending. As more than 70 percent of low income households spend over half of their income on housing payments, these families in particular face hardship in meeting the thirty percent cap on their Section 8 housing. These cost-burdened individuals are in need of greater financial assistance than is being currently provided.
With specific policy reformation, Section 8 housing can be greatly improved. There is a certain need for increased funding in the form of larger subsidies for public housing agencies. Due to the decentralized structure of the Section 8 program, funding limitations arise at the individual agency level. Each agency must be more closely monitored to ensure that adequate funding and resources are available to meet the needs of Section 8 recipients in those regions. The process of matching recipients with Section 8 housing can be strengthened by considering personal challenges such as substance abuse and mental health challenges. By factoring these challenges into the matching process, recipients can be placed in communities that offer accessible resources for specific needs. To make Section 8 housing more effective for minorities, inequitable practices such as historically differential investment in communities of color must be considered and addressed. Section 8 housing properties can be allocated so as to provide relatively high quality housing in communities that have historically had substandard infrastructure. Although Section 8 housing has undergone substantial improvements in recent years by providing more options for affordable housing to recipients and increasing the integration of minority communities, the program has potential for refinement via policy.