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<br /> <br />PART II: THE HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER (HCV) PROGRAM <br />1-II.A. OVERVIEW AND HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM <br />program initiatives. The Act was intended to provide financial assistance to states and cities for <br />public works projects, slum clearance and the development of affordable housing developments <br />for low-income residents. <br />The Housing and Community Development (HCD) Act of 1974 created a new federally assisted <br />housing program the Section 8 Existing program (also known as the Section 8 Certificate <br />program). The HCD Act represented a significant shift in federal housing strategy from locally <br />owned public housing to privately owned rental housing. <br />Under the Certificate program, federal housing assistance payments were made directly to <br />private owners of rental housing, where this housing was made available to lower-income <br />families. Eligible families were able to select housing in the private rental market. Assuming that <br />the housing met certain basic ph <br />within certain HUD- <br />receive rental assistance in the housing unit. Family contribution to rent was generally set at 30 <br /> <br />Another unique feature of the Certificate program was that the rental assistance remained with <br />the eligible family, if the family chose to move to another privately-owned rental unit that met <br />program requirements (in contrast to the public housing program where the rental assistance <br />remains with the unit, should the family decide to move). Consequently, the Certificate program <br />was characterized as tenant-based assistance, rather than unit-based assistance. <br />The Housing and Community Development (HCD) Act of 1987 authorized a new version of <br />tenant-based assistance the Section 8 Voucher program. The Voucher program was very <br />similar to the Certificate program in that eligible families were able to select housing in the <br />private rental market and receive assistance in that housing unit. <br />However, the Voucher program permitted families more options in housing selection. Rental <br />housing still had to meet the basic housing quality standards, but there was no fair market rent <br />limitation on rent. In addition, family contribution to rent was not set at a limit of 30 percent of <br />adjusted income. Consequently, depending on the actual rental cost of the unit selected, a family <br />might pay more or less than 30 percent of their adjusted income for rent. <br />From 1987 through 1999, public housing agencies managed both the Certificate and Voucher <br />tenant-based assistance programs, with separate rules and requirements for each. From 1994 <br />t <br />closely combine and align the two similar housing programs, to the extent permitted by the law. <br />In 1998, the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) also known as the <br />Public Housing Reform Act was signed into law. QHWRA eliminated all statutory differences <br />between the Certificate and Voucher tenant-based programs and required that the two programs <br />be merged into a single tenant-based assistance program, now known as the Housing Choice <br />Voucher (HCV) program. <br />Page 1-3 <br /> <br />04/01/14 <br /> <br />