Five Things You Should Know About Public Housing Conversions

1. RAD allows public housing agencies to leverage public and private debt and equity in order to reinvest in the public housing stock. This is critical given the backlog of public housing capital needs – estimated at over $35 billion.
2. In RAD, units move to a Section 8 platform with a long-term contract that, by law, must be renewed in perpetuity. A Use Agreement is also recorded under RAD, further enforcing HUD’s long-term interest. This ensures that the units remain permanently affordable to low-income households.
3. Residents benefit from a right of return, a prohibition against re-screening, and robust notification and relocation rights. Residents continue to pay 30% of their adjusted income towards the rent, maintain the same basic rights as they possess in the public housing program, and gain a new option to request tenant-based assistance if they wish to subsequently move from the property.
4. RAD maintains the ongoing public stewardship of the converted property through clear rules requiring ongoing ownership or control by a public or non-profit entity.
5. RAD is highly cost-effective, relying on shifting existing levels of public housing funds to the Section 8 accounts as properties convert.