Emergency Vouchers

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) (P.L. 117-2). Section 3202 of the ARP appropriated $5 billion for the creation, administration, and renewal of new incremental emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) and other eligible expenses related to COVID-19. HUD allocated 101 vouchers to AMHA, and we entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Summit County Continuum of Care and Battered Women’s Shelter.  AMHA is also working with United Way’s centralized intake systems and homeless outreach providers to house the most vulnerable families.  EHV funding gives communities significant resources to assist individuals and families who are homeless; at risk of homelessness; or fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking.  EHVs help individuals and families find housing and remain stably housed long-term.

In addition to the typical administrative fees that PHAs receive to cover eligible expenses, PHAs will be eligible for additional fees for each EHV they administer. These include: a preliminary fee per voucher to cover start-up costs; an initial placement fee to cover initial lease-up costs and expedited issuance fees for vouchers leased in less than four months or in four to six months; and a services fee to design a menu of services to best address the leasing challenges inherent in this program. The services fee could be used for purposes such as housing search assistance, tenant-readiness, payment of application fees, moving costs, holding fees, purchasing essential household items, renter’s insurance, and security and utility deposit assistance. The services fee can also be used to incentivize landlord participation in the program through outreach, recruitment, and incentive and/or retention payments.