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Tenant Protection Vouchers

(UPDATED) TPV Repositioning FAQs

Overview

Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPVs) are provided to protect HUD-assisted families from hardship as the result of a variety of actions that occur in HUD’s Public Housing (Low-Rent), the Multifamily Housing portfolios, and Moderate Rehabilitation properties.  Under current HUD policy, TPVs may also be issued in connection to such actions for vacant units that have been occupied by a HUD-assisted family in the past 24 months.  Certain TPVs (called replacement TPVs) become part of the Public Housing Agency (PHA’s) Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program and may be reissued to families on the PHA’s waiting list upon turnover.  In contrast to replacement TPVs, relocation TPVs may not be reissued by the PHA after the initial family that received the TPV ceases to receive the voucher assistance.  Whether a TPV is a replacement or relocation TPV depends on whether the HUD-assisted housing is permanently lost.

Families residing in a unit that is impacted by one of the events triggering the TPV, and who are eligible for such TPVs, are not required to apply for the voucher.  Instead, the eligible family will be admitted as a special admission, without consideration of the family’s position on the PHA’s waiting list.  The TPV generally covers the difference between 30 percent of family income and the PHA’s payment standard or gross rent, whichever is lower.

There is a subset of TPVs, provided as a result of specific actions described in the law (Section 8(t) of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937), in which a higher “enhanced” payment standard is used to determine the amount of housing assistance when the gross rent of the unit exceeds the PHA’s payment standard.  The Enhanced Vouchers Fact Sheet provides general information concerning enhanced vouchers.  The fact sheet has been translated to a number of different languages and such translations may be found here.

 

TPV-Related Guidance and Regulations 

  • PIH Notice 2020-19: provides guidance concerning the process of making rent reasonableness determinations.  For more information on rent reasonableness requirements, see the HCV Guidebook - Rent Reasonableness 
  • PIH Notice 2020-04 and subsequent notices: each year, HUD publishes a notice that implements the funding provisions for the HCV program, including funding for tenant protection vouchers.
  • PIH Notice 2019-01/H 2019-02: describes the process for applying for funding for set-aside TPVs for certain at-risk families living in projects located in low-vacancy areas.
  • PIH Notice 2013-27: provides procedures PHAs must follow when the recipient of a TPV voluntarily agrees to relinquish such assistance in exchange for the provision of Project-Based Voucher (PBV) assistance. 
  • PIH Notice 2001-41: provides comprehensive guidance on the funding process and policies concerning TPVs provided as a result of a housing conversion action.  Specific provisions of this notice have subsequently been updated by the notices below:
    • PIH Notice 2019-12: revises the enhanced voucher minimum rent calculation.
    • PIH Notice 2016-02: establishes the enhanced voucher policies applicable to families residing in units where the actual number of bedrooms exceeds the family unit size for which the family qualifies under the public housing agency (PHA) subsidy standards (i.e., “over-housed families”). 
  • HCV Regulations (24 CFR Part 982)

Related Programs: the notices below provide information on the specific actions that trigger the issuance of TPVs.  Note that information on the TPV funding  process and TPV-specific policies are found in the notices identified under the “TPV-Related Notices and Regulations” section above.

  • Public Housing:
    • PIH 2018-04: explains the application requirements to request HUD approval to demolish and/or dispose of Public Housing property under Section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.  
    • PIH 2019-10: describes the process for applying for and utilizing required conversions under Section 33 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 as a strategy for repositioning Public Housing to the Section 8 platform through the provision of TPVs.
    • PIH 2019-05: describes the process for applying for and utilizing streamlined voluntary conversions under Section 22 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 as a strategy for repositioning Public Housing to the Section 8 platform through the provision of TPVs.
  • Housing:
    • H 2018-02: provides additional guidance concerning the use of TPVs and Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contracts to owners of pre-1974 Section 202 Direct Loan properties that have the option of refinancing the Section 202 Direct Loan for the purposes of reducing the interest rate and/or making capital improvements. 
    • H 2015-03: describes the process and policies for transferring budget authority of a project-based Section 8 contract under Section 8(bb) of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 and related TPV eligibility for such actions. 
  • Moderate Rehabilitation (Mod Rehab): 
    • PIH 2001-13: provides policies concerning TPVs provided as a result of the expiration of a Section 8 Mod Rehab contract.  
  • Foster Youth to Independence: 
    • PIH 2019-20: explains the eligibility and application requirements for certain PHAs that will partner with a Public Child Welfare Agency (PCWA) to administer time-limited TPVs on behalf of eligible former foster youth. 

 

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