What is the 5-Year Plan?

The 5-year plan outlines your housing authority’s goals for the next five years. It’s the more long-range picture. It must include::

A statement of the housing authority’s mission.
A statement of the housing authority’s goals and objectives.

Both the mission and the goals and objectives must focus on the needs of low, very low, and extremely low-income people in the area that the housing authority serves.

A mission statement is the organization’s overall purpose and philosophy. One question to address in your housing authority’s mission statement is: does it see itself as only a housing provider? For example, some housing authorities believe their only mission is to be good property managers. Others decide their mission is also to help residents access the economic opportunities and social services that they need.

Below you will see that HUD has adopted "promoting economic opportunity" in its own mission statement and recommends that housing authorities do the same.

While this can be a controversial topic, it is important to clarify in order to get a housing authority’s commitment to more actively develop job opportunities and access funding for job programs.

Another issue to look out for is whether your housing authority is planning to shift its mission to providing housing for moderate income people and thus use fewer of its resources to help extremely low income people.

What Does HUD Say a 5-Year Plan Should Include?

HUD states that a housing authority’s mission and goals in its 5-year plan should be consistent with HUD’s mission and goals.

HUD’s mission is to promote adequate and affordable housing, economic opportunity, and a suitable living environment without discrimination.

HUD’s strategic goals are to:

Increase the availability of decent, safe and affordable housing.
Ensure equal opportunity in housing for all Americans.
Promote self-sufficiency of families and individuals.
Improve community quality of life and economic vitality.

HUD’s rules also clearly state that the 5-year plan must affirmatively further fair housing. This means that the housing authority must anticipate and avoid policies that discriminate against people protected under the law.

You can - and should - go beyond HUD’s mission and goals in thinking about what could be in your housing authority’s 5-year plan. In fact, HUD’s rules state that, wherever possible, housing authorities must set "quantifiable" goals and objectives.

While housing authorities may be inclined to state goals vaguely, residents should advocate for specific goals that have meaning for your community and can be measured.

This is important to keep in mind now because, in the next 5-year plan, your housing authority must evaluate its progress. The more concrete the goals, the more meaningful the 5-year plan and its evaluation will be.

For example, if your housing authority states that its goal is to modernize existing housing, ask for more specifics:

How many apartments does it want to modernize in the next five years?
Which housing does it want to modernize?
What is its definition of a "modernized" apartment?

HUD Interim Rule 24 C.F.R. 903.5

HUD Interim Rule 24 C.F.R. 903.7(o)

HUD Interim Rule 24 C.F.R. 903.5(a)(2)