Trump budget – The Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal would reset the Faircloth limits that cap how many public housing units authorities can run with federal support—potentially narrowing the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s ability to grow amid a long waiti
By the time the calendar flips to October 1, 2027, one of the quiet rules shaping public housing could be rewritten. The Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal would reset the Faircloth limits—the federal cap on the number of public housing units local housing authorities may operate with federal support—an idea housing advocates warn could curb plans to expand affordable housing.
For the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the stakes are immediate. Housing officials say the change could disrupt PHA’s efforts to add units and reduce its roughly 40,000-person waiting list as the city continues to grapple with an affordability crisis.
The proposal’s mechanism is straightforward: if enacted by Congress. Faircloth limits would be reset to the number of units existing or under review as of October 1. 2027. That could reduce housing authorities’ capacity to develop additional public housing nationwide. a shift the proposal is designed to support by changing how the federal government views its public housing footprint.
In a May memo, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said the proposed Faircloth reset would take effect on October 1, 2027. HUD would set each housing authority’s limit based on the number of public housing units it owns. assists. or operates on that date. HUD also said the change is intended to reduce the federal government’s public housing footprint and shift more units to the Section 8 platform.
PHA President Kelvin Jeremiah called the impact on his agency “very, very concerning,” saying it would limit the authority’s ability to expand affordable housing.
Jeremiah said PHA is currently authorized for about 21,000 subsidized rentals—a level set by Congress nearly 30 years ago. But the authority lost about 7,000 units during redevelopment projects that replaced high-rise complexes with lower-density housing.
To respond to demand. PHA launched its Opening Doors initiative in 2024. planning to build 3. 000 units and acquire 4. 000 private-market units for conversion into public housing. Jeremiah said the initiative’s eight-year timeline makes it unlikely to reach the Faircloth limit before the administration’s deadline.
“I don’t believe we can get to that number by October. That’s a high, high order,” Jeremiah told WHYY.
His warning comes even as the political decision remains in Congress. The House appropriations bill for transportation, housing and urban development currently does not include language to reset Faircloth limits.
Jeremiah said he is cautiously optimistic and urged advocates to push to preserve opportunities to expand affordable housing. He pointed to other moves from the administration as well. including ending HUD’s Restore-Rebuild Initiative. which he said would further limit authorities’ ability to add units.
“I think it does require all of us who are interested in the issue of housing affordability… to advocate that we do not reduce the opportunities to expand affordable housing,” Jeremiah said.
There is also the economic reality of how PHA is funded. Jeremiah said PHA could seek nonfederal funding sources if the cap takes effect, but he noted that PHA receives limited flexibility for alternative financing: according to PHA, roughly 93% of its $600 million annual budget comes from HUD.
Jeremiah said the agency could lean more heavily on tools such as housing vouchers and revenue from mixed-income developments. allowing some properties to operate outside the traditional public housing model. He also added that PHA does not receive operating or capital funding from either the city or the state.
What’s already set in motion—ending Restore-Rebuild, proposing a reset of Faircloth limits, and aiming to shift more units toward Section 8—lands on the same bottleneck: the time and funding needed to grow public housing while the waiting list remains at roughly 40,000.
And for now, the key question is still hanging in the legislative process: whether Congress will write the reset into law, or leave the current Faircloth framework intact as PHA tries to turn its Opening Doors plan into new homes.
Trump administration fiscal 2027 budget Faircloth limits HUD Philadelphia Housing Authority Kelvin Jeremiah affordable housing public housing Section 8 Opening Doors initiative waiting list WHYY Restore-Rebuild Initiative
So they’re capping housing again? Ridiculous.
I don’t even get it, like is Faircloth some kind of app they’re restarting on Oct 1? They say “reset” but then it “squeezes” PHA so yeah, that sounds bad for people waiting.
Wait, they’re resetting the limit based on what PHA has on Oct 1 2027, right? So basically if Philly is behind (shocking), then they get even less room to build? Also “shift to Section 8” sounds like just moving the problem to vouchers and hoping it fixes itself.
This is why I hate federal housing stuff. One memo says “reduce footprint” and next thing you know, people are still on waitlists forever. Like, if the city can’t build fast enough, the cap just locks it in. But I swear I read somewhere Section 8 is also capped, so what’s the point? Congress will probably change it last minute anyway.