Last week, the White House released the President’s FY2027 budget request. The administration is requesting $73.5 billion in funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development – about a five percent cut from the $77.3 billion provided in the final FY26 budget. This is a far cry from last year’s proposal to block grant and slash rental assistance by over 40%. However, the administration still seeks to eliminate several key housing programs and included harmful policy proposals such as work requirements and time limits, while putting an end to new voucher issuance in Section 8. We hope Congress continues to protect HUD programs as affordability remains a top concern for voters across the nation.

Rental Assistance

Section 8 Tenant-Based Rental Assistance – The administration proposes $38.88 billion for tenant based rental assistance, including $35.66 billion for voucher renewals – a $600 million increase from FY26.

Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance – $17.69 billion, a decrease of over $900 million

Housing for the Elderly (202) & Persons w/ Disabilities (811) – $929 million for HUD 202s and $266 million for HUD 811s, cuts of $66 million and $21 million respectively.

Family Unification Vouchers – $30 million is provided for FUP, specifically for youth 18-24 aging out of foster care. The administration also proposes to permanently rename the Foster Youth to Independence program to the Melania Trump Foster Youth to Independence Initiative.

Public Housing

$5.37 billion for operating and $3.2 billion for capital, an increase of $690 million and flat funding respectively.

While NYHC is relieved that the administration is not pushing for severe cuts and block grants for programs that house low-income tenants again, they have proposed several policy changes that would severely limit access to these programs and ultimately dismantle them over time if enacted. HUD believes these are adequate funding levels based on the attrition that will occur by prohibiting new vouchers and pursuing other cost saving measures.

Pause on New Housing Vouchers

The administration proposes to prohibit public housing agencies from issuing any new housing vouchers or otherwise assisting new families, including by entering into new project-based voucher (PBV) commitments. It would exempt new RAD PBV commitments, HUD-VASH vouchers and Family Unification Program vouchers (including the Melania Trump Foster Youth to Independence Initiative).

This policy would shrink and ultimately eliminate these programs over time. The demand for Section 8 is enormous – it only serves about a third of eligible households. When NYC’s waitlist opened last summer for one week, it drew over 600,000 applicants with just 200,000 making it on the waitlist.

There is already a pause on issuing new vouchers in NYC due to funding restrictions and this proposal would move the federal government in the exact opposite direction we need at a time when families are desperate for assistance. It harms the populations with the most urgent housing needs such as those experiencing homelessness and survivors of domestic violence which are prioritized when opportunities for assistance become available. Restrictions on project-based vouchers would further harm HPD’s Senior Affordable Rental Apartments Program (SARA), which is already impacted by Section 8 budget constraints.

Time Limits and Work Requirements

The administration proposed a 5 year total time limit on assistance, even if not consecutive – an increase from the 2 year time limit proposed last year. They further propose to require individuals receiving assistance to work an average of 20 hours a week. Exemptions would be provided for certain populations such as seniors (62+), individuals with disabilities and their primary caretakers, veterans in recovery for mental health or substance abuse and students.

NYHC continues to strongly oppose restrictions on assistance such as time limits and work requirements. As we have highlighted in past analyses, these policies will create more housing instability and homelessness rather than self sufficiency. A quarter of HUD-assisted people in New York are elderly and 30% are disabled. Three quarters of non-disabled households are working but they are earning too little to afford market rent. Time limits in particular are both cruel and destructive- they would cause significant damage to the nation’s housing finance system as we showed in analysis last summer.

Homelessness Assistance

The Administration is once again proposing to eliminate the Continuum of Care (CoC) and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) programs while shifting funding into the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program to provide short- and medium-term housing assistance to homeless and at-risk individuals with a 2-year limit on assistance.

Emergency Solutions Grants – $4.02 billion, increased from $290 million in FY26.

NYHC continues to advocate in defense of CoC grants, which continues to be targeted by this administration despite having bipartisan support from Congress. Shifting funding to temporary assistance would close supportive housing and throw their tenants back into homelessness. The Supportive Housing Network of New York found that almost half of the state’s CoC dollars fund rental assistance for permanent housing.

Native Housing

The administration proposes major cuts to programs that serve Native communities. It would cut funding for the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program by $239 million from FY26, for a total of $872 million. It would not fund the IHBG-Competitive grant program, which received $125 million in FY26, and cuts the IHBG Indian Community Development Block Grant to $5 million, down from $100 mililion. It also eliminates the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant – previously funded at $22.3 million, arguing that “Native Hawaiians are not a tribal nation but a racial group.”

Block Grants

The administration proposes to eliminate both HOME Investments Partnership and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

NYHC opposes any efforts to cut HOME & CDBG. Both are important tools used in every community to help support affordable housing. In NYC, HOME is used to finance supportive and senior housing while CDBG funds many planning functions and code enforcement, including addressing hazardous conditions and emergency repairs.

Fair Housing Activities

The administration once again proposes to eliminate the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) and proposes $26 million for the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP).

NYHC strongly opposes any cuts to FHIP, which funds fair housing organizations that uncover and remedy instances of housing discrimination. According to the National Fair Housing Alliance, private nonprofit fair housing organizations processed almost 75 percent of complaints – over half of which alleged discrimination based on disability.

Other Programs

The adminstration proposes to eliminate the Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) Housing – down from $50 million, which supports efforts to remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation.

NYC received about $4 million to support streamlining environmental procedures and neighborhood planning in Jamaica, Queens, and Richmond Terrace, Staten Island.

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund would also be eliminated – down from $200 million.

The CDFI fund is another source of flexible financing that supports community development projects in underserved communites. This program also has strong bipartisan support.

Additional Policy Changes in President’s Budget

Reduce Tenant Protection Voucher Eligibility

This proposal would limit replacement TPV eligibility to units occupied in the previous 12 months, down from 24 months.

We don’t expect this would have major impacts on the ability for NYCHA to secure TPVs for PACT and Trust projects but support a longer timeline to allow flexibility for outlier cases.

Expand HUD Authority to Require Recovery Agreements

The administration included language to give the HUD Secretary greater authority to require poor performing PHAs to enter into recovery agreements with HUD.

View more details on the President’s budget request and NLIHC’s updated HUD funding chart.