Project-Based Voucher (PBV)

What Is a Project-Based Voucher?

A project-based voucher (PBV) is rental assistance from the federal Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program that a local public housing agency (PHA) commits to specific apartments. A regular voucher belongs to the household, which takes it to any landlord willing to accept it. A PBV belongs to the unit. Whoever qualifies and lives there receives the subsidy.

PHAs do not get separate money for PBVs. They pay for them out of their existing voucher funding. Taking part is voluntary, so not every PHA runs a PBV program.

How It Works

The PHA selects projects through a competition or, in limited cases the rules allow, without one. It then signs a housing assistance payments (HAP) contract with the owner. Under rules updated in a May 2024 final rule implementing the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA), an initial contract can run up to 20 years. Extensions of up to 20 years each are allowed, but the remaining term can never exceed 40 years. Payments depend on Congress continuing to fund the voucher program each year.

Eligible households come from a waitlist kept by the PHA or, if the PHA allows it, by the owner for that property. Their rent is based on their total tenant payment, which is usually about 30% of adjusted income, minus a utility allowance when they pay utilities themselves. The PHA pays the owner the rest of the contract rent.

Federal rules set two limits:

• Program cap: a PHA may project-base up to 20% of its authorized voucher units, plus up to 10% more for certain units. These include units for homeless households, veterans, eligible youth, and elderly people or people with disabilities in supportive housing, as well as units in areas where vouchers are hard to use.
• Project cap: usually the greater of 25 units or 25% of a project’s units, with the percentage rising to 40% in areas where vouchers are hard to use. Units reserved for elderly households, eligible youth, or households eligible for supportive services do not count toward it.

A household that has received PBV assistance for at least a year may leave. The PHA must then offer it a tenant-based voucher or comparable help. If none is available right away, the household gets priority for the next one.

PBV vs. Tenant-Based Voucher

Why It Matters for Workforce Housing

Because the contract commits rental assistance to the property for many years, a PBV can help owners borrow and make new affordable buildings more feasible. PBVs can be combined with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which lets households with very low incomes afford tax credit units. They serve households under HUD voucher income limits, not the moderate-income workers that most workforce housing targets.