There are approximately 1.2 million households living in public housing units, managed by some 3300 PHAs. Public Housing Fact Sheet · Contact your local housing. Program · Public Housing Panel · Public Housing Management. Public housing comes in all sizes and types, from scattered single-family homes to high-rise apartments for older families.
There are approximately 1.1 million public housing units that are owned and managed by more than 3000 housing authorities. One-third of public housing residents receive the majority of their income from salaries, and only 5% of public housing residents receive the majority of their income through social assistance. The Public Housing Operating Fund is the only major source of federal funding available to housing authorities, other than rent from tenants, to support public housing operations. The public housing program provides safe, decent and affordable rental housing to more than 2.2 million low and very low income families, the elderly and people with disabilities. Most public housing units were built more than 45 years ago, and dwindling federal funding has made it difficult for housing authorities to make capital and maintenance improvements that would help preserve their properties.
If you need public housing assistance or want specific information about public housing programs, such as housing choice vouchers, contact your local public housing agency. Most public housing agencies are very small, with more than 2,200 agencies that have 250 public housing units or less. The Public Housing Capital Fund is the specific source of annual funding available to housing authorities to make rehabilitation and modernization improvements to public housing. Public housing was created to provide decent and safe rental housing for eligible low-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities.
While these medium to large housing authorities only represent 5% of the number of agencies, they represent approximately 60% of the public housing stock.
