The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) aims to increase the flexibility and efficiency of subsidized housing programs by aligning and streamlining required procedures for income review. Ultimately, this added flexibility will ease the administrative burden of Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and private owners participating in federal voucher programs, simplify the application process for tenants, and offer tenants increased wealth-building opportunities.

Complying with the new HOTMA rules will require PHAs to change the processes and public-facing materials they use to assess applicant eligibility, allocate public housing units, and issue housing vouchers. To help PHAs make these adjustments and increase tenants’ understanding of program requirements, Public Policy Lab is partnering with
the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FirstPic, and VPCC to develop capacity-building tools and products that are planned to be distributed to PHAs via the HUD Exchange.

All materials will be developed in a user-friendly format and written in plain language accessible to low-literacy applicants. We will also improve the visual design, making the materials more visually appealing, clear, and simple for applicants to navigate.