Public Housing: Implementation Status of Selected Provisions of the 1998 Reform Act

The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 was intended to give the nation's public housing agencies greater flexibility to manage their public housing or tenant-based section 8 programs. In the two years since the legislation was passed, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided sufficient guidance for housing agencies to begin making use of their expanded discretionary authority. In GAO's view, the agencies appear to be tailoring their policies to fit their own perceived needs and priorities, adopting only those provisions that fit their particular circumstances.