Public housing work requirements

• Work requirements
  • Index of articles related to work requirements
  • Work requirements for public assistance in the states
  • Medicaid work requirements
  • Public housing work requirements
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements
  • Child care subsidy work requirements
• Major arguments
  • Arguments against work requirements for public assistance programs
  • Arguments in favor of work requirements for public assistance programs
• Reform proposals
  • Reform proposals related to Medicaid work requirements
  • Reform proposals related to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements
  • Reform proposals related to public housing work requirements
  • Reform proposals related to child care subsidy work requirements
• Laws
• Court cases
• Scholarly work
• Related federal agencies
  • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Public housing work requirements are mandated work-related activities that public housing recipients must complete to maintain eligibility for housing assistance administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), such as applying for a job, interviewing for a job, or participating in job training or volunteer activities. The federally required work-related activity is eight hours of community service per month for adult residents of public housing who are not elderly, disabled, or already working.

Other public housing work requirements are allowed if the public housing authority (PHA) is part of HUD's Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program, which allows PHAs to design strategies to increase public housing efficiency. Of the 124 MTW agencies, 17 had work requirements as of January 2024.

Background

See also: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Federal public housing programs were created by the Housing Act of 1937, which authorized federal subsidies to local housing agencies to provide housing and improve living conditions for low-income families. Public assistance is provided through public housing units, rental assistance, or Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), which are vouchers used to purchase individual homes. The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 altered Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 and created the Section 8 Housing Voucher Program. The Section 8 Housing Voucher Program created a tenant-based rental assistance program wherein federal housing subsidy recipients are given a monthly voucher to be used as rent payment to private landlords.

Work requirements for public housing assistance

Public housing work requirements are mandated work-related activities that public housing recipients must complete to maintain eligibility for housing assistance administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), such as applying for a job, interviewing for a job, or participating in job training or volunteer activities. The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 requires eight hours of community service per month for adult residents of public housing who are not elderly, disabled, or already working.

Public housing work requirements are permitted through the MTW Demonstration Program, authorized by the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996. The MTW program provides PHAs the flexibility to design and implement local strategies aimed at using funds more efficiently, helping public housing recipients become self-sufficient or find employment, and providing better options for low-income residents. If HUD approves waivers for state or local housing agencies participating in the MTW program, those agencies may use federal funds flexibly “to implement activities that otherwise would not be allowable” or “combine activities in order to create more comprehensive initiatives.”

History of public housing work requirements

This section provides information on the history of public housing work requirements implemented by local public housing authorities (PHAs) through the Moving to Work (MTW) program.

The MTW Program creates flexibility to implement work requirements

The Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, signed by President Bill Clinton (D) on April 26, 1996, created the MTW program. Section 204 of the appropriations act authorized HUD to add up to 30 PHAs to the MTW program. The act stated that up to 10 of the PHAs added to the MTW program must be selected through a separate application process and competition called the Jobs-Plus Initiative, which was designed to support work incentives, job placement, educational advancement, and financial counseling among public housing voucher recipients through locally-based approaches. HUD issued a notice and invitation to apply for the MTW program on December 18, 1996, and selected 24 PHAs to join the first MTW cohort. Six additional PHAs were added to the MTW program through the Job-Plus Initiative.

HUD did not mandate work requirements for the first MTW cohort but many MTW agencies at the time, including the following examples, adopted or used work requirements, job training, job placement, or educational programs as criteria for selecting recipients for public housing assistance:

• The Philadelphia Housing Authority used MTW flexibility to create a workforce center to promote job readiness, skills training, and job placement.
• The Oakland Housing Authority required that at least fifty percent of public housing recipients in its program work at least 20 hours a week or participate in a CalWORKS activity.
• The Delaware Public Housing Authority included a three-year time limit for public housing assistance and a three-strike system for recipients to remain eligible. Delaware Public Housing Authority regulations removed individuals from public housing if they were late on rent, showed up late for work, or failed to keep their children in school three times during the three-year eligibility period.

HUD issues a proposed rule to expand the MTW program and requires at least one group of MTW agencies to implement work requirements

Executive Order 13828, issued by President Donald Trump on April 13, 2018, ordered agencies involved in public assistance programs to enforce work requirements. HUD published a proposed rule for expanding the MTW program on October 11, 2018, citing E.O. 13828. The rule called for expanding the number of agencies participating in the MTW program by 100 by the year 2023. It required one group of the MTW expansion to implement work requirement policies and stated that HUD should evaluate the effects of MTW agencies' work requirement policies for residents. HUD published a final rule to expand the MTW program with an additional 100 agencies over a seven-year period.

HUD expands MTW program to evaluate the effect of work requirements

HUD expanded the MTW program with a second cohort called the Flexibilities for Smaller PHAs cohort in January 2021 with the goal of evaluating "whether work requirements promote self-sufficiency or how incentives could encourage landlords to participate in HUD's Housing Choice Voucher program." Some PHAs in this cohort, including the following examples, implemented work requirements or only accepted working individuals into the program:

• The Housing Authority of Fort Mill in South Carolina stated that it would select no new residents who are not employed and working 30 hours or more a week.
• The Ripley Public Housing Agency in Missouri required residents to work at least 15 hours a week to maintain benefits.
• The Ozark Housing Community in Alabama implemented work requirements and included an impact analysis for work requirements in its application to the MTW program.

HUD proposes, rescinds the new MTW cohort focused on work requirements

HUD accepted applications to expand the MTW program with a third cohort called the Work Requirement Cohort in January 2021. The Work Requirement Cohort proposed to "test the impact of implementing a work requirement policy on both the agency and the residents it serves," according to HUD.

HUD rescinded the Work Requirements cohort on June 17, 2021, arguing that the program did not consider "economic realities and current needs of low-income families; therefore, the Work Requirements Cohort has been rescinded." HUD further stated in an open public meeting that the department would "explore alternative policies to study through the MTW Expansion to ensure that there are 100 designated MTW PHAs." As of October 2023, of the 124 current MTW agencies, only 18 have work requirements.

Timeline of public housing work requirements

The following timeline features noteworthy events related to the development and implementation of public housing work requirements:

• April 1996: The Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996 established the MTW program to give PHAs flexibility to develop experimental programs such as work requirements.

• December 1996: HUD accepted 30 PHAs to the first MTW cohort and allowed PHAs to implement work requirements for public housing.

• October 1998: The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 required non-working residents of public housing to complete at least 8 hours of community service per month.

• April 2018: President Donald Trump (R) issued Executive Order 13828 and ordered agencies involved in public assistance programs to enforce work requirements.

• October 2018: HUD published a proposed rule to expand the MTW program and cited Executive Order 13828, ordering agencies to adopt work requirements for public assistance programs.

• August 2020: HUD published a final rule to expand the MTW program with 100 additional agencies over a seven-year period.

• January 2021: HUD expanded the MTW demonstration program and allowed PHAs to adopt work requirements for public housing benefits.

• January 2021: HUD announced the expansion of the MTW program through the Work Requirements Cohort.

• June 2021: HUD rescinded the Work Requirements Cohort.

• February 2023: Arkansas passed HB 1196, which requires public housing authorities to terminate lease agreements if adults are not working, participating in a work program, or volunteering at least 20 hours per month. Since public housing authorities administer federal funds subject to federal work requirements, the state law requires public housing authorities to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to comply.

Noteworthy events

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mehmet Oz, Brooke Rollins, and Scott Turner on work requirements for public assistance programs

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner cowrote a New York Times opinion piece, that was published on May 14, 2025. The secretaries and administrator expressed their feelings on work requirements for public assistance and support for a 20 hour/week work requirement across programs.

They wrote:

“

Establishing universal work requirements for able-bodied adults across the welfare programs we manage will prioritize the vulnerable, empower able-bodied individuals, help rebuild thriving communities and protect the taxpayers.

”

“

Our agencies are united in a very straightforward policy approach: Able-bodied adults receiving benefits must work, participate in job training or volunteer in their communities at least 20 hours a week. Limited exceptions will be made for good cause, like caring for young children and health issues, but the principle is clear — those who can work, should.

”

Arkansas passes work requirements for public housing (2023)

The Arkansas legislature passed House Bill 1196 on February 27, 2023, which requires able-bodied adults to work, volunteer, or participate in a workforce training program for at least 20 hours per week. The law requires local public housing authorities (PHAs) to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by January 1, 2025, to implement the work requirements.

The new law applies to adults from ages 19-64 who are not pregnant, disabled, receiving unemployment compensation, or participating in a drug treatment program, and do not have kids under five. If the work requirements are unmet, the law requires PHAs to terminate the lease agreements after 60 days. Local PHAs receive federal funding and must meet guidelines set by (HUD).

Representative Kendon Underwood (R), the bill’s lead sponsor, argued that the law would promote self-sufficiency. “If you can work, you should work, and by getting those people to work, that gets [them] out of government dependency.” House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough (D) and other Democratic colleagues argued in part that the bill conflicts with federal law

See also

• Arguments about work requirements for public assistance programs
• Court cases related to work requirements for public assistance programs
• Scholarly work related to work requirements for public assistance programs

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

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