How streamlined verifications can support public housing agencies amidst the affordable housing crisisHow streamlined verifications can support public housing agencies amidst the affordable housing crisis

As Donald Trump takes office again, housing affordability remains a key issue. The United States has a shortage of 7.3 million rental homes that are affordable and available to renters with extremely low incomes, that is, incomes that are at or below either the federal poverty guideline or 30% of their area median income. Further demonstrating the depth of the issue, only 34 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.

Americans with low incomes face additional challenges to finding affordable housing. The cost of homes more than doubled from 1998 to 2021, and rent increased about 24% from 2020 to 2023. This means that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for low-income Americans to find housing that meets their financial needs. As a result, the burden is growing on public housing agencies (PHAs) to help these individuals and families.  

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administers federal aid to local PHAs, which help provide housing assistance to eligible low-income individuals. PHAs play a crucial role in helping people access affordable housing by determining eligibility for housing assistance programs, making decisions quickly and determining right-sized rent payments for each unique tenant circumstance. Around 3,300 PHAs manage housing for approximately 970,000 households across the nation. And considering that only 55% of public housing homes are in low- or moderate-poverty areas, it’s easier to understand why there’s a shortage of affordable housing for people in need—and a resulting large burden on PHAs. 

The challenge of income and employment verifications for public housing agencies
To determine that each applicant meets the income limit for affordable housing program eligibility, PHAs and property managers are required to perform verifications of income and employment. For some agencies, this means completing verifications for hundreds or even thousands of applicants each year. Manually verifying income and employment is time consuming and costly, though, as it requires PHA caseworkers to gather pay stubs or tax returns from individuals, contact the employers of applicants to request pay information or rely on state wage data, which can result in outdated information being used for determinations. 

When income and employment verifications are challenging, PHAs can struggle to meet community needs in a timely manner. This may create confusion for applicants who are already concerned about finding housing and emotional fatigue for caseworkers, who aren’t able to quickly help individuals and families in need. Plus, PHAs are often understaffed and face high employee turnover, which also contributes to the difficulties of keeping up with incoming rent subsidy applications. Everyone, from caseworkers and agency leaders to applicants, is looking for ways to make the process simpler.

Using technology to improve the affordable housing process
Using technology and data to streamline the income and employment verification process can help reduce manual efforts for PHAs that are working to more quickly get affordable housing to eligible people. Additionally, accessing commercial data sources can provide the ability to verify income and employment information through an automated, digital platform and may provide the ability to complete verifications instantaneously. 

This provides a win-win situation for everyone when compared to traditional methods that rely on the applicant to locate and deliver tax returns to paystubs or require the caseworker to contact the applicant’s employer to request income information. Using a single verification source also provides a more secure and private process, as it reduces paperwork and takes away the delay in waiting for an applicant’s employer’s direct response to the PHA. 

When PHAs use a digital platform for verification of income and employment, not only do these processes become more efficient and secure, they also free up valuable time that case workers can spend on more complex cases. By addressing the challenges of income and employment verifications, PHAs can better promote affordable housing for eligible applicants.