Section 236 Rental Housing: An Evaluation with Lessons for the Future

The Section 236 Rental Assistance Program provided new and rehabilitated rental housing to low and moderate income tenants. This program, along with other housing initiatives, was created in 1968 to boost the nation's existing housing supply. It joined Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance with a direct mortgage interest subsidy, the usual tax incentives for residential development, and special tax incentives for low and moderate income housing. This combination of subsidies and a 40-year mortgage term resulted in lower rents than would have been possible in conventionally financed projects.