(Image Credit: IMAGN) Tina Ross takes a moment away from scraping mud from the wheels of her wagon to share her story of living by the river for the past decade Monday, March 3, 2025. Ross, a former Washburn Rural student, said she always knew she'd end up homeless but is OK with how she's living.
California – As California grapples with a housing crisis worsened by soaring rent prices, a vital federal rental assistance program is running out of funds faster than anticipated, leaving thousands of vulnerable residents at risk of losing their homes in the coming years.
Launched in 2021, the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program was a lifeline for those on the brink of homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, and victims of human trafficking. In California alone, 15,000 residents enrolled in the program to help cover their rent costs. Nationally, the program assisted about 60,000 individuals.
Designed as a temporary solution to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EHV program was funded with a $5 billion lump sum from Congress, with the expectation that the funds would last until 2030. However, as the program’s funds deplete more rapidly than anticipated, the future of rental assistance is now uncertain.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sent a letter to local public housing authorities, informing them that the final payment in spring 2026 would allow some agencies to continue operations until that year. However, after that, HUD confirmed that no additional funding would be available for the program.
The rapid depletion of the funds can be attributed, in part, to rising rent prices across the country. In San Diego, for example, the “fair market rent” in certain neighborhoods skyrocketed by 43% between 2021 and 2025 — nearly double the national inflation rate. Meanwhile, wages have remained relatively stagnant, leaving many tenants unable to keep up with the increased rent costs. As the EHV program pays the difference between a tenant’s income and their rent, the federal government has had to cover more as rents soared.
The potential loss of these emergency housing vouchers is especially concerning in the current political climate. Under the administration’s proposed budget cuts, the federal housing department faces the possibility of massive layoffs, further threatening the stability of rental assistance programs. Additionally, cuts to grants that enforce fair housing laws are already leaving many vulnerable renters without critical protections.
As funding for these essential programs dwindles, California faces the prospect of more individuals and families slipping into homelessness. The clock is ticking for policymakers to find solutions before the EHV program’s end leaves many more residents on the streets in just a few short years.
