In its partial budget request for FY26, the Trump Administration has proposed historic cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s affordable housing and homelessness assistance programs. The proposed cuts slash HUD’s funding by 44%, including nearly $27 billion in draconian cuts to HUD’s rental assistance programs, which is a 43% decrease from the previous fiscal year.
The proposal also changes HUD’s rental assistance programs entirely, consolidating HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing, Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), Section 811 Housing for People with Disabilities, and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly programs into one State Rental Assistance Block Grant program and imposes a two-year time limit on receiving rental assistance for “able-bodied adults.” It would also cut HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) program by $532 million and consolidate the Continuum of Care (CoC) program and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program into the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program.
As in the rental assistance proposal, people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness would only be able to receive assistance for two years. The request also proposes eliminating the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), Indian Housing Block Grant-Competitive (IHBG-C), Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant, Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS), Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing), and the Fair Housing Initiatives (FHIP) programs.
Not only are these sweeping cuts to these vital programs during a national affordability crisis cruel and disastrous for communities across the region, they would also do enormous economic damage to New York and the rest of the region. Our existing rental subsidy system is needed to underwrite much of our affordable housing construction and also helps spur market-rate housing construction in lower markets. It is also the basis of our ability to access the capital necessary to return the New York City Housing Authority to a state of good repair. As such, these cuts have the potential to stall large amounts of both private and affordable development as well as undo the progress we have made restoring NYCHA. This will mean less housing and more homelessness, leading to both a slower economy and an enormous impact on the city budget. While the House appropriations committee approved a draft that rejects the depth of these cuts, we remain deeply concerned.
Countless people in New York, and other high-cost regions, use vouchers because housing costs are often far out-of-reach even for people with full-time employment. Instead of taking away people’s ability to live in New York City and contribute to its life and economy, Congress should take necessary action to help states build more housing and make it easier for people to afford. RPA calls on the public to urge Congress to oppose cuts to federal investments in affordable housing and homelessness programs and instead provide the highest level of funding possible in fiscal year (FY) 2026 to serve more households struggling to afford a roof over their head.
