the 1980s and 1990s, the federal government fundamentally
changed its approach to housing from one focused on building
housing projects to one focused on subsidizing low-income
individuals and families renting in the private rental market.
Through the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), commonly
referred to as the Section 8 voucher program, the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides funds to local
Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) that, in turn, provide
vouchers to families that they can use to subsidize their rents
in the private market. HCVP is intended to increase housing
availability for individuals and families and reduce the
concentration of low-income families in high-poverty
neighborhoods. However, much of the private rental market
remains unavailable to low-income individuals and families. In
part, this unavailability is due to the fact that many private
landlords choose not to participate in the HCVP. Dissatisfied
with the amount of private housing available for low-income ind