Sign up to stay connected
Get the top stories of the day around the DMV.
D.C. Housing Authority voucher customers will have more choices in where to live.
In an effort to keep up with the District’s rising rents, the DCHA Board of Commissioners has permanently increased the payment standard to 175 percent of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fair market rent.
“We have been working with our customers to reintroduce them to neighborhoods that we once could afford,” said Housing Choice Voucher Program Director Ronald McCoy. “We show them the schools and other amenities in the area. We also provide counseling to prepare them with credit checks, security deposits, and other screening criteria landlords may have for prospective tenants.”
Two years ago, the board approved a payment standard that was 130 percent of HUD’s fair market rent, which was renewed last year. In December, the board passed an emergency resolution bringing the payment standard to 175 percent.
This increases the value of vouchers so families can get back into neighborhoods such as Shaw, of which many were priced out just two years ago. The board’s action, combined with HUD’s increase in fair market rent, allows some D.C. voucher customers to stay in their homes as rents increase, while others can now afford to move to neighborhoods with more amenities.