• Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• Status: Projects Under Regulation

The Rental Housing Assistance Program (RAP) was established by the Homes and Community Development Act of 1974 to provide additional rental assistance subsidy to property owners on behalf of very low-income tenants. RAP was available only to Section 236 properties, which are properties for which U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made interest reduction payments to the mortgagee for the production of low-cost rental housing. HUD stopped issuing new RAP contracts with the introduction of Section 8. Under RAP, up to 40 percent of the units were developed for very low-income tenants. Qualified households paid the greater of ten percent of their gross annual income or 25 percent (later changed to 30 percent) of their adjusted income towards rent. Most Section 236 insured properties have converted their RAP contracts to Project Based Section 8 contracts; however, a small number of units still receive RAP payments in order to operate as affordable housing. The last Rent Supplement property eligible for amendment funding expired in 2017, and HUD has been providing short-term extensions of these contracts so that they can participate in Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD).