Moving to Work (MTW)
Moving to Work (MTW) is a designation through HUD for public housing authorities (PHAs) that provides them the opportunity to design and test innovative, locally designed strategies. These strategies aim to use federal funding more efficiently while expanding housing choices for low-income families. The Brockton Housing Authority’s (BHA) designation by HUD enables us to be more innovative, flexible, and responsive to the needs of our community. We have more freedom to explore new ideas and creative approaches that are particular to the BHA and the Brockton area, which will improve the quality of life for our residents and participants.
Since being designated a MTW agency in 2022, as part of the “Landlord Incentives Cohort” expansion, we’ve gained the flexibility to tailor our programs to the specific needs of our community. As a participant in the landlord cohort, we, for example:
- Adopted Small Area Fair Market Rents for the Brockton Metropolitan Statistical Area: to give Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) participants access to a wider range of neighborhoods.
- Adopted income exclusions in the Section 8 program for those who voluntarily transition from welfare assistance.
- Adopted landlord incentives to attract and retain landlords to the Section 8 program. These incentives include paying landlords up to one-month contract rent as reimbursement for vacancy periods between HCV participants and providing security deposit assistance to new voucher holders for their first lease-up.
This year (2024), the BHA is shifting its focus towards financial flexibility for future projects. Traditionally, funding was restricted to separate categories like Public Housing, Modernization, and Section 8 programs. The BHA plans to use its financial flexibility to help redevelop outdated public housing that has already received Section 18 approval at the Campello High-Rise.
Resources
Please click on the following links for full details on the BHA MTW initiative.
For more information on the HUD MTW Demonstration Program- https://www.hud.gov/mtw/
Public Notices/Hearings
How Do I Participate?
BHA will hold public meetings to discuss the changes we intend to make to our existing policies to meet our MTW objectives. These meetings and accompanying documentation will be published on our website and all program participants, landlords, and members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend.
Comments or questions can be sent to Bruna Campbell, Compliance Officer, at BrunaC@brocktonha.com
