Tens of thousands of Americans could soon lose critical rental support under the federal Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) programme, with funding expected to run out by the end of 2025 unless Congress intervenes. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has warned in a letter, obtained by the Associated Press, that no additional funding is likely forthcoming.
This could lead to mass evictions of nearly 60,000 families and individuals, many of whom have escaped homelessness, domestic abuse, or human trafficking.
The EHV programme, created in 2021 as part of President Joe Biden’s pandemic-era American Rescue Plan, was allocated $5 billion to provide rent assistance. It supported individuals across the country — from children and seniors to veterans — with the expectation that the funds would last through the decade. But rising rents have accelerated the programme’s depletion.
“To have it stop would completely upend all the progress that they’ve made,” said Sonya Acosta, policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “And then you multiply that by 59,000 households.”
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters is advocating for an $8 billion extension, but prospects remain bleak amid Republican-led budget-cutting efforts in Congress. “We’ve been told it’s very much going to be an uphill fight,” said Kim Johnson from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Four key Republican lawmakers involved in budget talks have not commented.
The situation is deeply personal for people like Daniris Espinal, who fled both domestic violence and looming homelessness. With an Emergency Housing Voucher, Espinal secured a three-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with her daughters — a space that would otherwise cost over $3,000 per month.
“I gained my worth, my sense of peace, and I was able to rebuild my identity,” Espinal said. Now, however, she fears it could all slip away. “That’s my fear, losing control of everything that I’ve worked so hard for.”
