McKinney-Vento Act — Federal Homeless Assistance Programs

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 11301–11435) is the primary federal law addressing homelessness in America — authorizing the two largest HUD homeless assistance programs: the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program ($3.1 billion annually) and the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program ($290 million). The Act works alongside public housing and other federal homeless assistance programs to form the federal response to homelessness. On a single night in January 2024, the annual Point-in-Time count found more than 770,000 people experiencing homelessness — the highest number on record (an 18% increase from 2023). The Act defines homelessness broadly, funds a range of interventions from emergency shelter to permanent supportive housing, requires communities to develop coordinated homeless service systems through Continuums of Care, and — through its education provisions (Title VII-B) — guarantees that homeless children and youth can remain enrolled in and transported to their school of origin. The HEARTH Act of 2009 significantly amended McKinney-Vento, consolidating HUD's homeless programs and codifying the Housing First approach that prioritizes getting people into permanent housing quickly, then providing supportive services.

Current Law (2026)

Legal Authority

• 42 U.S.C. § 11301 — Findings and purpose (Congress finds that homelessness is a national problem requiring a comprehensive federal response)
• 42 U.S.C. § 11302 — Definition of homeless (an individual lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; includes people living in shelters, transitional housing, places not designed for habitation, or fleeing domestic violence; HEARTH Act expanded to include people who will imminently lose housing)
• 42 U.S.C. § 11360a — Collaborative applicants (each community must have a Continuum of Care — a community-wide planning body that coordinates homeless services and applies jointly for CoC funding)
• 42 U.S.C. § 11381–11384 — Continuum of Care Program (authorizes competitive grants for permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services only, and HMIS)

How It Works

The McKinney-Vento system is organized around roughly 400 Continuums of Care (CoCs) covering every community in the country — each CoC aligned with a city, county, or region. Each CoC planning body conducts the annual Point-in-Time count of homeless individuals, maintains a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) tracking services and outcomes, develops a community plan, and submits a single coordinated CoC application to HUD for competitive funding. Communities with stronger plans, better data, and demonstrated housing outcomes receive more grant dollars.

The CoC Program funds four main project types: (1) Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) — long-term housing with wraparound supportive services (case management, mental health, substance abuse treatment) for chronically homeless individuals with disabilities. PSH is the most evidence-based intervention for chronic homelessness, with success rates (maintaining housing) above 85%. (2) Rapid Rehousing (RRH) — short-to-medium-term rental assistance (typically 3–24 months) plus case management to help individuals and families exit homelessness quickly and stabilize in permanent housing. RRH is the primary intervention for homeless families. (3) Transitional Housing (TH) — time-limited housing (up to 24 months) with intensive services, now de-emphasized in favor of PSH and RRH. (4) Supportive Services Only (SSO) — services without housing, including street outreach.

Emergency Solutions Grants fund the more immediate/crisis end of the homeless response: emergency shelters (operating costs, essential services, shelter renovation), street outreach (engagement teams connecting unsheltered people with services), homelessness prevention (short-term rental assistance and services to prevent eviction for people at imminent risk), and rapid rehousing. ESG funds are distributed by formula to states, cities, and counties.

The HEARTH Act codified the Housing First philosophy into federal policy — the principle that the most effective path out of homelessness is to move people into permanent housing immediately, without requiring sobriety, treatment compliance, or other preconditions, and then provide supportive services once housed. This reversed the traditional "treatment first" model that conditioned housing access on demonstrated readiness. Evidence consistently shows Housing First achieves better housing stability outcomes than conditional approaches, which is why HUD's funding criteria now favor it.

McKinney-Vento's Title VII-B education provisions guarantee homeless children and youth the right to remain enrolled in their school of origin even when they move to a different district, the right to transportation to that school, immediate enrollment in a new school without normally required records (immunization records, proof of residency, birth certificates), and access to Title I educational services. Every school district must designate a homeless liaison responsible for identifying and assisting homeless students — a requirement that connects the homelessness system to the school system where many families first surface as housing-unstable.

How It Affects You

If you're currently unhoused or at immediate risk of losing housing: Your first call is 211 — the national social services hotline (available in every state, by phone or at 211.org) that connects you to local shelter, food, rental assistance, and case management. For emergency shelter specifically, call your local CoC's coordinated entry hotline — most communities now have a single access point that assesses your needs and connects you to the right program rather than having you call 20 agencies individually. If you're on the street or in your car and need immediate shelter tonight, call 211 and ask specifically for "emergency shelter beds available tonight" — shelter availability varies daily. If you're at risk of eviction (you have a lease, but can't make rent): ESG homelessness prevention funds pay short-term rental assistance and utility arrears for people facing imminent eviction. Contact a local nonprofit housing counselor (at consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor, filter for "Rental housing counseling" — free, HUD-approved) or call your local ESG grantee (typically city or county government) to ask whether prevention funds are available. These funds are limited and often exhausted — move quickly. Documenting homelessness: many services require you to verify homeless status, which can feel catch-22 if you have no address. A letter from a shelter, case worker, or service provider documenting your current situation typically satisfies this requirement.

If you're a parent with school-age children and you're experiencing housing instability: McKinney-Vento gives your children enforceable rights that most parents don't know about. Under Title VII-B, your children must be: (1) immediately enrolled in school without proof of residency, birth certificate, immunization records, or other documents you may not have access to while homeless — the school must enroll first and request documents later; (2) allowed to remain in their school of origin even if you move to a shelter, friend's home, or temporary housing in a different district; (3) provided transportation to the school of origin at no cost, even if that means a bus that crosses district lines. If any school refuses to immediately enroll your children or demands documents you can't provide, ask to speak with the school's McKinney-Vento liaison (every district must designate one) and cite 42 U.S.C. § 11432. If the school still refuses, your state's McKinney-Vento coordinator (at the Department of Education) can intervene. "Doubled up" situations (staying temporarily with friends or family because you have no other option) count as homeless under McKinney-Vento — your children's rights apply even if you're not in a shelter.

If you're a housing-insecure individual or family and have a disability or other complex need: Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) — the program where housing is combined with long-term case management, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment — is the most effective intervention for people with complex needs who have been homeless repeatedly. PSH is NOT a shelter you age out of; it's permanent housing with voluntary support services. Access to PSH varies by community; in most CoCs, you access it through the coordinated entry system rather than through direct application to individual programs. If you've been homeless multiple times or have a disability that makes maintaining housing difficult, tell the coordinated entry assessor — that history and those needs affect prioritization. Housing vouchers: if you receive a housing choice voucher (Section 8) while homeless, use it quickly — vouchers have search deadlines and many people lose them due to the tight rental market. Ask the issuing housing authority for a search extension and get help from a housing navigator if available.

If you work at a homeless services organization, CoC, or local government: Your HUD CoC grant competition score depends heavily on HMIS data quality, coordinated entry implementation, and demonstrated performance. The metrics HUD weights most heavily: the percentage of people who exit to permanent housing, the percentage who return to homelessness within 2 years, and the length of time people spend homeless before exiting. If your community lacks a unified coordinated entry system (single access point, standardized assessment tool, prioritization for highest-need individuals), that is the highest-leverage system investment available. USICH's evidence-based practices rubric and HUD's NOFO guidance provide the framework for what "good" looks like. The post-Grants Pass (2024) environment has created pressure on many cities to combine enforcement approaches with housing-focused interventions — the challenge is maintaining Housing First fidelity while satisfying political demands for visible encampment reductions. The evidence shows enforcement without housing access simply moves people and does not reduce homelessness; make sure this is documented in your CoC's community plan.

State Variations

McKinney-Vento sets a federal floor with significant state variation:

• State homeless assistance programs supplement federal CoC and ESG funding (amounts vary dramatically)
• State definitions of homelessness may be broader than the federal definition
• State education laws may provide additional protections for homeless students
• State Medicaid programs may cover housing-related supportive services under 1915(i) or 1115 waivers
• State "right to shelter" laws exist in some jurisdictions (notably New York City) but are not federally required

Implementing Regulations

• 24 CFR Part 576 — Emergency Solutions Grants Program (33 sections — the regulations implementing the ESG program under McKinney-Vento Title IV as amended by the HEARTH Act; ~$290 million annually distributed by formula to states, large cities, and urban counties for five components of homeless response):

  • § 576.100 — Five program components and expenditure limits: ESG funds flow through five specific activity types, each with its own eligible cost categories and spending ceilings: (1) street outreach (engagement and services for unsheltered individuals — essential services, emergency health services, mental health services; capped at 60% of the recipient's ESG grant combined with emergency shelter); (2) emergency shelter (operations, essential services, shelter renovation); (3) homelessness prevention (housing relocation and stabilization services, and short- to medium-term rental assistance for people at risk of homelessness); (4) rapid re-housing (housing relocation services and rental assistance to quickly move people from homelessness to permanent housing); (5) HMIS (the Homeless Management Information System — funding participation in the data collection system that tracks clients, services, and outcomes)
  • § 576.101 — Street outreach: eligible costs include engagement activities (identifying and building trust with unsheltered persons), case management, emergency health/mental health services, transportation to services, and services for special populations; outreach workers must document client contacts; persons contacted must be provided with referrals to appropriate services; the goal is connecting people sleeping outside with the shelter and services system
  • § 576.102 — Emergency shelter: ESG funds may pay for shelter operations (maintenance, utilities, insurance, supplies, rent) and essential services for shelter residents (case management, child care, education, employment assistance, outreach, transit); shelter renovation is also eligible — repairs, minor alterations, or conversion of buildings for use as emergency shelter; ESG-funded shelters must have written intake procedures, comply with civil rights laws, and follow habitability standards; recipients must attempt to use ESG funds to serve the most vulnerable individuals and families first
  • § 576.103–576.104 — Homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing: both components may pay for housing relocation and stabilization services and rental assistance; the distinction is the population: prevention funds serve people who currently have housing but are at imminent risk of losing it (facing eviction, utility shutoff, or other housing crisis); rapid re-housing funds serve people who are literally homeless (in shelter or on the street) and need help getting back into permanent housing; both use similar financial assistance tools (rental application fees, security deposits, rental arrears, utility deposits), but serve different phases of the housing crisis
  • § 576.106 — Short-term and medium-term rental assistance: ESG can pay for short-term rental assistance (up to 3 months) and medium-term rental assistance (3–24 months); when combined with stabilization services, rental assistance addresses the immediate financial barrier to housing while case management addresses the underlying vulnerabilities; the 24-month cap on ESG rental assistance distinguishes it from CoC permanent supportive housing, which may fund indefinite rent subsidies
  • § 576.107 — HMIS participation requirement: all recipients must participate in the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) designated by their local CoC — a database that collects individual-level client data on who is served, what services they receive, and what housing outcomes result; HMIS data is reported to HUD and used to measure program performance; the mandatory HMIS participation requirement is central to HUD's shift toward data-driven homeless service delivery; Domestic Violence (DV) service providers are exempt from standard HMIS but must use a comparable database that protects survivor privacy
  • § 576.200 — Matching requirements: each recipient must match ESG funds dollar-for-dollar from non-ESG sources; match may include cash, other grants, in-kind contributions (volunteer time at fair market value, donated space), or program income; the match requirement doubles the impact of federal ESG dollars by requiring equal investment from local, state, and private sources; recipients document match in financial reports submitted to HUD

  ESG is the smallest of the three major McKinney-Vento programs by dollar amount (~$290M vs. CoC's ~$3.1B), but it serves the most immediate crisis functions — emergency shelter operations and homelessness prevention — that the larger CoC program cannot fund as flexibly. States and entitlement communities (cities and counties receiving Community Development Block Grants) receive ESG allocations by formula; they then subgrant to local nonprofits running shelters, outreach programs, and rapid re-housing operations. Recent rulemakings: 81 FR 80808 (November 2016) — updated performance standards and habitability requirements; 80 FR 75939 (December 2015) — updated definitions and program components following HEARTH Act implementation.

• 24 CFR Part 578 — Continuum of Care Program (55 sections): the regulatory backbone for the CoC competition — who can apply, what funds can pay for, how HUD picks winners, and what happens when grantees underperform. Key provisions:

  • § 578.5 — Establishing the Continuum of Care: the CoC is a collaborative planning body — not a single agency — formed by representatives from relevant local organizations (governments, nonprofits, healthcare, VA, schools); each CoC must elect a board (§578.7), maintain a coordinated entry system giving all homeless individuals equitable access to the same pool of housing resources, and adopt written prioritization standards governing which households receive available units first
  • § 578.11 — Unified Funding Agency (UFA): a CoC may apply to HUD for UFA designation, authorizing it to receive all CoC grant funds for the geographic area and subaward to subrecipients; UFAs may retain up to 3% for administrative costs (§578.41); not all CoCs are UFAs — some operate as collaborative applicants where HUD awards grants directly to individual project sponsors
  • § 578.13 — Remedial action: if HUD finds a CoC doesn't meet minimum performance or governance requirements, HUD may redirect funds within the CoC's jurisdiction — including designating a different collaborative applicant; the basis for HUD's authority to restructure an underperforming CoC's leadership without waiting for the next annual competition
  • § 578.15 — Eligible applicants: nonprofits, states, local governments, and instrumentalities of local government; for-profit entities are not eligible; faith-based organizations may apply but grant funds cannot support inherently religious activities
  • § 578.19 — Application process: HUD publishes a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) after annual appropriations; CoC collaborative applicants submit consolidated applications ranking all projects in their jurisdiction; HUD scores applications on housing outcomes (exits to permanent housing, returns to homelessness), data quality, coordinated entry implementation, and system performance
  • § 578.21 — Awarding funds: grants are awarded on a tier system — Tier 1 (100% of renewal budget) receives priority funding; Tier 2 (~10%) is competitively scored; CoCs can move projects between tiers, effectively recommending defunding underperforming projects in favor of higher-performing ones; this internal triage is a key feature of the competition
  • § 578.33 — Renewals: expiring grants receive a one-year renewal by right if performance standards are met; HUD may decline renewal for documented performance failures; projects consolidated from prior McKinney-Vento programs (Shelter Plus Care, Supportive Housing Program) are treated as renewals
  • § 578.37 — Program components and eligible uses: funds can pay for permanent supportive housing (long-term housing + services for people with disabilities), rapid rehousing (short-term rental assistance + case management, typically 3–24 months), transitional housing (up to 24 months — now de-emphasized under Housing First evidence), supportive services only (outreach, case management without housing), and HMIS data system costs
  • § 578.51 — Rental assistance: may be short-term (up to 3 months), medium-term (4–24 months), or long-term (24+ months for permanent supportive housing); participant rent contribution is capped at 30% of adjusted monthly income; rental assistance recipients must meet the Part 578 definition of homeless or at-risk
  • § 578.53 — Supportive services: eligible services include case management, childcare, employment assistance, health services, legal services, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, and transportation; services may be subcontracted to specialist providers — most recipients operate this way rather than providing all services directly
  • § 578.107 — Sanctions: HUD conducts annual performance reviews and may reduce, suspend, or terminate grants for performance failures; patterns of failure result in projects not being renewed in the next competition; corrective action plans are required before escalation to termination

  The CoC program's competitive structure creates an accountability mechanism within each CoC — the collaborative applicant and board must rank their own projects, recommending lower-performing programs for reduced funding or elimination. Communities with strong coordinated entry systems, quality HMIS data, and rigorous subrecipient performance management consistently outperform fragmented service systems. The 2015 and 2016 updates (80 FR 75940 and 81 FR 80810) tightened coordinated entry requirements and performance standards to accelerate the shift from emergency shelter to permanent housing interventions.

• 24 CFR Part 91 — Consolidated plans: HUD's planning and application requirements for the Consolidated Plan (5-year plan) and Annual Action Plan that govern how jurisdictions document their housing and homelessness needs and allocate federal homeless assistance funding

• 24 CFR Part 583 — Supportive Housing Program (28 sections): implements the original Supportive Housing Program (SHP) authorized by McKinney-Vento Title IV, Subtitle C (42 U.S.C. §§ 11381–11389), which preceded the 2009 HEARTH Act's consolidation of most McKinney-Vento programs into the CoC framework. While new SHP grants are no longer available (replaced by CoC grants under Part 578), existing SHP projects continue to operate under Part 583 rules — making it the regulatory foundation for a significant portion of the permanent supportive housing stock in cities that built up SHP projects in the 1990s–2000s before the CoC competition era.

  Grant types (§§ 583.100–583.135):

  • § 583.100 — Types of assistance: SHP grants fund (1) acquisition of structures for use as supportive housing; (2) rehabilitation of existing structures; (3) new construction (the only McKinney-Vento program that explicitly funded construction of new housing units); (4) leasing of structures or portions thereof; (5) supportive services for homeless persons residing in or seeking to move into supportive housing; and (6) operating costs of supportive housing for up to 5 years; each grant type has separate matching requirements
  • § 583.105 — Grants for acquisition and rehabilitation: HUD provides capital grants covering the acquisition or rehabilitation of real property; the recipient must match with non-federal funds; the acquired/rehabilitated property must be used as supportive housing for a minimum of 20 years following the date of HUD's first grant — the 20-year use restriction is one of the key features distinguishing SHP capital grants from operating grants, and it created a permanent affordable housing resource out of federal capital investment
  • § 583.110 — Grants for new construction: SHP was the primary federal grant program that explicitly funded construction of new permanent supportive housing units; HUD covers a portion of construction costs; matching requirements apply; new construction projects are also subject to the 20-year use restriction
  • § 583.115 — Grants for leasing: HUD covers the actual cost of leasing structures or units for use as supportive housing; leasing grants run for up to 3 years, renewable; leasing grants enabled nonprofit organizations without capital to create supportive housing by renting private-market units — a model that predated and influenced the tenant-based rental assistance approach now dominant in CoC rapid re-housing
  • § 583.120 — Grants for supportive services: covers costs of services provided to homeless persons in supportive housing — case management, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, employment assistance, life skills, and childcare; service grants run up to 3 years; the services must be appropriate to the needs of the population served; recipients must document that services are actually provided to residents

  Populations and project types (§ 583.1): SHP funds three project types distinguished by the target population's support needs and housing model:

  • Transitional housing — temporary housing (up to 24 months) with intensive services, designed to move residents into permanent housing; SHP was a major funder of transitional housing programs in the 1990s; under Housing First evidence, transitional housing has been de-emphasized in CoC competitions
  • Permanent housing — long-term housing for homeless individuals and families with disabilities; SHP's permanent housing grants created the early stock of permanent supportive housing (PSH) in U.S. cities — chronically homeless individuals with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, or physical disabilities housed indefinitely with on-site or linked services
  • Safe havens — low-barrier, minimal-service housing for severely mentally ill street homeless persons unwilling to accept traditional shelter rules; safe havens provided a harm-reduction entry point to housing for the hardest-to-serve population

  The SHP created hundreds of programs that are now operating on CoC renewals — the physical housing stock (buildings acquired, rehabilitated, or constructed under SHP) remains subject to the 20-year use restrictions in the original grant agreements even as the funding has transitioned to CoC. Cities that built SHP-funded housing in the late 1990s are approaching or have passed the end of their 20-year use periods, creating policy questions about whether those buildings remain in the affordable/supportive housing supply or return to market-rate use. No major rulemakings since 1989 (54 FR 3374, January 1989 — original SHP regulations); administrative guidance from HUD has updated operational requirements without formal rulemaking.

• 24 CFR Part 582 — Shelter Plus Care (S+C) Program (22 sections): implements subtitle F of the McKinney-Vento Act's Title IV, authorizing grants for permanent rental assistance matched dollar-for-dollar by supportive services for homeless people with serious mental illness, AIDS/HIV, or substance use disorders. Shelter Plus Care was folded into the CoC Program by the HEARTH Act, but existing S+C projects renew under Part 582 rules:

  • § 582.100 — Program component types: S+C offered four rental assistance models — (1) Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TRA): portable rental assistance certificates usable in any housing market unit meeting HUD's housing quality standards; (2) Project-Based Rental Assistance (PRA): assistance attached to specific units in privately owned projects; (3) Sponsor-Based Rental Assistance (SRA): assistance for units leased by nonprofit sponsors who sublease to eligible persons; (4) Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation for SROs (SRO): rental assistance for rehabilitated single-room occupancy units for homeless individuals
  • § 582.110 — Matching requirement: the fundamental S+C design: for every dollar of rental assistance received, the grantee must match with one dollar of supportive services (mental health treatment, substance abuse counseling, case management, medical care) — ensuring housing is accompanied by the clinical and social services that reduce returns to homelessness; grantees document matching through service provider agreements or in-kind certifications
  • § 582.115 — Limitations on assistance: current occupants of the targeted housing cannot be S+C participants at the time of initial occupancy (to prevent displacement of non-homeless tenants); participants must be homeless and must have a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or AIDS/HIV diagnosis; length of assistance is not time-limited — S+C is a permanent housing program, not a transitional one
  • § 582.120 — Consolidated plan requirement: applicants that are states or units of general local government must have a HUD-approved consolidated plan; nonprofit organizations must certify consistency with the local consolidated plan — linking S+C projects to the community's broader housing and homelessness plan
  • § 582.310 — Participant rights and responsibilities: S+C participants must be given a written lease, must not be required to participate in supportive services as a condition of housing retention (though participation is strongly encouraged), and must receive 30 days' written notice before termination of housing assistance; the lease requirement and eviction protections track the Fair Housing Act's protections for tenants with disabilities

  Shelter Plus Care was among the first HUD programs explicitly designed around "Housing First" principles — providing stable housing before requiring sobriety or program compliance. S+C's matching requirement proved administratively complex (tracking and documenting service dollars across multiple provider agreements), which contributed to HUD's decision to consolidate S+C into the streamlined CoC Program structure under the HEARTH Act. Existing S+C projects with unexpired grant terms continue under Part 582; new projects now compete under Part 578.

• 24 CFR Part 581 — Use of Federal Real Property to Assist the Homeless (23 sections): implements 42 U.S.C. § 11411 (McKinney-Vento Title V), which requires federal agencies to make underutilized, unutilized, excess, and surplus federal properties available to homeless-serving organizations before disposing of them through normal channels. The statute and Part 581 create a right of first refusal for homeless assistance organizations — homeless providers get a 60+ day window to express interest in and apply for federal properties before those properties go to auction or other disposal:

  • § 581.3 — Quarterly canvass: HUD canvasses all federal landholding agencies quarterly to identify properties that are underutilized, unutilized, excess, or declared surplus; agencies must provide HUD with property checklists describing each property's location, size, condition, and current use
  • § 581.4 — Suitability determination: within 30 days of receiving property information, HUD makes a suitability determination — whether the property is suitable for use to assist the homeless; HUD's suitability criteria consider contamination (flammable/explosive hazards, chemical contamination), structural condition, flood plain location, airport noise zones, and isolated location; most routine federal buildings and land parcels are found suitable
  • § 581.6 — Suitability exclusions: a property is unsuitable if it has unresolvable contamination hazards, is in a 100-year floodplain (without adequate mitigation), is in an airport clear zone, or is structurally unsound beyond cost-effective rehabilitation; the suitability determination is HUD's function — individual landholding agencies cannot unilaterally declare properties unsuitable
  • § 581.8 — Public notice: HUD publishes notice of suitable and available properties in the Federal Register no later than 15 days after the determination; the Federal Register notice triggers the 60-day holding period during which homeless organizations can express interest; the properties are simultaneously listed on HUD's website
  • § 581.10 — Expression of interest: eligible organizations — nonprofits and state/local governments that assist homeless persons — have 60 days from the Federal Register publication to submit a written expression of interest to HHS; during this period, the property is not available for other disposal; after the 60-day window closes, properties with no expressions of interest are released for normal disposal
  • § 581.11–581.12 — Application and approval: HHS (which administers the Title V program jointly with HUD) reviews applications from interested organizations; approved applicants receive the property by lease or deed for homeless assistance purposes; unutilized and underutilized properties are typically conveyed by lease at $1/year; surplus properties transferred by deed are conveyed at appraised value discount or no cost depending on the organization's ability to pay
  • § 581.18 — Utilization and enforcement: transferees must use the property exclusively for homeless assistance purposes; HHS may impose sanctions — including re-conveyance of the property — for noncompliance; compliance inspections are required; the 20-year use restriction (for deed transfers) ensures the property serves homeless people for a generation before it can be converted to other uses

  The Title V federal property program transfers dozens of surplus federal properties annually to homeless organizations — former military bases, surplus VA hospital buildings, closed federal office facilities — providing substantial real estate value at minimal cost. The program's effectiveness is constrained by the quality of available surplus properties (many are in poor condition or in locations without strong homeless service infrastructure) and by competition with other federal property disposal priorities. Still, the right-of-first-refusal structure ensures that homeless organizations have a formal seat at the table in every federal property disposal decision.

Pending Legislation

Homelessness assistance reauthorization appears in broader housing and social services legislation. See HUD Housing Programs and Affordable Housing.

Recent Developments

• Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024) — cities may clear encampments: The Supreme Court held (6-3) that cities may enforce public camping ordinances and clear encampments even when adequate shelter is unavailable, reversing the 9th Circuit's "cruel and unusual punishment" analysis. The ruling removed the main legal barrier to enforcement of anti-camping ordinances in western cities that had been unable to clear encampments for years. Cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland moved quickly to expand enforcement post-Grants Pass. Advocates warned that enforcement without housing simply moves people around rather than resolving homelessness; cities responded that visible encampments impede public health and safety regardless of root causes.
• Record homelessness and HUD funding: The 2024 Point-in-Time count (released December 27, 2024) showed more than 770,000 people experiencing homelessness on a single night — the highest number ever recorded and representing an 18% increase from 2023. HUD released its annual homelessness data alongside $3.6 billion in CoC grants for the 2025 competition year. The increase has been driven by rising rents, exhaustion of pandemic-era rental assistance, and ongoing migration patterns in major cities. Veteran homelessness was an exception in 2024 — falling roughly 8% from 35,574 (2023) to 32,882 (2024), continuing the long-term downward trend, with unsheltered veterans down nearly 11%.
• Trump administration and HUD approach: HUD under Secretary Scott Turner in the Trump administration has shifted focus toward law enforcement approaches to homelessness (encampment clearance, anti-camping enforcement) and away from the Housing First model that HUD had prioritized under Biden. The administration's budget proposed significant changes to homeless assistance funding structure. Some emergency housing voucher allocations from ARP funds remained unspent at state/local levels as the program's administrative complexity slowed deployment.
• 2025 reconciliation and housing vouchers: The reconciliation package included changes to Section 8 that, if enacted, would reduce voucher funding over time. Any reductions in Section 8 availability would directly affect the "exit pathway" from homelessness — the housing voucher program is the single most effective tool for moving people from homelessness to stable housing. Local communities also use Community Development Block Grants to fund homeless services alongside CoC and ESG programs.