HUD Policy Areas

Explore how HUD's efforts influence key policy areas. To view the A to Z listing of HUD's programs and related topics, visit the Programs & Related Topics page.

Overview

Overview

HUD's efforts support a variety of interrelated policy areas, such as affordable housing development and preservation, community and economic development, environment and energy, fair housing, health and housing, ending homelessness, homeownership, rental assistance, and supportive housing and services.

These policy areas are fundamental to HUD’s mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the nation's housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality, affordable rental homes; utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive strong, resilient, and inclusive communities; and transform the way HUD does business.

Learn more about how HUD programs and associated regulations support affordable housing development and preservation, community and economic development, environment and energy, fair housing, ending homelessness, homeownership, rental assistance, and supportive housing and services.

View HUD's Strategic Plan to learn more about HUD's goals and implementation plans.

Affordable Housing Development and Preservation

Affordable Housing Development and Preservation

Why is affordable housing development and preservation important?

For low-income individuals and families, securing decent, safe, and affordable housing can be a daunting task. HUD estimates that 12 million renter and homeowner households now pay more than 50 percent of their annual incomes for housing, making it challenging for these households to pay for other basic needs and services. Affordable housing development increases housing options for low-income individuals and families who struggle to secure acceptable housing in their communities. HUD’s preservation and recapitalization efforts ensure the long-term physical and financial viability of affordable rental housing.

What is HUD doing to support affordable housing development and preservation?

HUD administers the following programs designed to support production and preservation of affordable housing:

Community and Economic Development

Community and Economic Development

Why is community and economic development important?

Communities, whether they are urban, suburban, rural, or tribal, face complex and unique problems which require coordinated, comprehensive, and sustainable solutions. HUD's community and economic development activities create thriving communities by promoting integrated approaches through an ongoing process of identifying and addressing needs, assets, and priority investments. Successful community and economic development activities require the engagement and empowerment of local residents who have the most important voice in the future of their neighborhoods.

What is HUD doing to support community and economic development?

HUD administers several programs designed to further community and economic development goals, including:

Community Development Block Grant Programs

CDBG Entitlement Program provides grants to entitled metropolitan cities and urban counties to meet their housing and community development needs
CDBG State Program provides grants to states and units of general local government in non-entitled areas to meet their housing and community development needs
Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program provides state and local governments with a source of financing for economic development, housing rehabilitation, public facilities, and other physical development projects, including improvements to increase their resilience against natural disasters
CDBG-DR: CDBG Disaster Recovery Program provides flexible grants to cities, counties, parishes, and states to recover from presidentially declared disasters. Additionally, HUD awarded some CDBG-DR funds competitively through the National Disaster Resilience Competition, for recovery from major disasters in 2011-2013.
CDBG Insular Areas Program provides grants to U.S. territories to help meet their housing and community development needs
CDBG HUD Administered Non-Entitled Counties in Hawaii Program provides grants to non-entitled counties in Hawaii to help meet their housing and community development needs
CDBG Program Colonias Set-Aside provides set-aside funds (from the State CDBG fund of border states of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas) to colonias to help meet the needs of the colonias residents in relationship to the need for potable water, adequate sewer systems, or decent, safe and sanitary housing

Economic Development Initiative Programs

AEDI: Appalachia Economic Development Initiative provides direct investment and technical assistance to State community and economic development agencies to increase access to capital for business lending and economic development in the chronically underserved and undercapitalized Appalachia Region
BCCI: Border Community Capital Initiative provides direct investment and technical assistance to community development lending and investing institutions to increase access to capital for affordable housing, business lending, and community facilities in the chronically underserved and undercapitalized U.S./Mexico border region
BEDI: Brownfields Economic Development Initiative provides grants to CDBG recipients, in connection with notes or other obligations guaranteed under Section 108, to stimulate economic development by local governments and private sector parties at brownfields sites
DCCI: Delta Community Capital Initiative provides direct investment and technical assistance to community development lending and investing institutions to increase access to capital for business lending and economic development in the chronically underserved and undercapitalized Lower Mississippi Delta Region

Rural Programs

RHED: Rural Housing and Economic Development Program provides grants to local rural nonprofits, Community Development Corporations (CDCs), federally recognized Indian tribes, State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs), and state economic/community development agencies for capacity building at the state and local level for rural housing and economic development in rural areas
Rural Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing Grants Program provides grants to local governments, Indian tribes, housing development organizations, rural Community Development Corporations (CDCs), and rural Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) to carry out community development and affordable housing activities that benefit low- and moderate-income families and persons in rural areas

Other Community and Economic Development Programs

Place-Based Initiatives seek to promote community and economic development by focusing on a whole set of interrelated issues in a community and addressing those issues in a coordinated fashion. HUD’s key place-based initiatives include:

Choice Neighborhoods Program provides grants to Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), units of general local government, tribal entities, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit developers, on a competitive basis, to transform impoverished neighborhoods into vibrant, mixed-income neighborhoods
Promise Zone Initiative provides assistance, through an intensive federal-local partnership, to designated Promise Zone communities to help local leaders accelerate efforts to revitalize communities
SC2: Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative provides support to cities experiencing job and population loss, persistent poverty, and capacity constraints to spark economic growth and create stronger partnerships at the local and federal level
SCI: Sustainable Communities Initiative provides grants to city and local governments to undertake sustainable planning and development projects.

Environment and Energy

Environment and Energy

Why does the environment and energy matter for housing and urban development?

Environmental considerations are a fundamental part of HUD’s mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD has a strategic objective to increase the health and safety of homes and embed comprehensive energy efficiency and healthy housing standards across HUD programs.

If not done carefully, urban development and growth can take a significant toll on the environment and negatively affect human health and wellness. Taking steps to reduce the impacts of the built environment on the natural environment mitigates the effects of natural disasters and ensures a cleaner and safer world to future generations.

There are also strong affordability benefits, since energy efficiency lowers operating costs in both market-rate and HUD-assisted housing, and lowers the cost of homeownership for low- and moderate income FHA borrowers. One of HUD’s three Agency Priority Goals is to retrofit or build 160,000 new energy efficient, healthy housing units every two years.

What is HUD doing to support environmental protections?

Environmental Review An environmental review is the process for reviewing a project and its potential environmental impacts to determine whether it meets federal, state and local environmental standards. The environmental review process is required for all HUD-assisted projects to ensure that the proposed project does not negatively impact the surrounding environment and that the property site itself will not have an adverse environmental or health effect on end users.

What is HUD doing to support energy goals?

HUD spends an estimated $6.4 billion annually on utilities (both water and energy) in the form of allowances for tenant-paid utilities, direct operating grants for public housing, and housing assistance payments for privately-owned assisted housing. Utility costs account for around 22 percent of public housing operating budgets, and a similar share in the assisted housing sector. Reducing these rising costs—generating savings for residents and owners, as well as for taxpayers—is a key HUD priority.

HUD administers several programs to support energy goals, including:

Renew 300: Advancing Renewable Energy in Affordable Housing encourages owners of federally subsidized housing to make public commitments towards the Federal Renewable Energy Target and offers technical assistance to these organizations to help advance solar deployment and other on-site renewable energy installations in affordable housing
Better Buildings Challenge is a voluntary leadership initiative that asks building owners and managers to make a public commitment to energy efficiency and provides technical assistance to support related efforts
Energy Performance Contracting provides financing for Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) to implement energy conservation measures through the operating subsidy and energy cost savings
EEM: Energy Efficient Mortgage Program helps homebuyers and homeowners save money on utility bills by enabling them to finance the cost of adding energy efficiency features to new or existing housing

What is HUD doing to support healthy housing?

HUD’s holistic approach to creating healthy and safe homes includes childhood lead poisoning prevention, smoke free public and multifamily housing, injury prevention, safe indoor pest control, radon safety, and disaster recovery.

HUD administers programs and implements laws to protect children and families from healthy and safety hazards in their homes.

Lead Regulations provide regulations and statutes pertaining to addressing and eliminating lead-paint hazards
Smoke Free Public Housing and Multifamily Housing is an initiative that encourages Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and all multifamily housing owners/agents to implement smoke-free policies for their properties
Lead Hazard Control and Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Programs provide grants to states, units of general local government, and federally recognized Indian tribes to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately owned housing for rental or owner-occupants
Lead Technical Studies Grant Program provides grants to states, units of general local government, federally recognized Indian tribes, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and academic institutions to conduct research to gain knowledge on improving the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of methods for evaluation and control of residential lead-based paint hazards
Healthy Homes Grant Program provides grants to states, units of general local government, federally recognized Indian tribes, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and academic institutions to research and demonstrate low-cost, effective home hazard assessment and intervention methods, as well as focus on public education that stresses ways in which communities can mitigate housing-related hazards

Fair Housing

Fair Housing

Why does fair housing matter?

Despite genuine progress and a landscape of communities transformed in the more than 40 years since the Fair Housing Act was enacted, the ZIP code in which a child grows up remains a strong predictor of that child’s success. Research has shown the negative impacts of segregation on education, health, jobs, and other indicators of life opportunities. For too long, and for too many people, housing options – and, in turn, access to good schools, transportation and jobs – have been limited because of race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, or family status. Recent studies and data reveal that, while segregation and discrimination have decreased since the passage of the Fair Housing Act, they remain a problem.

What is HUD doing to support fair housing?

HUD leads the nation in the enforcement, administration, development, and public understanding of federal fair housing policies and laws that make sure all Americans have equal access to the housing of their choice. In addition to this, all of HUD’s policies, handbooks, legislation, reports, and notices of funding availability are reviewed for fair housing considerations.

HUD implements and enforces the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws, including:

HUD administers several programs to support the elimination of housing discrimination, promote economic opportunity, and achieve diverse, inclusive communities:

AFFH: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing requires that federal agencies and federal grantees further the purposes of the Fair Housing Act. HUD's rule clarifies existing fair housing obligations with a streamlined process to analyze the local fair housing landscape and set fair housing priorities and goals through an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH). This tool is intended to help communities understand and express their own local barriers to fair housing choice.
FHAP: Fair Housing Assistance Program provides funding to state and local agencies that enforce fair housing laws that are "substantially equivalent" to the Fair Housing Act to build coordinated intergovernmental enforcement of fair housing laws and provide incentives for states and localities to assume a greater share of the responsibility for administering fair housing laws
FHIP: Fair Housing Initiatives Program provides funding to public and private entities formulating or carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practice
Section 3 Economic Opportunities requires that recipients of certain HUD financial assistance, to the greatest extent possible, provide job training, employment, and contract opportunities for low- or very-low income residents

Health and Housing

Health and Housing

Why is housing as a platform for health important?

Stable housing, made possible with HUD support, provides an ideal platform for delivering a wide variety of services to improve health outcomes. Stable, healthy housing is inextricably tied to individual health. Through partnerships, HUD utilizes its housing platform to improve health outcomes.

What is HUD doing to support healthy housing and communities?

Housing is an important determinant of health, and poor housing conditions are associated with a wide range of health conditions, including respiratory infections, asthma, lead poisoning, injuries, and other housing-related health hazards. HUD has a strategic objective to increase the health and safety of homes and embed comprehensive energy efficiency and healthy housing standards across HUD programs.

What is HUD doing to provide supportive housing and services related to health?

HUD administers a variety of programs that provide supportive services to residents of HUD-assisted housing. Many of these programs target specific populations, such as older adults, people with disabilities, and homeless individuals and families.

Homelessness

Homelessness

Why is ending homelessness important?

Although recent progress has been made in reducing the number of homeless individuals and families, ending homelessness remains a priority in communities across the country. According to a Point-in-Time Count from January 2015, 564,708 people were homeless on a given night in the United States. This number includes both homeless individuals and homeless families. Less than 20% of the homeless population are chronically homeless, defined as someone who has experienced homelessness for a year or longer, or who has experienced at least four episodes of homelessness in the last three years, and has a disability. Other sub-populations that are a key focus for HUD include veterans, youth aging out of foster care, and LGBTQ youth.

What is HUD doing to end homelessness?

HUD supports the commitment to ending homelessness by providing funding opportunities to nonprofit organizations and state and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families.

Learn more about homelessness assistance

Homeownership

Homeownership

Why is homeownership important?

Homeownership is a key pathway to the middle class for working Americans. It represents one of the few opportunities for lower-income families to build wealth, allows for financial and housing payment stability, and encourages people to invest in their communities.

What is HUD doing to support homeownership?

HUD programs seek to increase the supply of affordable homeownership units where needed, provide financial assistance to eligible buyers to purchase available units, and provide rehabilitation assistance to ensure healthy, safe, and sustainable homeownership for existing homeowners. HUD administers the following programs designed to facilitate homeownership, particularly among lower-income families who encounter barriers to homeownership:

HOME Investment Partnerships Program provides grants to states, units of general local government, and insular areas to implement local housing strategies designed to increase affordable housing opportunities for low- and very low-income families
Housing Counseling Program provides grants to HUD-approved housing counseling agencies (HCAs) and State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) to provide counseling and tools to current and prospective homeowners and renters to address their housing needs in light of their financial situations
NSP: Neighborhood Stabilization Program provides grants to states, units of general local government, insular areas, and nonprofit organizations to provide emergency assistance to stabilize communities with high rates of abandoned and foreclosed homes
SHOP: Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program provides grants to national and regional nonprofits and consortia to facilitate and encourage innovative homeownership opportunities on geographically diverse basis through the provision of self-help housing programs, commonly known as “sweat equity” programs
CDBG: Community Development Block Grant Program provides grants and technical assistance to states, units of general local government, and insular areas for community development programs and related activities
FHA Single Family Mortgage Programs provide various mortgage programs for purchase of single family homes to support homeownership
Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program provides home loan guarantees for Indian families, Indian housing authorities, and Indian tribes to increase access to capital for Native Americans and provide private funding opportunities for tribal housing agencies
Section 184A Native Hawaiian Housing Loan Guarantee Program provides home loan guarantees for Native Hawaiians to offer home ownership, property rehabilitation, and new construction opportunities for eligible Native Hawaiian individuals and families wanting to own a home on Hawaiian home lands

Rental Assistance

Rental Assistance

Why is rental assistance important?

With rents rising while incomes remain well below pre-recession levels, the number of housing cost-burdened renters has increased. In 2013, almost 50% of all renters experienced housing cost burden, with more than 25% of cost burdened renters experiencing severe cost burden (paying more than half of the income for housing).

What is HUD doing to support rental assistance?

The following are the primary programs HUD administers to ease rental cost-burdens for low income-income renters:

Public Housing Programs HUD administers Federal aid to local housing agencies (HAs) that manage the housing for low-income residents at rents they can afford. HUD furnishes technical and professional assistance in planning, developing and managing these developments.
Housing Choice Voucher Program provides vouchers to Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) to provide rental assistance to low-income families to lease, or in some cases purchase, safe, decent, and affordable privately-owned housing. HCV is “tenant-based” rental assistance, meaning a family can move from one unit to another and the subsidy stays with the family.
Project Based Voucher Program is a component of the housing choice voucher program in which the voucher assistance is tied to a specific housing unit in the private market

HUD administers other rental assistance programs, many of which focus on a specific target population:

Supportive Housing and Services

Supportive Housing and Services

Why is supportive housing and services important?

Housing is more than just where a person lives. Through supportive housing and other services, housing can serve as a platform for bettering the lives of residents. By leveraging housing with services, residents can obtain increased educational attainment, improved health outcomes, better employment opportunities, and other targeted outcomes.

Programs & Related Topics