WASHINGTON DC – Today, Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) sent a letter to Department of Housing and Urban Development Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman requesting an increase in the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority’s (SNRHA) Housing Choice Vouchers allocation by 10,000 vouchers over five years. This request aims to address the affordable housing crisis in Nevada and provide greater flexibility in voucher administration to better serve low-income households and lower overall housings costs.
“Nevada’s shortage of affordable housing has reached a critical point that demands immediate action to reduce the strain on hardworking families,” wrote the members. “The need for increased housing resources is most acute for low-income households, with research showing that over ninety percent of individuals whose incomes are at or below 30 percent of the area median income spend nearly half of their monthly income on rent.”
“With a particular focus on alleviating the cost burden of rent, and given the unique challenges present in Nevada, we respectfully request that you consider taking the following actions: Increase the Housing Choice Voucher allocation for SNRHA by an additional 10,000 vouchers over the next five years; Approve a waiver request for SNRHA to increase the project-based voucher program cap up to 50 percent of its total Annual Contributions Contract; Waive the 25 percent project cap for SNRHA to allow these vouchers to be utilized for up to 50 percent of units within a project; Provide a waiver to SNRHA to implement an alternative competitive process for awarding their project-based vouchers so more tenants and landlords can take advantage of this program and obtain relief from high housing costs; and Waive SNRHA’s requirement to issue a tenant-based voucher at 12 months and extend the timeframe to 24 months.” the members continued.
The full text of the letter can be found HERE.
Senator Rosen has been a leader in the fight to lower housing costs and keep Nevadans in their homes. She recently introduced the Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation (HOME) Act to crack down on housing price gouging by corporate investors who are driving up home prices by buying up housing stock. Senator Rosen also led her colleagues in a letter to Senate appropriators requesting that they fund the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Veterans Affairs and Supportive Housing program. She also helped pass legislation to provide nearly $165 million in funding to Nevada for emergency rental assistance, as well as the funding for Nevada’s $500 million Home Means Nevada Initiative.
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