Housing authority outlines plan to transition 920 emergency housing voucher holders after federal funding ends
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Summary
Acting Executive Director Daniel Adams told the commission the federal emergency housing voucher (EHV) program funding will lapse around September, and the authority plans to move most of the roughly 920 EHV households into project-based vouchers or swap federal tenant-protection vouchers (TPVs) for EHVs; the city set aside $27 million as a transition reserve.
Acting Executive Director Daniel Adams told the San Francisco Housing Authority commission on Feb. 5 that federal funding for the emergency housing voucher (EHV) program is expected to run out around September and the authority has developed a cross-departmental plan to prevent households from losing housing.
Adams said San Francisco received roughly 920 EHVs and that the population served is disproportionately Black and African American and largely composed of single adults. "We were very successful in utilizing the 920 vouchers," Adams said, and he added that about 99 households have ported out of the city. The authority is pursuing two main approaches to preserve housing for remaining recipients: (1) administratively place EHV holders on the project-based voucher (PBV) wait list via an anticipated HUD waiver so they can be offered PBV units as vacancies arise, and (2) receive tenant-protection vouchers (TPVs) from HUD and swap those TPVs for EHVs so eligible households can remain in their current homes.
Adams said the authority is still awaiting formal approval of the HUD waiver that would allow SFHA to place EHV households on PBV wait lists automatically. "I've been told verbally that we should get the waiver," Adams said, but he warned that the authority cannot guarantee approval until it is in hand. He said HUD will have about 60 days after the federal budget passed to issue allocation guidance for TPVs.
To bridge any gap if federal TPVs are insufficient, the city has set aside a $27,000,000 local transition reserve approved in the local budget. Adams said that even without TPVs the spreadsheet shows the local allocation could bridge voucher payments for a period, but the authority has modeled conservative assumptions including a 15% contingency. "We can't move 900 people in a month," Adams said, describing an operational plan that estimates moving roughly 30–35 households per month as vacancies and referrals are aligned.
Staff and commissioners discussed vacancy matching and timing. SFHA staff and the contractor CVR reported that while roughly 800 units appear vacant in the system, many are not immediately leasable or are in referral pipelines; staff said the number of truly available, uncontested PBV units under SFHA control is closer to 30 today and that turnover should allow moving roughly 30–35 households per month, potentially rehousing the population across 2026 into 2027 if sustained.
Adams emphasized cross-department coordination among SFHA, the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD/MOCD), and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) to manage moves, communications, and services for households who must relocate. He said MOCD will dedicate a project manager and HSH will provide tenant-moving supports. Adams also cautioned that households living outside San Francisco (ported vouchers) pose additional coordination challenges and may require working with other jurisdictions.
The authority committed to returning with more precise allocation figures and operational details after HUD issues TPV allocations and after staff receives the HUD waiver (if approved). The commission did not take formal action on the EHV presentation; staff said the transition plan and its progress will be reported in future meetings.
