New housing vouchers awarded to Michigan as fair-market rent climbs

Michigan is getting additional housing choice vouchers to support low-income households. (MLive file photo)

Michigan is getting a chunk of federal housing vouchers.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Michigan public housing agencies 511 vouchers valued at $4.4 million.

Housing choice vouchers provide rent subsidies for people who have low-incomes and live in privately owned homes and apartments.

Federal officials doled out more than 19,000 new vouchers last week in the largest allocation of flexible rental assistance in two decades.

“To help people who are dealing with the housing affordability crisis, including people experiencing homelessness, we are awarding more than 19,000 new Housing Choice Vouchers to housing agencies throughout the country,” U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement.

Related: ‘Rapid rent increases’ push housing voucher values up 10% in Michigan

Roughly 2.3 million American households — about 5% of all renters — use federal housing vouchers. In Michigan, an estimated 225,000 people rely on federal housing assistance, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This includes about 53,900 who receive housing choice vouchers.

More than 50 Michigan public housing authorities, including Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Flint, will be getting some of the new vouchers. Detroit will receive 38. Grand Rapids will get 15 and Ann Arbor, 16. Flint will receive 10.

Vouchers are one way to make housing more affordable in Michigan, where an estimated half of renters are paying too much. But long waitlists and limited funding mean Michiganders wait an average of 26 months to secure a voucher, the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities found.

No waitlists are currently open in the state.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also recently raised fair market rents for federal housing programs, including vouchers. This is a calculation of how much money is needed to cover rent and utilities on 40% of rental housing in an area.

Michigan’s fair market rents are going up 10.3% this year. Here’s a map showing the percentage changes in each county:

Can’t see the map? Click here.

In Michigan, market rate rents have climbed 27% for a one-bedroom and 14% for a two-bedroom in a year, according to a September report from Rent.com. But national trends indicate rent prices are starting to moderate after months of steep hikes.

“HUD is committed to ensuring people have access to the resources and tools they need to get a decent and safe home,” Fudge said. “That is what everyone in this country deserves. Every eligible household should have access to a voucher. No one should have to sleep on the street or in their car because they can’t afford rent.”

The American Rescue Plan, enacted last year to provide pandemic relief, allotted $214 million for 100,000 new housing choice vouchers. The proposed 2023 federal budget includes funding for 200,000 more.

More on MLive:

‘It’s a nightmare’: Stories from Michigan’s cutthroat rental market

Two affordable Michigan cities make national ‘hottest housing market’ list

Housing grant puts $50M into ‘missing middle’ home supply

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