Housing Choice
Housing Choice
Housing Choice Voucher Program
The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.
Housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, thus the participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects. Housing choice vouchers in Houston are administered by the Houston Housing Authority.
Learn more about housing mobility, our process as well as housing mobility programs nationwide.
Please contact us with any questions you have about our program.
Housing Mobility
Housing mobility is a growing movement designed to reduce inter-generational poverty. Low income families benefit when given the opportunity to move from high poverty areas to higher income, low crime areas.
Due to limited affordable options for homes in high opportunity neighborhoods, families living below the poverty line that have the best option to move neighborhoods are ones participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), also known as Section 8. This program exists to provide low income individuals the opportunity to select a comfortable residence in a neighborhood and home of their choice.
Recent students demonstrate lifetime improvements in children who move from high-crime, high-poverty neighborhoods to low-crime, low-poverty areas which has led to growth in housing mobility programs.
Benefits
Participants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program benefit from significantly reduced rent and relocation to high opportunity communities. This allows households to spend more on other essentials such as food, healthcare and utilities.
The benefits can be extended even further when HCVP participants with children are able to move to high opportunity neighborhoods. Studies have shown that each year a child spends in a better environment improves a child’s long term outcome in terms of expected earnings, college attendance and a reduction in single parent pregnancy (Chetty & Hendren, 2018).
NestQuest’s mission is to increase voucher acceptance in high opportunity neighborhoods, thereby increasing the choices families have when selecting a new home.
Challenges
Voucher holders have a limited time to sign a lease before their voucher expires, upon expiration tenants lose their chance to participate in the program. Participants often find that they have limited options in terms of neighborhood and quality housing.
With very little time to make a decision, and legalized discrimination, the majority of residents participating in Section 8 programs are clustered in the same high-poverty, high crime neighborhoods. The reality of the program is that in many states, including Texas, landlords do not have to accept HCVP tenants (Walters & Satija, Texas Tribune 2018).
Finding affordable units which accept HCVP is challenging. Units which are affordable and accept HCVP tenants are zoned to low ranking schools. This ultimately means that students in HCVP homes are likely to be receiving inadequate schooling and lack access to educational opportunities.
NestQuest connect HCVP tenants with properties which are within their voucher amount and zoned to exceptional schools.
