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Voucher Recipient Achievement of Improved Housing Conditions in the US: Do Moving Distance and Relocation Services Matter?

School of Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA, david.varady{at}uc.edu

Carole C. Walker

Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1982, USA, cawalker{at}rci.rutgers.edu

Xinhao Wang

School of Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA, xinhao.wang{at}uc.edu.

When householders are vouchered-out from distressed, federally subsidised private developments in the US and receive moderate relocation counselling, does that counselling lead to a more intensive housing search, longer-distance moves and higher levels of housing satisfaction ? Multiple regression analysis was applied to a data-set containing survey and geographical information (for example, distance moved, median neighbourhood income level) for 201 voucher recipients in 4 cities. The analysis was used to determine if the use of relocation counselling services (as well as the type of services utilised) and distance moved helped to explain variations in housing satisfaction. Those who used counselling services were in fact more likely to be satisfied with their new home than were those who were unaware of these services. However, those who were aware of the services but did not use them fared as well as householders who used them. Counselling to help in dealings with landlords was the most influential type of relocation assistance vas à vis housing satisfaction. The distance householders moved played an insignificant role in the analysis. This finding undoubtedly reflects the fact that voucher recipients sought to remain in or close to their original neighbourhood to be near friends and relatives and familiar bus lines, and the fact that better housing units offering a greater sense of safety were available in the same neighbourhood or in neighbourhoods adjacent to the vouchered-out development. Implications for HUD's vouchering-out policy are discussed.

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