Housing leaders appear willing to raise rent payments for low-income San Diegans

A majority of leaders at the San Diego Housing Commission appear willing to support a proposal to raise rent payments for thousands of vulnerable San Diegans in order to avert a bigger crisis.

The agency’s Board of Commissioners publicly reviewed the plan, which affects families using vouchers, for the first time Friday. If approved, some elderly and disabled residents who currently spend 28.5% of their income on rent would instead have to give 32%. Other families sending 24% of income toward housing will end up owing 40%.

Without those increases, staffers believe 1,700 households would have to be kicked out of the program entirely.

“Isn’t it better to let everybody feel a little pain than have a few people end up homeless on the street?” Commissioner Stephen Cushman asked from the dais.

Those comments were echoed by his colleagues Eugene Mitchell and Antoine Jackson. Later in a phone interview, Commissioner Ryan Clumpner said “there’s no other choice.”

There are seven commissioners, meaning those four leaders are enough to form a majority. The board is scheduled to vote on the measure Dec. 11.

Before then, members of the public have several chances to weigh in. Residents can comment by emailing MTWPlan@sdhc.org or sending a letter to San Diego Housing Commission, Attn: Moving to Work, 1122 Broadway, Suite 300, San Diego, CA 92101. Those messages must be received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 30.

There will be a public hearing at noon on Nov. 17 in the commission’s downtown offices.

Some low-income households using vouchers pay what is effectively a flat fee. If there’s just one adult in a family who can work, the new plan bumps their payment from $400 to $580 a month. Two or more able-bodied adults would move from monthly payments worth $650 to $1,155. The proposal also creates a category of households with three or more working adults that comes with a $1,735 price tag.

Families earning larger paychecks than the previous groups currently send 24% to 30% of their income toward rent. The new plan moves everybody up to 40%.

Some voucher recipients should not be affected at all. Anyone paying nothing would likely continue to get free housing. And people who served in the military that are part of the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, or VASH, are exempted.

“We’re going to do what we need to do to try and keep as many people housed as possible,” said Mitchell, the commissioner.

The federal government has long failed to fully pay for the vouchers, and agency staffers believe the current administration will further cut funding. The commission’s reserves are expected to be drained by 2027.

If the board signs off on the increases next month, the changes must still be approved by the federal government. Local leaders expect that to come early next year. The increases would then likely kick in around November 2026.

Housing Commission leaders pledged to notify affected families.