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Each year, choices are made by the Congress concerning the funding of housing aid. In response to a request from the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development of the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, this study examines the housing conditions of lower-income households, describes the nature and amount of federal housing assistance that is currently available to aid these households, and presents a broad range of options for addressing recurring questions about federal housing aid. In accordance with the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO's) mandate to provide objective and impartial analysis, this paper contains no recommendations.

Carla Pedone of CBO's Human Resources and Community Development Division prepared the paper under the supervision of Nancy M. Gordon and Martin D. Levine. Tahirih Senne and Theresa Dailey provided computer assistance, Wilhelmina A. Leigh developed some of the trend data in Chapter in, and Brent Shipp supplied some of the cost estimates in Chapter V. Many people at CBO reviewed earlier drafts of the report, including Edward M. Gramlich, Larry Ozanne, Rudolph Penner, Bruce Vavrichek, and Roberton C. Williams. Valuable comments were also received from Ken Beirne, Paul Burke, Anthony Downs, Robert Gray, Jill Khadduri, Duane T. McGough, Joseph Riley, Ann B. Schnare, Morton Schussheim, and John Weicher.

Sherry Snyder edited the manuscript, with the assistance of Nancy H. Brooks. Jill Bury helped prepare early drafts of the manuscript, and Kathryn Quattrone prepared the paper for publication.
 

James L. Blum
Acting Director
December 1988
 
 

SUMMARY

I - INTRODUCTION

• Direct Spending Programs
• Indirect Assistance

II - HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS AND HOUSING CONDITIONS OF THE TARGET POPULATION

• Overview of Current Housing Conditions
• Types of Households Eligible for Housing Assistance
• Housing Conditions of Eligible Households

III - FEDERAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND ITS DISTRIBUTION

• Trends in Federal Housing Assistance
• Current Variations in Commitments and Costs Across Programs
• The Distribution of Federal Housing Aid

IV - OPTIONS FOR DETERMINING THE TYPES OF AID TO PROVIDE

• Broad Concerns Regarding Program Mix
• The Mix of Rental Assistance Versus Homeownership Assistance
• Types of Assistance to Homeowners
• Types of Rental Assistance

V - OPTIONS FOR DETERMINING THE TARGET GROUPS, THE SUBSIDY SIZE, AND THE NUMBER TO SERVE

• Who Should Receive Rental Assistance?
• How Large Should the Subsidy Be?
• How Many Households Should be Served?

APPENDIXES

A - Overlapping Housing Problems, by Income, Tenure, and Household Type, 1985
B - Transferring Control to State and Local Governments Through Block Grants
 

TABLES
S-1.	Housing Conditions of Renters Eligible for Housing Assistance, by Income and Household Type, 1985
S-2.	Commitments and Outlays by Major Federal Housing Assistance Programs, 1987
S-3.	Estimated Distribution of the Eligible Population and the Rental Assistance Available for Various Groups of Households, 1988
1.	Housing Conditions of All Households, by Income, 1985
2.	Characteristics of Renters and Homeowners, by Income, 1985
3.	Households Spending Over 30 Percent of Income for Housing, by Income, Tenure, and Household Type , 1985
4.	Households Living in Units Requiring Rehabilitation, by Income, Tenure, and Household Type, 1985
5.	Households Living in Units with More Than Two Persons Per Bedroom, by Income, Tenure, and Household Type, 1985
6.	Very-Low-Income Renters with Multiple Housing Problems, 1985
7.	Overview of Major Federal Programs for Direct Housing Assistance, in Chronological Order
8.	Commitments and Outlays by Major Federal Housing Assistance Programs, 1987
9.	Illustrative Estimates of the 20-Year Costs of Subsidizing an Elderly Household Through Various Housing Programs, 1988-2008
10.	Alternative Estimates of the Proportion of the Eligible Population that Could be Served by Rental Assistance Programs, 1988
11.	Estimated Distribution of the Eligible Population and the Rental Assistance Available for Various Groups of Households, 1988
12.	Distribution of the Eligible Population and of Rental Aid Under Various Programs, 1988
13.	Budgetary Effects of Options that Would Change the Average Subsidy, 1990-1993
14.	Budgetary Effects of Options Serving Different Numbers of Households, 1990-1993
A-1.	Low-Income Renters with Multiple Housing Problems, 1985
A-2.	Higher-Income Renters with Multiple Housing Problems, 1985
A-3.	Very-Low-Income Homeowners with Multiple Housing Problems, 1985
A-4.	Low-Income Homeowners with Multiple Housing Problems, 1985
A-5.	Higher-Income Homeowners with Multiple Housing Problems, 1985
FIGURES
1.	Net New Commitments for Renters and New Commitments for Homebuyers, 1977-1988
2.	Total Households Receiving Assistance, by Type of Subsidy, 1977-1988
3.	Net Budget Authority Appropriated for Housing Aid, 1977-1988
4.	Outlays for Housing Aid, 1977-1987
5.	Per Unit Outlays for Housing Aid, 1977-1987
6.	Net New Rental Commitments for Elderly and Nonelderly Households, 1977-1988
BOXES
1.	Definitions of Housing Problems
2.	Definitions of Households' Income, Demographic, and Locational Characteristics
3.	Selected Effects of Illustrative Voucher Entitlement Programs for Renters Eligible for Assistance in 1990

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