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Just Released: HCV Tenant Accessibility Study: 2001-2002

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The tenant-based housing choice voucher (HCV) program
provides rental assistance on behalf of eligible low-
income families and individuals. It allows program
participants to find and lease housing in private rental
markets, affording them more housing and locational
choices than tenants in the conventional public housing
program. Some HCV program participants are considered by
HUD to be hard-to-house. Among them are families who have
members with disabilities.

The HCV Tenant Accessibility Study was primarily designed
to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a nationwide
survey of persons with physical disabilities in the
housing choice voucher (HCV) program. The goal of the
proposed national survey would be to collect data on the
experiences of voucher holders with physical disabilities
in finding assisted housing that meets their
accessibility requirements.

For this pilot study, a draft six-page mail survey
instrument was developed and pretested among a random
sample of 400 HCV tenants served by six PHA jurisdictions
across the country. Additionally, case studies at the
same six PHA sites examined in-depth the issues facing
voucher holders in their search for accessible housing.
Focus group discussions were conducted with tenants who
had physical disabilities, as well as with landlords who
participate in the HCV program. PHA staffers were also
interviewed. These case studies provided context for the
mail survey pretest results. Findings from the mail
survey and the site visits for the case studies, while
not nationally representative, revealed interesting
insights about the experiences of persons with physical
disabilities in the HCV program.

Mail Survey Results

The report found that a nationwide mail survey of persons
with physical disabilities is practical. During the
pretest, the survey instrument generally performed well,
and only a couple of questions needed revision. The
pretest achieved a response rate of 69 percent.

Among other things, tenants with physical disabilities
were asked about their satisfaction levels across a
number of factors. Most survey respondents were either
somewhat or very satisfied with their landlords (73
percent), neighborhoods (72 percent), and the HCV
application process (79 percent). Somewhat fewer tenants
(63 percent) were either somewhat or very satisfied with
PHA support in locating accessible housing. While some
tenants needed additional accessibility features, 78
percent of all respondents were either somewhat or very
satisfied with their current units.

Site Visit Results

Like some survey respondents, some tenants in the focus
groups encountered difficulties in the search process and
lacked some of the accessibility features they would
like. Discussions with PHAs and landlords suggested low-
cost ways that PHAs can assist persons with physical
disabilities in their housing search, as well as
strategies PHAs could adopt to encourage more landlords
to join the HCV program and rent accessible housing to
persons with physical disabilities.

With respect to the latter, many landlords from the study
believe that HCV tenants with physical disabilities make
better tenants. Compared to market rate tenants, they are
more likely to pay on time, take better care of their
units, and stay longer (resulting in lower turnover).

The Conclusion

The study concluded that a national survey of HCV
participants with physical disabilities is very feasible.
The mail questionnaire generally worked well and can
achieve a high response rate. While responses from the
mail survey and the site visits are not nationally
representative, they shed new light on the experiences of
persons with physical disabilities in the HCV program.

HCV Tenant Accessibility Study: 2001-2002 is available as
a free download from HUD USER at
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/HCVTenantAccessibilityStudy.pdf
in printed form for a nominal charge by
calling 1-800-245-2691.

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HUD USER
P.O. Box 23268
Washington, DC 20026-3268
1-800-245-2691
1-800-927-7589 (TDD)
202-708-9981 (fax)
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