Development Activity

From its inception in 1937, housing authorities have owned, operated and managed housing for low income and working poor households with funding from HUD.

Realizing that government's mission should not be owning and concentrating housing for low income families, Congress the Section 8 program was authorized in 1974 to provide rental subsidies for households in privately owned properties.

As a result of recommendations to address deteriorating PHA-owned properties by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, HUD created several demonstration programs that (competitively) awarded large grants to PHAs in an effort to do major renovations to the crumbling housing stock. [Urban Revitalization Demonstration, HOPE VI, Choice Neighborhoods, Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), etc.]

Given the backlog of public housing stock in need of major renovation and demolition, HUD created programs that would allow PHAs to 'Reposition' their operations and housing stock from public housing funding, eliminate HUD oversight, allow for private investments and streamline PHA operations. Repositioning allows housing authorities with access to secure finance to address capital needs in order to preserve, rehab, demolish and construct new housing units.