Rental Assistance Demonstration
Due to the decline and deterioration of the nation’s public housing inventory, estimated at more than $26 billion in needed capital improvements, and looking to provide stable funding alternatives for public housing agencies, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.
RAD allows public housing agencies to leverage public and private debt and equity in order to make the necessary capital improvements. In addition, RAD provided for the long term preservation of affordable housing to low-income households by moving to the more stable Section 8 platform with Project Based Rental Assistance (PBRA). Under PBRA, residents continue to pay 30% of their income towards rent, maintain their same basic rights, and public housing agencies maintain public stewardship.
In November 2016, HATC converted all of its 105 formerly public housing units to PBRA. The fortuitous conversion allowed for HATC to renovate its properties and to preserve its affordable housing inventory which serves Travis County’s low-income population.
For frequently asked questions and additional information, please visit HUD’s website and download a resident fact sheet.
