Proposed HUD changes would sharply increase rent for residents in public housing

Ventura County residents who live in homes funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could see their rents increase by an average of almost 15 percent under a proposal from Housing Secretary Ben Carson. Carson maintains his Make Affordable Housing Work Act would motivate residents in HUD-funded housing to seek financial independence. It would do so by allowing housing authorities to impose work requirements and increase the percentage of income tenants are required to pay from 30 to 35 percent, among other things. In Ventura County, where 18,800 individuals would reportedly be affected, the average monthly rent increase would be about $71. The change came as a surprise to the policy center, headquartered in Washington, D.C., and U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Detroit.  “Our office was also not aware of any changes to HUD policy until Secretary Carson’s statement in Detroit this morning,” Lawrence’s office said in an email to the Detroit Free Press. “There seems to be no official withdrawal or changes to HUD’s original legislative proposal released on April 25, 2018. Whether Secretary Carson intends to withdraw or make changes to his proposal or whether there will be changes in the internal HUD budget; we have not been informed and are currently unaware.”