Housing Choice Vouchers

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program assists very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled in obtaining decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) receive federal funds from HUD to administer the voucher program, and housing subsidies are paid to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf of the participating family. The voucher recipient remains responsible for paying any difference that exists between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program. Voucher recipients are responsible for finding a suitable housing unit where the owner agrees to rent under the program. Because housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are free to choose their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses, and apartments provided that the chosen housing meets the requirements of the program, and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects. Qualified housing may also include the family's present residence. Furthermore, under certain circumstances, and if authorized by the PHA, a family may use its voucher to purchase a modest home. Public data pertaining to the locations of HCV program participants are only available as United States Census Tract aggregations. Moreover, to protect the confidentiality of those receiving Housing Choice Voucher Program assistance, tracts containing 10 or fewer voucher holders have been omitted from this service. This feature set includes both tenant-based vouchers and project-based vouchers. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) sourced the original data from: https://hudgis-hud.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/housing-choice-vouchers-by-tract.