The Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), authorized by Congress in 2012, enables public housing authorities (PHAs) to convert their public housing stock to project-based Section 8 housing, using either Project-Based Vouchers (PBVs) or Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) contracts. This alternative funding structure is meant to address both the short-term capital needs of public housing properties and their longer-term preservation, revitalization, and financial viability. Under RAD, PHAs can finance debt and access other external funds, such as grants or private-sector equity investment, to recapitalize, rehabilitate, or even replace projects. RAD also provides certain tenant protections, such as prohibiting the rescreening of residents after the conversion; the right-to-return to an assisted unit if residents need to be temporarily relocated during rehabilitation or construction; and requiring rent increases above a certain threshold that result from conversion to be phased in gradually. In addition, RAD tenants have a right to exercise a “Choice Mobility” option, which makes them eligible to obtain a tenant-based Section 8 Voucher after residing at a RAD property for a minimum period.

HUD contracted a comprehensive evaluation of RAD, conducted between 2014 and 2019, which found that the initial implementation of the program accomplished its principal statutory goals of leveraging private and other sources of capital, preserving affordable housing by addressing projects’ short-term capital needs and financial viability, and mitigating effects on tenants in terms of relocation. The evaluation (published in 2019) found that almost half of RAD residents surveyed were very interested in tenant-based vouchers but had not been informed about the Choice Mobility option.

Because that evaluation was limited to initial RAD conversions and the timing of the study did not permit an assessment of other RAD tenant protections, such as the Choice Mobility option and the gradual increase in rents, HUD contracted a second comprehensive evaluation of RAD, conducted between 2019 and 2023. This memorandum summarizes findings from this second comprehensive evaluation of RAD that uses a combination of administrative data and surveys and interviews of PHAs, property owners and operators, and a sample of RAD residents who have and have not exercised their Choice Mobility option. There are five separate studies that comprise the second comprehensive evaluation of RAD, which PD&R will publish simultaneously on a single landing page:

• Implementation and Impact of the Choice Mobility Option provides the first estimate of the universe of RAD tenants and the use of Choice Mobility in RAD properties. It also assesses the experience and outcomes of PHAs, property owners, and residents with the Choice Mobility option. Early qualitative results from this study were published in 2022.
• Long-Term Preservation and Financial Viability and Asset Management of RAD-converted Properties (two studies) examine the long-term preservation of RAD properties, assessing whether RAD has improved properties’ financial viability and long-term ability to meet capital needs and whether PHAs and property owners have effective asset management practices at RAD-converted properties.
• Rental Affordability evaluates whether residents living in assisted units at properties after RAD conversion continue to pay an affordable rent, especially for those residents who previously paid flat rents and may have been subject to a phased-in rent increase.
• Organizational Change of Public Housing Authorities looks at the organizational changes that PHAs have experienced during the RAD conversion process. The level of organizational change was assessed based on how much of the PHA’s public housing stock was converted; the level of staff training, reassignment, and reorganization; and changes to compliance processes.

Overall, the evaluation found that resident use of the Choice Mobility option remained very low, and a notable proportion of tenants expressed being unfamiliar with the option. RAD properties are generally financially healthy, and many PHAs reported that their properties were better positioned for long-term preservation and funding reliability after conversion. The study found that RAD negatively impacted the short-term financial health of converting properties, but RAD properties remained at healthy levels in the short-term with no concern over the long-term. PHAs implemented many asset management strategies consistent with industry best practices, although they tended to privilege short-term priorities, such as budgeting and compliance, over more long-term ones, such as strategic planning. RAD units remained affordable for tenants, with rents consistently at 30% of adjusted income before and after conversion, and tenants who transitioned from flat to income-based rates as part of the conversion did not demonstrate high exit rates. Finally, the majority of PHAs included in the study experienced organizational change, but many did not consider RAD a causal factor. Most PHAs had positive experiences with their conversions, but a small percentage found the process challenging and reported wanting more guidance and training.

Here is a list of the collected reports for the RAD study

• Asset Management of RAD-Converted Properties
• Implementation and Impact of the Choice Mobility Option
• Rental Affordability
• Organizational Change of Public Housing Agencies