Housing Authority Guide

What Is HUD and Housing Authority?

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was established in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society initiative to enhance the welfare system in the United States. Its main objective is to enhance access to affordable homeownership and promote housing market growth in urban areas.

.HUD’s initiatives focus on enhancing rental options that are both secure and affordable, alleviating long-term homelessness, combating housing discrimination by promoting equal opportunities in the rental and home-buying markets, and providing assistance to vulnerable communities.

Housing Authority in USA (USHA)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a directive on February 24, 1942, to merge multiple federal housing agencies into the National Housing Agency. The United States Housing Authority (USHA), which had been responsible for the federally subsidized low-income public housing program since the enactment of the United States Housing Act in 1937, was dissolved. Its functions were transferred to the Federal Public Housing Authority under the National Housing Agency.

The USHA was the second organization to oversee the public housing program initiated in 1933 by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. Its main objective was to support the construction industry’s economic recovery. Through the United States Housing Act, also known as the Wagner-Steagall Act, the USHA provided loans to local government-formed public housing authorities for the creation and operation of public housing projects. These authorities had to adhere to the USHA’s standards for design, construction, resident selection, and management. It’s important to note that the local housing authorities, not the federal government, owned the public housing developments aided by the USHA.