The oldest and most widely known federal housing program is the conventional public housing program.1 Traditionally in this program, the housing is owned and administered by a local Public Housing Authority (PHA). Today, many conventional public housing units are owned and managed by third-party operators subject to a land lease and Regulatory and Operating Agreement with the PHA. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enters into an Annual Contributions Contract with the local PHA. HUD must also provide operating subsidies. A PHA’s local policies are documented in its Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP).
In Louisiana, PHAs are political subdivisions of the state created under La. R.S. 40:381, et seq. A PHA is thus a governmental actor within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. As a result, the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. and Louisiana Constitutions apply to PHA actions. As recipients of federal funding, PHAs are also subject to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Many of their actions are also subject to the Fair Housing Act. Louisiana’s Administrative Procedure Act is not applicable to a PHA unless the PHA elects to be governed by it.2
In many areas, traditional public housing has been phased out in favor of newer programs such as the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit housing. Mixed-income communities in which only a portion of the units at a particular site are traditional public housing have also become more prevalent in recent years. Much of the nation’s public housing has been redeveloped as mixed-income through HUD initiatives, including the HOPE VI,3 Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant (CNI),4 and Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD)5 programs.
Note that on January 1, 2024, certain changes go into effect pursuant to the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). Some of these changes will be noted throughout, but it is important to check the current version of the regulation as you use this manual.
- 1See generally 42 U.S.C. § 1437d; 24 C.F.R. pts. 960, 966.
- 2La. R.S. 40:406.
- 3See HOPE VI, U.S. Dep’t of Hous.& Urb. Dev.
- 4See Choice Neighborhoods, U.S. Dep’t of Hous. & Urb. Dev.
- 5See Rental Assistance Demonstration, U.S. Dep’t of Hous. & Urb. Dev.