Vouchering out distressed subsidized developments: Does moving lead to improvements in housing and neighborhood conditions?

Abstract

When households receive Section 8 vouchers or rent certificates and moderate amounts of counseling, and have no program requirements dictating where they should move, how far will they go and how successful will the moves be? This article offers some answers to these questions by analyzing the experiences of households relocated from four distressed, privately owned subsidized developments in Baltimore; Newport News, VA; Kansas City, MO; and San Francisco.

Although many of the residents chose to remain in the same area, most of them improved their situation by moving. However, the majority continued to live in racially segregated areas. The moderate relocation counseling that residents received had little impact on their housing search and on satisfaction with their new home. It may be unreasonable to expect households that are given certificates or vouchers to relocate to new or unfamiliar neighborhoods without support or without intensive counseling encouraging them to do so.

Keywords:

• Low‐income housing
• Mobility
• Vouchers