The public comment period ended August 31, 2025
NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD & PUBLIC HEARING
Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) contracts with multiple third-party providers to provide affordable housing using the Project-Based Voucher (PBV). PBVs are tied to the unit, and third parties typically accept referrals through Coordinated Entry, or they manage their own waitlist. THA houses approximately 619 households through our third-party partners.
It is customary for THA’s third-party partners to cap rents at the payment standard levels. This has been an ongoing practice and THA’s third-party partners have been agreeable to following these limits. However, THA has not formally adopted a rent cap to ensure that our partners maintain rents at the payment standard level.
Federal regulations permit PBV rents to be set as high as 110% Fair Market Rent (FMR). However, if THA’s third-party partners were to set rents that high, THA would be unable to afford to maintain these partnerships and to serve as many households. It would also result in otherwise affordable units becoming unaffordable, imposing a significant rent burden on the low-income households residing in them.
The purpose of this proposed policy change is to codify what has become the status quo and establish a policy capping third party PBV rents at the payment standards set for the HCV program.
THA invites residents, voucher holders, partners, and community members to comment on this policy change. We will receive comments during a 30-day public comment period beginning August 1, 2025 – August 31, 2025. All comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on August 31, 2025.
Deadline for Comments
The Tacoma Housing Authority Board of Commissioners will vote on the adoption of this policy on Wednesday, September 24, 2025.
About Tacoma Housing Authority
Established in 1940, Tacoma Housing Authority provides high-quality, stable, and sustainable housing and supportive services to people in need, in ways that help our clients prosper and help our communities develop equitably. THA develops and manages real estate, provides rental housing, and partners with thousands of private landlords to help families pay the rent in the private rental market. In addition, THA delivers supportive services to help families succeed as tenants, parents, students, wage earners, and builders of assets who can live without assistance. THA seeks to do its work in ways that help our community be an “attractive place to live, work, attend school, shop and play,” and that help Tacoma be “safe, vibrant, prosperous, attractive and just.”