The federal government ended a rule that disqualified many disabled veterans from federal housing subsidies. On Thursday, Aug. 8, the departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development officially changed the rules so that disability checks would not push veterans’ income above the threshold to receive housing benefits.
The change comes after years of pushback from veterans and advocates for people experiencing homelessness. The now-rescinded rules kept some veterans experiencing homelessness from getting federal housing vouchers because their disability compensation was counted as income. So even though they were among the most in need of assistance, the support they were getting kept them from additional help in getting off of the streets. It essentially kept veterans in a kind of Catch-22, and it has been ruled as illegal.
The VA and HUD announced the change on Aug. 8, updating the rules to the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, which provides services and housing vouchers for veterans experiencing homelessness.
“No veteran should ever have to experience homelessness, but when they do, they should not face barriers to getting help they deserve,” HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman said in the announcement. “This policy change will ensure that veterans who are receiving the disability benefits they earned through service and sacrifice can access the housing assistance and supportive services they need to resolve their homelessness.”
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There are 35,574 unhoused veterans nationwide, among the overall 653,000 unhoused Americans, per HUD’s 2013 data. Counts for 2024 have not yet been released.
“The days of a Veteran having to choose between getting the VA benefits they deserve and the housing support they need are finally over,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said.
The VA and HUD decision during a major lawsuit against the VA playing out in Los Angeles. The suit, brought by 14 unhoused veterans, covers a wide range of issues tied to among other things housing for veterans on VA’s nearly 400-acre campus in Los Angeles. In May, Judge David Carter, the federal judge overseeing the case, ruled that the policy discriminated against disabled veterans. For veterans with 100% disability rating, who have no dependents, that compensation equals a little more than $40,000 per year. Under the previous rules, that went above the area median income limit for receiving HUD-VASH assistance. The lawsuit against the VA went to trial this month.
“Those who gave the most cannot receive the least,” Carter wrote in his May ruling.
Earlier this year the VA announced it aimed to house 41,000 homeless veterans this year. It is working to do so through a combination of providing more services to unhoused veterans, offering direct rental assistance for those at risk of falling into homelessness and expanding HUD-VASH vouchers.
According to the federal departments, the updated rules on disability compensation and vouchers went into effect immediately. It is not clear however when new vouchers will be given out based on these updated rules, or how long it will take for local agencies to update their own systems to account for the changes.
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