The Rental Assistance Demonstration (“RAD”) is well known for the option to convert public housing subsidy to a long-term Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments contract (“HAP Contract”) — but RAD also allows owners to convert their Moderate Rehabilitation (“Mod Rehab”) and Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy (“SRO”) contracts to a Section 8 HAP Contract.  HUD estimates that there are over twenty thousand units of Mod Rehab and SRO units across the country with no cap on the number of units that can convert through RAD (see database of units here).

Converting Mod Rehab and SRO contracts to long-term Section 8 HAPs through RAD can present advantages to both the owners of the project and the public housing authorities (“PHA”) that administer the existing contracts.  Below are just a few of the possible benefits for owners and PHAs: