The Tulsa Housing Authority is preparing an emergency plan that could cancel vouchers for 690 tenants after rent increases led to a $3 million shortfall in voucher funding and a federal program seemed unresponsive.
THA board members took no action on the issue during their meeting this morning, but they discussed the situation and seemed prepared to vote on an emergency plan in May.
Voucher funding remains level each year for the agency. Because rental increases are also usually approved every year, housing authorities rely on shortfall funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to help keep voucher programs solvent. This year, however, THA officials say HUD has not responded to their requests.
Properties rented to THA voucher recipients are expected to see an average rental increase of 3 percent from last year, according to a presentation given to board members Thursday. Housing authorities are required to approve “reasonable” rent increases each year and cannot raise additional funds for their voucher programs from other sources, board members were informed during the meeting.
Asked to clarify if the authority had contact with anyone on HUD’s voucher shortfall team, THA vice president of communications and public affairs Ginny Hensley confirmed that her colleagues had been unable to reach their federal counterparts.
“That is correct. It’s a really precarious time, and it’s difficult because there has been cuts to HUD staffing,” Hensley said. “The people we typically communicate with, the reason we may not be hearing back is because they may not be there anymore. We don’t know. We truly don’t. We wish we did.”
While the Tulsa Housing Authority is preparing an emergency plan in case approximately 690 vouchers need to be canceled, Hensley stressed that a final decision would not be made until May. Ideally, she said, the authority would receive federal approval for shortfall funding.
“THA will not know for certain what our funding from HUD will be until May,” Hensley said. “We are planning as if there will be a shortfall for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program based on the current (U.S.) House continuing resolution budget, but there is the possibility that shortfall funding could be made available. THA made the board of commissioners aware now so that they will be informed in the event that we need to make changes to our administrative plan.”
Aaron Darden, the president of THA, offered a mixed assessment to the board, saying he was “hopeful” more federal funding would materialize, but he was not confident in the current administration.
“We’re hopeful still that we will get this funding, and now we are just doing some disaster planning in case minds are changed again,” Darden said. “There doesn’t seem to be motivation federally to try and address this, and I don’t think we’ve seen anything from this administration or the new secretary of HUD that gives us a whole lot of confidence all of the sudden they are going to dump a bunch of money in Section 8.”
Along with the number of applications it has received, THA’s voucher program capacity has climbed in recent years, particularly after the authority sold off more than 200 homes and duplexes from 2020 to 2022. The tenants in those homes — dubbed “Scattered Sites” — were transferred from THA’s project-based assistance program to Section 8 vouchers, so long as the new landlords kept the properties up to THA standards. A majority of the former Scattered Sites homes have subsequently been listed for sale or resold. When those properties have been resold, the transfer has superseded THA’s requirement that the former “Scattered Sites” homes remain in the Section 8 voucher program.
‘Mass eviction event’ possible if funding shortfall continues
Darian Walker, THA’s chief of staff, presented the shortfall to board members Thursday morning.
“We’ve looked at other housing authorities across the country and how they do this in the past and what they did. So we’re looking at multiple options right now,” Walker said. “One of those options is the last people on the program are the first ones off, other than elderly or disabled individuals. Right now, when we look at that, we would have to go all the way back to January 2021 to get the number of families that are not elderly or disabled.”
The board did not vote on a plan during its April meeting but plans to approve an updated emergency plan at its May meeting, even if shortfall funding is approved. While receiving federal shortfall funding this year would mean the board does not have to implement voucher cuts, the threat of a shortfall motivated the authority to prepare an emergency plan just in case.
“The likelihood of HUD or the federal government magically dumping a bunch money into this program is pretty low,” Hensley said. ” And so the likelihood of something like this happening again — even if it doesn’t happen this year — (is likely) in the future.”
While most of Thursday’s meeting focused on avoiding voucher cancelations, Darden acknowledged the possibility of a “mass eviction event” and uncertainty in how Tulsa County District Court judges would respond to an influx of evictions from former THA voucher holders.
“If there is this mass eviction event, we are not sure how the courts are going to look at that either, as we saw with COVID and some other things,” Darden said. “We just don’t know.”
If shortfall funding does not materialize and the board votes to implement an emergency plan, voucher holders could see cancellations as early as July 1. Once a tenant’s voucher eligibility is eliminated, it remains up to a landlord’s discretion as to whether they negotiate with tenants or file for an eviction. However, with many landlords who accept vouchers carrying mortgages on their properties, the likelihood of tenants successfully negotiating lower rents would seem slim.
In addition to worries for tenants losing housing, board members also expressed concern that voucher cuts would harm relationships with local landlords, which THA has worked to build over recent years. Landlord participation in the Section 8 housing voucher program is voluntary, and THA actively recruits landlords into their housing voucher program.
THA board discusses ‘undisclosed’ project, audit updates
Board members were also updated on various construction projects undertaken by the THA throughout the city. In addition to discussing developments currently under construction, the board was also presented with potential projects from other developers they can partner with on future projects. One $46 million investment is listed as “undisclosed,” and little was revealed about the potential project despite board member questions.
“And I have to ask, what’s undisclosed?” board chairman Rick Neal inquired.
Neal received little response, except that the developer was a nationwide company who had not built in Oklahoma before.
“We were reached out (to) by a developer that is still working through some NDAs before we can talk about it,” senior vice president of development Kent Keith said. “It sounded great, but that one might not go places. But they are a nationwide firm that has not yet built in Oklahoma.”
Other project updates included the completion of construction at Pioneer Plaza, as well as updates on construction projects scheduled for completion this year, such as Mohawk Manor, Seminole Hills and 36N.
Not much appears to have changed regarding THA’s audit backlog since December. The 2020 audit was completed last year, and a brief budget audit committee update Thursday revealed that the “2021 audit is in process.” Darden’s team hopes to have audits through 2023 done by the end of this year. Audits for 2024 and 2025 are planned for completion next year.
Kim Holland joins THA board
Mayor Monroe Nichols appointed former Oklahoma Insurance Department Commissioner Kim Holland to the Tulsa Housing Authority Board earlier this year to replace David Walker. Holland served as insurance commissioner from 2005 to 2011 and was appointed to the position by former Gov. Brad Henry after the impeachment of Caroll Fisher.
Asked about joining the board in February, Holland said she was “very excited” to be part of the Tulsa Housing Authority’s governing body.
“I’m currently the interim chair for Housing Solutions, so I am looking at my interest in Tulsa (which) is just the continuum of housing and shelter that we are providing our citizens,” Holland said. “And this is such as critical component of that, and so it’s really exciting for me to get to participate and see what’s happening in Tulsa.”
Review the THA voucher update PowerPoint
Review the THA development update PowerPoint
