Montana Department of Commerce Section 8 Voucher Waiting List

The statewide Montana Department of Commerce Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is closed as of August 15, 2024. Blaming the waiting list closure on a decision from HUD to decrease Montana's Section 8 funding from approximately $2 million per month to under $1.5 million, on July 2, 2024, Governor Greg Gianforte (R) wrote a terse letter to HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman, requesting the decision be reversed. In the letter, Gianforte says "Absent HUD's reconsideration, Montana will initiate closing the waitlist and halting all new leasing by July 31, 2024.These actions will have significant implications for vulnerable Montanans who have been waiting for a voucher."

Gianforte stated Montana should not be bailing out other states who mismanaged their Section 8 program. He said "The residents of our state should not be forced to bail out other states that have poorly managed their federal HAP funding. To be clear, low-income Montanans patiently waiting for critically needed rental assistance will be at increased risk of homelessness as a direct result of the Biden Administration's decision to bail out fiscally irresponsible states at the expense of properly managed states like Montana."

To be clear, Montana's shortfall is not caused by "poorly managed states". Section 8 HAP funding isn't at the state level at all. The funds are allocated directly to Public Housing Agencies, not through the states. Additionally, the shortfalls presently being experienced in the program nationally are a result of a lack of funding, not mismanagement. Further, HUD did not withdraw Montana's funding. It reduced its monthly allocation and instructed it to fund the difference with the state's HUD-held reserve fund. The Federal fiscal year ends in September meaning that lower level of funding would likely only hold for a few months. As the state's reserve fund is adequate to cover the few months of shortfall, one can only interpret this move by the Governor as a partisan election year stunt.Politics aside, the waiting list will close on August 15, 2024, until further notice. In addition, the Governor's letter indicates they won't just close the waiting list but they will stop issuing new vouchers.