Client: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Services: Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research

Key Work Areas: Program Evaluation, Survey Design & Data Collection

The purpose of this project is to conduct an evaluation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. The RAD program enables public housing authorities to convert their public housing units into Section 8 housing with the goal of improving the physical condition and financial viability of converted properties while providing tenants with the opportunity to choose other affordable housing. The evaluation focuses on the impact RAD has had on tenants’ use of choice mobility, the long-term financial preservation of converted projects, and the oversight and management of those projects. It also examines the impact of RAD on other tenant outcomes and on organizational changes made by housing authorities.

This report evaluates PHAs’ approaches to asset management under RAD using a mixed approach to data collection and analysis. These methods evaluated how RAD assets were being used by PHAs compared to the standard model of asset management. This process identified gaps between PHAs’ approaches to asset management for RAD conversions and the standard model of asset management for affordable housing. The Econometrica Team collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data to conduct this assessment.