According to internal documents from the NPR, the Department of Housing and Urban Development hopes to limit the time people can get federal lease subsidies and increase job requirements as a condition for funding.

Currently, only a few places have authorizations granted by Congress to impose such restrictions. The agency is writing a rule that will greatly expand the number – bypassing Congress in the process.

A HUD spokesman did not provide confirmation or details about the proposal, but noted that the two-year limit on President Trump’s recent budget proposal “this will help to empower families and individuals to achieve self-sufficiency and economic independence.” Any rule will be under scrutiny during the public opinion period and may face legal challenges to ratification in a finalized situation.

Millions of people may be subject to new restrictions About 9 million people in the United States receive federal housing assistance. HUD employees familiar with the program's restrictive rules said that most are elderly or disabled and would be exempt from the new policy, and they requested anonymity because they do not have the right to speak to the media.

But that still leaves millions, and they may face severe consequences, especially when the rental costs of a large number of Americans are increasingly unaffordable. “This will have a devastating impact on families,” said Deborah Thrope, deputy director of the National Housing Law Project.

She and other housing policy experts say Very little evidence Time limit or Job requirements Increase employment or help people exit subsidies. Thorpe said the policies “don’t make housing more affordable. … They won’t increase the wages of these families.” Just one time limit can be considered an implicit job requirement. But last month, Housing Secretary Scott Turner and three other cabinet members wrote New York Times' opinion article Calls on Congress to expand work requirements in the safety net plan. They say that the increasing public interest is not “the person who really needs it” but rather a sound adult who doesn’t work.

The HUD rules will be another way to push more people to work more hours.

Advocates say most people can do it, those who don’t, may take care of family members with health problems, or have children and cannot afford daycare.

Housing subsidy time limit

Supporters say time limits may spread limited rental assistance among more people.

Rent assistance is not a right and requires a limited amount of funds that are far beyond available funds. For those lucky minorities who are indeed waiting for years or who have obtained seats in public housing, they can keep it as needed.

“There are a lot of people who are eligible for this kind of aid, but they don’t receive it. So our housing is inefficient because people can stay for so long,” said Howard Husock, a senior domestic policy researcher at the Conservative American Enterprise Academy.

He said the time limit may Limited assistance In more people, upward flow is encouraged, but should not be imposed “in a vacuum”. To be effective, time limits should include fixed rents and automatic savings accounts so that people can succeed as their income increases, Hawsok said.

It is not clear that the HUD rules will include such content. Trump's own Budget proposal call Self-sufficient Promote programs for savings accounts and cut HUD's rental assistance by 43%.

Records are mixed together, and some places reduce time limits

There are over 3,000 local housing authorities, but less than 140 have the flexibility to try different things, such as time constraints and job requirements. Even among these few policies, policies are not popular.

“I just don’t necessarily think that the tough term limits have the results people are looking for,” said Joshua Meehan, president of the moving partnership, which advocates for the smaller housing authorities. Since the work was created in the mid-1990s, the collaborator said only 40 housing authorities tried time limits or job requirements at some point, and currently there are 20 or two.

Meehan also led the Keene Housing Authority in New Hampshire, which once had a five-year time limit. But when the deadline for giving up people’s aid approaches, it’s clear that their income hasn’t increased much.

"I think it's possible to assume they'll be back on our waiting list," he said.

Keen Housing is one of those who choose to give up the time limit.

Short-term rental vouchers could disrupt the affordable housing market

Given this record, it is unclear whether a large number of housing authorities would choose to adopt time limits. But if they do, forcing millions of people to waive subsidies every few years, which could lead landlords to rent out to people with housing certificates.

HUD employees who asked to be anonymous said that many people left the program as the housing market is becoming increasingly competitive, which could launch more.

The man also fears the deadline ripple effect could make the serious lack of affordable housing worse.

“Due to high turnover and job openings, private investors and lenders won’t invest in much-needed affordable housing developments,” the employee said. “Ultimately, this proposal will result in an increase in street homelessness in communities across the country.”