A variety of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs could use immediate attention from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and public housing and other supply-side housing subsidies are high on the list.

Public housing has a history of failure, and over the years, government spending on public housing has declined in favor of other programs, such as Section 8 housing vouchers, which are more flexible and direct in helping low-income beneficiaries. But despite public housing’s de-emphasis, the program lives on in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

public housing spend

 

That is too bad because public housing is rife with problems: Its history is full of scandal and incompetence, and poor management, safety, and sanitation are a continuing problem. Public housing developments have experienced rat infestations, infrastructure problems, mold, and lead issues. Crime is a continuing problem: Counties with Public Housing Primary Care Health Centers, which serve public housing residents, have 31 percent higher violent crime rates than counties without.

Local housing authorities have managed public housing so poorly that HUD has placed at least 19 troubled housing authorities in administrative receiverships, one of which lasted more than 30 years. Meanwhile, in 2020, the Office of the Inspector General found that an additional 18 troubled public housing authorities should have been referred for federal receiverships but were not due to faulty reporting practices.

The issues continue today: A scathing 2022 HUD report found that Washington, DC’s public housing is dangerous and unsanitary, plagued by low occupancy (25 percent of units vacant) yet with a waiting list nearly 25,000 people long. In New York City, years of neglect and mismanagement resulted in a federal monitorship, but five years later, there is still “a long way to go” toward overcoming pervasive problems, including toxic mold, lead paint, rat infestations, and yearlong-plus waits for unit service requests.

Although inept management is an important part of the equation, public housing’s design is to blame for many of its issues. Public housing segregates residents and concentrates poverty, which means residents are isolated from the jobs, schools, and community amenities that could better their lives. Unlike housing vouchers, the benefit is immobile, so residents stay in declining areas, whatever the personal cost. In New York City, the average tenure of a public housing resident is 25 years.

Read the full article about alternatives to public housing by Vanessa Brown Calder at Cato Institute.