Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) face a tricky balancing act every year. Between tight budgets, rising compliance expectations, and increasing demand for tenant support and modernization, it may feel like a mountain most agencies cannot climb alone.
Not only do they need to meet demand, but they need to be more strategic than ever. So, how can you manage this? Surely, it is not as mystical as waving a generative AI wand to solve all your issues.
With strategic budgeting and access to diverse funding sources, PHAs can stretch their dollars further, build resilience, and provide better outcomes for their residents. Here is how so many housing authorities are navigating 2025’s financial landscape and how your team can use these strategies to do the same.
Expanding Funding Past HUD for Affordable Housing
While the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) remains the cornerstone of funding, additional resources exist outside federal programs. PHAs can expand their funding mix by including:
State and local grants
Potential programs
- Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) Programs (an example from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs)
These grants often address urgent community needs, such as homelessness prevention, workforce housing, etc.
Building relationships with grant offices and presenting your affordable housing programs as community-focused solutions can help you secure critical resources. Partnerships with non-profits and advocacy groups will be fruitful to diversify your funding.
Technology and innovation grants
Potential programs
- Housing Innovation Funds (an example from the National Low Income Housing Coalition of Massachusetts)
- Texas Foundations Fund Grant Program (an example of non-profit partnerships across Texas to support housing programs for low-income households)
If your agency has not explored grants for green updates, IT modernization, or tenant support services – now is the time.
Conducting an internal audit to identify your agency’s biggest needs will help you determine what grants and programs to pursue and build proposals that showcase the return on your investments.
We recommend prioritizing cost savings and tenant outcomes in your plans.
Budgeting Best Practices for PHAs
Once you have secured your funding, how you manage it is just as crucial.
Create a Detailed Budget
Include operational costs, capital expenses, compliance, and a contingency fund. Use budgeting software to monitor in real-time and track historical data.
Prioritize Spending
What does your community need most? Focus on high-impact areas like compliance, tenant services, and modernization.
Consider zero-based budgeting, a method in which you start each budget period with zero and require justification of expenses before allocating money to them.
Monitor and Adjust Regularly
Review your budgets monthly. This not only helps you track your money spent but also provides time to be flexible about changing needs or opportunities.
Communicate Transparently
Community trust and HUD compliance are key to a thriving agency. Clear, accurate reporting will keep HUD, tenants, and your board informed.
ReFrame Assist offers an all-in-one solution custom-built by PHAs for PHAs. This custom affordable housing software can track everything from tracking budget and pulling data for compliance reporting to streamlined tenant and owner communications.
Book a demo today with our dedicated support team to learn more about this exciting program.