Section 8 Cuts: White House Proposed, Small Landlords Left Without Payment? FY2026

The White House’s FY26 proposed budget appears to largely defund Section 8, potentially altering existing leases and leaving renters in-place who cannot pay full rent. MassLandlords has no federally focused policy staff. We are requesting anyone with verifiable information (links, bill text, legal citations) to share what they know about the proposed federal budget and how Section 8 funding works.

What Is Section 8?

Section 8, also known as housing choice vouchers or rental assistance, is the primary funding source for renters who receive financial assistance to help pay rent. When a landlord agrees to rent to a Section 8 renter, their lease is modified by a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) rider, stipulating how payments are to be made by the administrator. The renter pays some portion of the rent, and the administrator pays the difference to equal full market rent. The HAP rider is legally binding.

In Massachusetts, a landlord cannot refuse to rent to an applicant because they receive public assistance such as Section 8, or because of any term or condition of the assistance.

This funding chart is our only source for total FY25 budget information.

What Do We Know About Funding So Far?

By one measure, the present Congress seems prepared to level-fund Section 8. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, FY25 (ending July 2025) tenant-based rental assistance, which includes Section 8, was $36 billion. We understand this to be an increase over FY24 funding. The FY25 budget was completed by continuing resolution earlier this year, under the current administration.

For FY26, which ends Sept. 30, 2026, the president has requested Congress cut the budget by $26 billion, a reduction of 42% by our estimate.

This reduction has caused lots of news outlets to go wild with fear for renters. The fear may be justified for renters and landlords alike. Despite searching and asking around, MassLandlords staff cannot square this funding cut with the preexisting vouchers in place in Massachusetts and across the country. We’ve asked people what is going on. A typical off the record comment is, paraphrased, “I have no idea. What they’re doing is unprecedented.”

This screenshot from the Executive Office of the President, May 2, 2025 shows $26 billion in cuts to five line items under the Department of Housing and Urban Development. These cuts appear to represent roughly 40% of rental assistance nationwide.

Specific Section 8 Questions You Can Help Answer

These are the questions we’re asking for help to answer:

1.) Is Section 8, also known as the Housing Choice Voucher Program or rental assistance, entirely discretionary, such that the White House may cut it unilaterally? Or is there some portion recognized as a mandatory funding (e.g., preexisting Section 8 leases) that cannot be underpaid?

2.) Was the FY25 budget for all items being cut really $63 billion?

3.) How much Section 8 money is needed nationwide to sustain preexisting leases, as opposed to new lease-ups?

Last we heard, the following two things were basically true: Massachusetts had approximately 60,000 households on a Section 8 voucher, and the average rent in Massachusetts was $1,500 per month. This would mean roughly $1 billion a year goes to Massachusetts for Section 8.

Last we heard, Massachusetts was approximately an average state, population-wise. This would mean we could multiply by 50 to arrive at approximate federal funding for Section 8. This would mean $50 billion nationwide. That is very close to the $63 billion FY25 budget for Section 8.

All of this implies to us that the proposed Section 8 cuts may be roughly the 42% we’ve estimated.

4.) What would the administrators of a voucher do were their funding to be cut? Would they just ratchet up the tenant's share or attempt to cancel the housing assistance payment (HAP) rider entirely?

Section 8 minimizes rent burden by requiring that administrators keep the ratio of renter income to renter share of rent approximately 3x. It would seem administrators would be unable to raise the renter portion.

HAP riders require that in the event of a shutdown, it's at worst an interest-free loan from housing operators to the federal government. Housing providers must be paid. Therefore, it appears administrators would be unable to terminate the HAP rider.

Administrators seem without option either way.

5.) If housing assistance payments were to be cut permanently, what legal recourse would housing providers under existing HAP riders have? Would millions of property owners have to file suit for breach of contract, while simultaneously evicting renters?

Normally the HAP rider forbids landlords from evicting a renter if the federal portion is unpaid.

6.) The White House budget proposes a two-year cap on Section 8 for non-disabled adults, after which Section 8 support would be terminated. What should housing providers expect to happen when a Section 8 renter is nearing the end of their support? Will housing providers have to pay for the eventual eviction? What if a household is already past two years? Will that support end effective immediately?

All of these questions are important to answer. The worst-case scenario here would leave existing residents in approximately 60,000 units with reduced or eliminated ability to pay, and under Massachusetts law, no recourse for owners to regain possession besides a lengthy eviction.

Send information to hello@masslandlords.net. Verifiable sources only. Please do not send AI-generated answers; AIs are vulnerable to “hallucination” (making stuff up).