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HUD and USDA Rental Assistance Programs

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Winter 2026   

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HUD and USDA Rental Assistance Programs

  • HUD Housing Choice Voucher program: subsidizes rent for low-income households seeking units in the private rental market, typically capping rent payments at 30 percent of household income. In 2017, the program served 584,900 people in rural areas and small towns.1
  • HUD‑VASH: combines housing vouchers with supportive services for veterans.2
  • Tribal HUD‑VASH: serves Native American veterans.3
  • USDA Section 521 Rural Rental Assistance: subsidizes rent for low-income rural households by capping rental costs at 30 percent of income.4 The average annual income of Section 521 recipients is $13,696, and two-thirds of assisted units are headed by someone aged 62 or older.5 In fiscal year 2023, Section 521 rental assistance covered 228,047 units at an expense of $1.5 billion.6
  • USDA Section 542 Rural Development Vouchers: provides rental assistance to households that are being forced out of units due to properties exiting their Section 515 affordability requirements through mortgage prepayment or expiration of their affordability restrictions.7


  1. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 2017. "United States Housing Choice Vouchers Fact Sheet."

  2. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH)" (www.hud.gov/helping-americans/housing-choice-vouchers-homeless-veterans). Accessed 16 June 2025.

  3. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "Tribal HUD-VASH" (www.hud.gov/helping-americans/public-indian-housing-tribal-hud-vash). Accessed 16 June 2025.

  4. Katie Jones and Maggie McCarty. 2022. "USDA Rural Housing Programs: An Overview," Congressional Research Service, 14–5.

  5. National Low Income Housing Coalition. 2024. "Housing Needs in Rural Communities." Accessed 24 April 2025.

  6. Housing Assistance Council. 2023. "USDA Rural Development Housing Activity Report: Fiscal Year 2023."

  7. Jones and McCarty, 16–7.

 

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The contents of this article are the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U.S. Government.