Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner announced on Feb. 27 a new proposed rule to provide all public housing authorities (PHAs) and Section 8 project-based rental assistance (PBRA) owners flexibility to implement work requirements and time limits for non-elderly, non-disabled work-capable adults in HUD-funded housing.

“Housing assistance was never meant to trap work-able individuals on government support their entire lives, rather it should be a temporary foundation to launch into a life of self-sufficiency,” Turner said. “Getting a paycheck is empowering, getting a welfare check is not. HUD’s proposed rule will restore dignity and well-being among residents we serve. Our proposal expands access for deserving families on waiting lists, while still preserving protections for elderly and disabled households.”

Turner made the announcement at the Housing Authority of Champaign County (HACC), a Moving to Work (MTW) designated PHA for over a decade. Fewer than 1 percent of all PHAs in the country have work requirements, but HACC requires able-bodied individuals to work for 15 hours or more per week, and families to work for 30 hours or more per week. Since becoming an MTW PHA in 2010, average household income increased 96 percent. In 2025, HAAC demonstrated program success by transitioning 76 households to self-sufficiency.

HUD’s proposed rule gives direct flexibility to all PHAs and owners to implement a work requirement of up to 40 hours per week and/or time limits of two years or more for non-disabled, non-elderly adults ages 18 to 61. PHAs and owners can designate who within a household is subject to the work requirements and how to apply the work requirements. PHAs and owners that implement work requirements and/or time limits will be required to offer supportive services to facilitate self-sufficiency, to assist individuals in fulfilling policy requirements.

Nearly 50 percent of non-elderly, non-disabled assisted households showed no earnings for any household members in 2024. Since 2010, the average length of stay across major HUD rental programs has increased from five to six years to nearly eight to nine years. Nearly 90 percent of able-bodied Section 8 voucher recipients will spend more than five years in subsidized housing, and 50 percent will spend over 15 years, while HUD resources currently only serve a quarter of eligible Americans in need.

Comments on the proposed rule are due May 1.