Torrance public housing agency creates waiting-list preferences to help transition Emergency Housing Voucher participants

The Torrance Public Housing Agency board adopted significant amendments to the agency’s 2025 annual plan and 2025–2029 five-year plan and adopted Resolution PHA 2025-02 to approve an amended administrative plan for the Section 8 rental assistance program.

Julia Smith of the Community Development Department told the board the changes are designed to help participants who received Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs) transition to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) notified PHAs on March 6, 2025 that EHV funding will end in 2026 — earlier than the program’s originally-projected 2030 sunset. The city’s PHA received 33 EHVs in 2021 under ARPA funding and successfully leased all of them.

To prioritize families at risk of losing rental assistance, the PHA added two new HCV waiting-list preferences: (1) currently assisted EHV families whose assistance is at risk of termination due to a lack of program funding; and (2) formerly assisted families whose assistance was terminated in the last 24 months due to lack of program funding. Julia Smith said HUD has provided transition guidance but has not allocated additional budget authority to absorb the transition costs; as a result, the PHA may not have sufficient funds to move all EHV families onto HCV without non-federal short-term rental subsidies or through attrition in the HCV program.

The board voted to approve the amendments and adopt the administrative plan resolution. Staff said it will continue seeking non-federal funding options and will manage transitions in line with program attrition and available budget authority.