Tenant Protection Vouchers

Tenant Protection Vouchers is sponsored by HUD. Provides rental assistance to protect HUD-assisted families from hardship due to various actions affecting their housing.

Tenant Protection Vouchers | HUD. gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Tenant Protection Vouchers Tenant Protection Vouchers Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPVs) are provided to protect HUD-assisted families from hardship as the result of a variety of actions that occur in HUD’s Public Housing (Low-Rent), the Multifamily Housing portfolios, and Moderate Rehabilitation properties.

Under current HUD policy, TPVs may also be issued in connection to such actions for vacant units that have been occupied by a HUD-assisted family in the past 24 months. Certain TPVs (called replacement TPVs) become part of the Public Housing Agency (PHA’s) Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program and may be reissued to families on the PHA’s waiting list upon turnover.

In contrast to replacement TPVs, relocation TPVs may not be reissued by the PHA after the initial family that received the TPV ceases to receive the voucher assistance. Whether a TPV is a replacement or relocation TPV depends on whether the HUD-assisted housing is permanently lost.

Families residing in a unit that is impacted by one of the events triggering the TPV, and who are eligible for such TPVs, are not required to apply for the voucher. Instead, the eligible family will be admitted as a special admission, without consideration of the family’s position on the PHA’s waiting list.

The TPV generally covers the difference between 30 percent of family income and the PHA’s payment standard or gross rent, whichever is lower.

There is a subset of TPVs, provided as a result of specific actions described in the law (Section 8(t) of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937), in which a higher "enhanced" payment standard is used to determine the amount of housing assistance when the gross rent of the unit exceeds the PHA’s payment standard. The Enhanced Vouchers Fact Sheet provides general information concerning enhanced vouchers.

The fact sheet has been translated to a number of different languages and such translations may be found here . TPVs also serve as a source of funds for the Witness Relocation Program, which provides rental assistance for the relocation of witnesses in connection with efforts to combat violent crimes that occur in and around public, Indian, and other HUD-assisted housing.

Further information is available on the Witness Relocation Program section . TPV-Related Guidance and Regulations PIH Notice 2020-19 : provides guidance concerning the process of making rent reasonableness determinations.

For more information on rent reasonableness requirements, see the HCV Guidebook - Rent Reasonableness PIH Notice 2020-04 and subsequent notices: each year, HUD publishes a notice that implements the funding provisions for the HCV program, including funding for tenant protection vouchers.

PIH Notice 2019-01/H 2019-02 : describes the process for applying for funding for set-aside TPVs for certain at-risk families living in projects located in low-vacancy areas. PIH Notice 2013-27 : provides procedures PHAs must follow when the recipient of a TPV voluntarily agrees to relinquish such assistance in exchange for the provision of Project-Based Voucher (PBV) assistance.

PIH Notice 2001-41 : provides comprehensive guidance on the funding process and policies concerning TPVs provided as a result of a housing conversion action. Specific provisions of this notice have subsequently been updated by the notices below: PIH Notice 2019-12 : revises the enhanced voucher minimum rent calculation.

PIH Notice 2016-02 : establishes the enhanced voucher policies applicable to families residing in units where the actual number of bedrooms exceeds the family unit size for which the family qualifies under the public housing agency (PHA) subsidy standards (i.e., "over-housed families"). HCV Regulations (24 CFR Part 982) Related Programs: the notices below provide information on the specific actions that trigger the issuance of TPVs.

Note that information on the TPV funding process and TPV-specific policies are found in the notices identified under the "TPV-Related Notices and Regulations" section above. PIH 2021-07 : explains the application requirements to request HUD approval to demolish and/or dispose of Public Housing property under Section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.

PIH 2019-10 : describes the process for applying for and utilizing required conversions under Section 33 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 as a strategy for repositioning Public Housing to the Section 8 platform through the provision of TPVs.

PIH 2019-05 : describes the process for applying for and utilizing streamlined voluntary conversions under Section 22 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 as a strategy for repositioning Public Housing to the Section 8 platform through the provision of TPVs.

H 2018-02 : provides additional guidance concerning the use of TPVs and Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contracts to owners of pre-1974 Section 202 Direct Loan properties that have the option of refinancing the Section 202 Direct Loan for the purposes of reducing the interest rate and/or making capital improvements.

H 2015-03 : describes the process and policies for transferring budget authority of a project-based Section 8 contract under Section 8(bb) of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 and related TPV eligibility for such actions. Moderate Rehabilitation (Mod Rehab): PIH 2001-13 : provides policies concerning TPVs provided as a result of the expiration of a Section 8 Mod Rehab contract.

Foster Youth to Independence: PIH 2019-20 : explains the eligibility and application requirements for certain PHAs that will partner with a Public Child Welfare Agency (PCWA) to administer time-limited TPVs on behalf of eligible former foster youth.

Witness Relocation Program The Witness Relocation Program is designed to offer protection to persons who are cooperating as witnesses in the government's efforts to combat violent crimes occurring in and around public, Indian, and other HUD-assisted housing.

Law enforcement agencies, with the written concurrence of the appropriate prosecutorial entity, may request the emergency relocation of a witness (and their immediate family) that is assisting law enforcement in a criminal matter and fears retribution, or has been threatened as a result of the assistance and/or testimony provided.

The OIG facilitates the protection of witnesses by removing them and their immediate families from potential danger and relocating them to a secure area selected by the OIG in cooperation with the relevant federal, state, tribal, or local law enforcement agencies.

Witnesses to violent crimes occurring in or around public, Indian, or other HUD-assisted housing that cooperate with the relevant governmental law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies in their investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators are eligible for the program.

The witness (and their immediate family) is not required to be a current resident of the aforementioned HUD-assisted housing in order to be considered eligible for the Witness Relocation Program, but must be otherwise eligible to receive Section 8 housing voucher assistance. Final determination of program eligibility is made by the OIG and HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing.

The Witness Relocation Program was funded and authorized by Title II of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996 (P. L. 104-134, enacted April 26, 1996).

The program has been funded under every HUD appropriations act since its inception. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P. L.

110-161, enacted 12/26/07) designated $200 million in rental vouchers for all tenant protection activities, including Witness Relocation vouchers. The OIG requested approximately $324,000 of this funding to relocate witnesses and their families to housing in other localities. General information about the Witness Relocation Program can be obtained from the Office of Legal Counsel at OIG Headquarters in Washington, DC at (202) 708-1613.

If a person needs to report a crime or make a complaint that is related to the program, he or she may call the confidential OIG hotline toll free at 1-800-347-3735; use TDD at (202) 708-2451; or transmit the information via facsimile to (202) 708-4829. The person can also send unsecure electronic mail to hotline@hudoig. gov .