The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) established the Housing and Urban Development–VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program in 1992. The authors examine trends over time in HUD-VASH voucher utilization, disability income, homelessness, and housing affordability in key regions to determine whether supply and demand for the program are aligned and, if not, where gaps emerge.
Topline
Policy changes have broadened HUD-VASH eligibility, but rising rents and VA staffing shortages are keeping vouchers from reaching veterans who need them.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) established the Housing and Urban Development–VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program in 1992. Since 2008, HUD has issued more than 118,000 vouchers to public housing agencies (PHAs). HUD-VASH is widely credited with helping cut veteran homelessness roughly in half—from 73,367 veterans in 2009 to 32,495 veterans in 2025.
Policy changes in 2021 and 2024 aimed to expand program access by raising income thresholds and excluding Veterans Affairs disability compensation (VADC) from eligibility calculations. RAND researchers examine whether those changes improved voucher utilization.
Key Takeaways
Expanding eligibility didn’t increase voucher use.
Most veterans referred to HUD-VASH have little or no income, so raising the income threshold had minimal practical effect on who could access the program.
Many PHAs had already adapted before the 2024 rule change.
Large PHAs had mostly adopted the higher income threshold after the 2021 guidance, limiting the operational impact of the formal 2024 policy revision.
Veterans with VADC may still get little help.
Even veterans who qualify under the new rules may receive minimal housing subsidies, because their VADC counts toward rent calculations—creating frustration for both program applicants and staff.
Rising rents constrain utilization more than eligibility rules do.
Higher fair market rents (FMRs) are consistently associated with lower HUD-VASH voucher utilization rates, and subsidies often lag behind prices in competitive rental markets.
Recommendations
VA and HUD should strengthen coordination and referral systems.
- Create real-time shared dashboards for PHAs and VA offices to track voucher availability, referrals, lease-ups, and attrition.
- Support monthly cross-training initiatives for PHA and VA staff to align practices and workflows.
VA should strengthen its case management capacity.
- Seek congressional funding support, as needed.
- Prioritize hiring and retention of VA case managers to reduce caseloads and improve veteran support.
- Expand the Collaborative Case Management initiative in regions with persistent VA staffing shortages.
- Simplify annual recertification requirements to reduce attrition caused by administrative barriers.
VA, HUD, and PHAs could improve communications to veterans.
- Create plain-language materials explaining HUD-VASH eligibility, rent calculations, and program expectations.
- Deliver outreach through integrated service fairs and in-person events rather than relying only on mailers or digital channels.
Methodology
RAND researchers used a mixed-methods approach. On the qualitative side, they conducted eight semistructured interviews with staff from large PHAs between October 2025 and February 2026, using the Framework Method to identify key themes. On the quantitative side, they analyzed monthly HUD-VASH voucher utilization data, American Community Survey microdata, HUD income limit and FMR data, and continuum of care homelessness data. To assess whether the 2021 income-eligibility change affected utilization, researchers estimated multivariate difference-in-differences regression models comparing utilization rates before and after the policy took effect, controlling for local rental market conditions, veteran homelessness, and PHA size.
Topics
Citation
RAND Style Manual
Hunter, Sarah B., Daniel Schwam, Alex Sizemore, and Jason Ward, Improving HUD-VASH Utilization Under Changing Income Eligibility Requirements, RAND Corporation, RR-A4405-7, 2026. As of October 27, 2026:
Chicago Manual of Style
Hunter, Sarah B., Daniel Schwam, Alex Sizemore, and Jason Ward, Improving HUD-VASH Utilization Under Changing Income Eligibility Requirements. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2026. .
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