Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD)
RAD was created in order to give public housing authorities (PHAs) a powerful tool to preserve and improve public housing properties and address the $26 billion dollar nationwide backlog of deferred maintenance. RAD also gives owners of three HUD "legacy" program (Rent Supplement, Rental Assistance Payment, and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation) the opportunity to enter into long-term contracts that facilitate the financing of improvements.
Five Things You Should Know About Public Housing Conversions
- RAD allows public housing agencies to leverage public and private debt and equity in order to reinvest in the public housing stock. This is critical given the backlog of public housing capital needs - estimated at over $35 billion.
- In RAD, units move to a Section 8 platform with a long-term contract that, by law, must be renewed in perpetuity. A Use Agreement is also recorded under RAD further enforcing HUD’s long-term interest. This ensures that the units remain permanently affordable to low-income households.
- Residents benefit from a right of return, a prohibition against re-screening, and robust notification and relocation rights. Residents continue to pay 30% of their adjusted income towards the rent, maintain the same basic rights as they possess in the public housing program, and gain a new option to request tenant-based assistance if they wish to subsequently move from the property.
- RAD maintains the ongoing public stewardship of the converted property through clear rules requiring ongoing ownership or control by a public or non-profit entity.
- RAD is highly cost-effective, relying on shifting existing levels of public housing funds to the Section 8 accounts as properties convert.
RAD What's New
- RAD Resident Fact Sheet #1, "RAD Overview" is now available in Spanish. For more information visit the RAD Resident's web page, How Does RAD Impact Me? (3/19/2020)
- Updates available for the Closed Transactions under 2nd Component and Potential RAD Mod Rehab Projects lists. For more information visit our RAD 2 web page. (2/20/2020)
- RAD Successfully Winds Down RAP Legacy Program, Preserving 14,462 Affordable Homes, Saving Residents from Displacement. Read about it here. (1/23/2020)
- New RAD for Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts (PRACs). For more information visit our RAD for PRACs web page.
RAD in the News
- "Renovations give Tenderloin Public Housing Tenants a 'Beautiful' New Home," published by the San Francisco Examiners, shares how the RAD program was used in the $67 million rehabilitation project to make 96 units safe, beautiful and permanently affordable housing. This article and others are published on our Events web page. (Published 10/30/2019)
RAD More Information
- RAD Facts Sheets are available on the RAD Residents web page. Fact Sheets for Mod Rehab, Rent Supp and RAP are also available.
- RAD data is available to the public. Visit the RAD Resource Desk and click on “Data and Resources.”
- RAD resources and information are now on HUD Exchange.
- RAD Photo Essays documents a series of resident experience for properties that go through a RAD conversion.
- The RADBlast!, an electronic communication sent to subscribers of our mailing list is now available online. To receive the blast and/or periodic updates about the RAD program, join our mailing list.
- RAD Contact Information
- Email rad@hud.gov for information about RAD for Public Housing
- Email rad2@hud.gov for information about RAD for Multifamily Housing.