Moving to Opportunity (MTO) Housing Vouchers for Use in Low-Poverty Neighborhoods Plus Mobility Counseling

Between 1994 and 1998, MTO offered housing vouchers to families with low incomes who lived in public housing or private assisted housing projects in high-poverty neighborhoods and who had at least one child younger than 18. Private assisted housing projects are rental housing built by private owners through federal programs that required them to price some units to be affordable to people with low incomes. The vouchers subsidized the cost of renting private housing in low-poverty neighborhoods. Program participants also received counseling services and special assistance from local nonprofit counseling agencies to help them find and lease eligible private rental units. The program required families to use their voucher in low-poverty areas for one year, after which families could use their voucher to relocate without geographical restriction for up to 4 years. Participants were required to observe Section 8 housing voucher policies that limited the amount of time voucher recipients had to secure housing to 90 days, required voucher recipients to contribute 30 percent of their adjusted income to rent, and prohibited illegal drug use or alcohol abuse. The program was conducted in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.