Boston City Council Asks Congress to Restore Public Housing Funds

The Boston City Council has formally asked Congress to restore Boston public housing funding and expand the federal housing voucher budget. Councilors adopted the resolution at their Oct. 21, 2026, meeting after suspending the rules, according to the council’s legislative record. The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) and WBZ NewsRadio described the vote as unanimous.

The measure, docket 2026-1973, was offered by Councilor Enrique Pepén with Councilors Henry Santana and Council President Liz Breadon, and it lists nine other councilors as co-sponsors. A council resolution states the body’s position. It does not change federal funding on its own.

What the Resolution Says About the BHA Budget

According to the text of the resolution, the BHA provides public housing and vouchers to more than 62,000 extremely low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities. The authority owns 50 public housing developments, and 37 of them rely on the federal public housing operating budget overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The resolution says that budget has been funded at 86.7% of the formula amount since January 2026, compared with 102.6% in January 2025. It puts the BHA’s 2026 loss of federal operating revenue at $17.9 million, a 27.2% reduction from 2025. It also says HUD’s utility reimbursement formula, which is based on national averages, does not reflect higher energy costs in New England.

“Our government has arguably damaged public housing by cutting close to $18 million to the Boston Public Housing Authority’s federal public housing operating budget this year,” Pepén said at the meeting, according to WBZ NewsRadio.

Vouchers, New Units and Mixed-Status Families

The resolution makes three further claims about federal policy:

• Vouchers: It says the White House Office of Management and Budget is restraining the voucher budget, and that the BHA has not issued a new federal voucher since February 2024. The BHA’s voucher page says its tenant-based waiting list is closed until further notice.
• New construction: It says HUD retracted already-issued Notices of Anticipated RAD Rent this summer, limiting the authority’s ability to add new deeply affordable units under what is known as Faircloth or “Restore-Rebuild” authority.
• Mixed-status families: It says a HUD proposal from February 2026 to end prorated assistance for households in which some members are not eligible “could end federal public housing assistance for hundreds of families in Boston.”

BHA Administrator Kenzie Bok told WBZ that the operating cut “has a devastating impact on our ability to provide maintenance and services to support our residents.” She said the BHA serves about 17,000 families through federal vouchers, while “many thousands more are waiting.”

HUD’s Stated Position on the Proposed Rule

HUD published the mixed-status proposal in the Federal Register on Feb. 20, 2026. In its summary, the department said Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 bars HUD from providing assistance to people other than U.S. citizens and certain categories of eligible noncitizens. The proposal would require verification of citizenship or eligible immigration status for all applicants and recipients, regardless of age, and would make prorated assistance a temporary condition while verification is pending. HUD said the changes would bring its rules “into greater alignment with the wording and purpose of Section 214.”

The rule is a proposal and would take effect only if HUD finalizes it. HUD has also issued guidance on operating fund shortfalls in Notice PIH 2026-10. The Boston Report found no public HUD response to the council’s resolution as of Oct. 26.

What the Council Is Asking Congress to Do

The resolution asks Congress to restore the public housing operating budget to at least 100% and to raise voucher funding enough to end shortfalls at housing authorities. It also asks lawmakers to add language to the next federal appropriations bill directing the administration to reverse its rollback of the Restore-Rebuild program, to base utility reimbursements on regional energy costs, and to keep supporting “existing legally-housed mixed-status families.” A copy is to be sent to every member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation.

The vote follows the Oct. 14 announcement of more than $16 million in city, state and federal money for the Fairmount Apartments modernization in Hyde Park, a BHA property. It also comes as the council takes up other housing measures, such as a proposed “worst landlords” list ordinance. For the city’s own housing spending, see our breakdown of Boston’s $4.9 billion fiscal 2027 budget.

Sources

• Boston City Council: Docket 2026-1973 legislative record
• Boston City Council: Resolution urging Congress to reverse cuts to the federal public housing and voucher budgets (PDF)
• WBZ NewsRadio: Boston City Council urges Congress to restore federal funds for public housing (Oct. 23, 2026)
• Federal Register: HUD proposed rule, Verification of Eligible Status (Feb. 20, 2026)
• HUD: Notice PIH 2026-10 (PDF)
• Boston Housing Authority: Voucher programs