Using Tenant-Based Vouchers To Help People Leave Homelessness: Lessons from Los Angeles

Nichole Fiore
Jill Khadduri
Sam Dastrup
Abt Global

Public housing agencies (PHAs) in Los Angeles County have committed large shares of their housing choice vouchers (HCVs) to help people leave homelessness. This article is based on a study that measured the extent to which people experiencing homelessness at the time of voucher issuance succeeded in finding a landlord willing to lease a unit to them. The study found their rate of lease up was greater than the rate for people who were not experiencing homelessness at the time the voucher was issued. The Abt research team inferred that some of the reasons that people experiencing homelessness were able to use their vouchers included (a) voucher holders receiving help from case managers and (b) landlords receiving incentives provided by local government. However, more research is needed to understand better the role of case managers and landlord incentives, not just in Los Angeles but across the United States. The authors consider the choice made by Los Angeles PHAs to focus their HCV programs on addressing the homelessness crisis appropriate but recommend that the U.S. Congress return to making substantial additions to the pool of unrestricted HCVs available to PHAs. Expanding the HCV program will prevent the use of vouchers for people experiencing homelessness from eclipsing other program goals, such as increasing opportunities for children to leave poverty through exposure to well-resourced neighborhoods and reducing extreme rent burdens for all types of households.