RENTAL ASSISTANCE DEMONSTRATION (RAD)

RAD was created in order to give public housing authorities (PHAs) a powerful tool to preserve and improve public housing properties and address the multi-billion-dollar nationwide backlog of deferred maintenance.

BY THE NUMBERS

Nationally, Public Housing Authorities have converted 1,722 projects covering 232,629 housing units under the RAD program. This consists of 176,669 RAD Section 8 units, 33,327 non-RAD Section 8 units, 17,368 Low Income Housing Tax Credit units and 5,265 market units. That means approximately 529,190 people have had their assisted housing secured and preserved for the long-term on the Section 8 platform. Under RAD, the physical condition of these properties will be improved and capital needs for the next 20 years will be accounted for, ensuring that these homes remain affordable in perpetuity.

These transactions have secured $20,361,415,331 in construction investment, including initial reserve deposits, equating to $87,527 per unit built or rehabbed. That means that through RAD, 386,878 direct and indirect jobs have been created in the United States.

Based on closed transactions, the most active PHAs in RAD are:

502 projects covering 52,683 units are currently in the RAD pipeline.

RAD FACTS

1. RAD allows public housing agencies to leverage public and private debt and equity in order to reinvest in the public housing stock. This is critical given the backlog of public housing capital needs.
2. In RAD, units move to a Section 8 platform with a long-term contract that, by law, must be renewed in perpetuity. A Use Agreement is also recorded under RAD, further enforcing HUD's long-term interest. This ensures that the units remain permanently affordable to low-income households.
3. Residents benefit from a right of return, a prohibition against re-screening, and robust notification and relocation rights. Residents continue to pay 30% of their adjusted income towards the rent and they maintain the same basic rights as they possess in the public housing program and gain a new option to request tenant-based assistance if they wish to subsequently move from the property.
4. RAD maintains the ongoing public stewardship of the converted property through clear rules requiring ongoing ownership or control by a public or non-profit entity.
5. RAD is highly cost-effective, relying on shifting existing levels of public housing funds to the Section 8 accounts as properties convert.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
To see photo essays documenting the resident experience, please visit www.hud.gov/RAD/news/photoessays. To contact the RAD team, please email rad@hud.gov

To download data for each component, click the slice on the chart.