When contracts expire, both HUD and the owner can choose not to renew. The report points out that 44 states have more than 50 percent of their Project-Based Section 8 units expiring in the next five years, and every state has more than 1,000 units expiring in the period. Both help low-income households rent privately owned housing units. Residents pay about 30 percent of their income for rent and HUD pays the rest. The Tenant-Based Program provides vouchers that remain with the households that use them.
Families can take the subsidies to new rental housing if they decide to move.
The Project-Based Program, on the other hand, provides subsidies that are tied to specific rental housing units.