The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority is struggling with a budget deficit that could limit the availability of Housing Choice Vouchers (often referred to as Section 8), according to a letter sent to housing providers last month.
CMHA officials declined to be interviewed by WVXU but answered questions about the deficit via email.
They say rising rents in the area mean CMHA will have a $245,000 funding gap by year’s end. To fill that gap, officials have been directed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement cost-cutting measures and, in many cases, freeze the issuance of new vouchers.
HUD funds CMHA’s Housing Choice Voucher program, which makes rent payments to participating private landlords on behalf of eligible families. The program serves about 7,100 families in Hamilton County. There are currently about 3,000 families on the waiting list for vouchers. They will retain their place on the list during the pause in the issuance of new vouchers.
In addition to blocking new vouchers, CMHA is also reviewing expiration approval for vouchers from families who have not reconfirmed their eligibility. This means that approximately 350 families who have not gone through the reconfirmation process could lose their expiring vouchers.
In addition, the CMHA is suspending new project-based vouchers for affordable housing. Officials say no currently ongoing projects that use project-based vouchers will be affected.
According to CMHA, it is unclear how long the funding crisis will last.
“CMHA expects this to continue through 2024 and cannot make any predictions beyond that given that it does not know the federal budget and HUD funding levels for calendar year 2025,” said Missy Knight, CMHA’s senior communications coordinator, in an email. “Real estate costs combined with housing maintenance fees make this issue unpredictable for the future.”
About a third of housing authorities across the country, such as CMHA, expect similar deficits, according to HUD.
CMHA says it is working with HUD to close the funding gap. They say the agency has applied for a portion of a $200 million grant pool provided by Congress to bolster the availability of housing certificates.
The deficit comes as Cincinnati is experiencing large rent increases. In recent years, those increases have been among the largest in the country. Between June 2023 and June 2024, they rose a more modest 5.2%, according to real estate tracking site Zillow. That’s still the seventh-highest increase in the U.S.
The budget deficit is also due to the fact that the supply of affordable housing for low-income people remains tight.
Studies suggest the region needs tens of thousands of affordable housing units for low-income people to meet demand, although the exact number varies from study to study.
