Oklahoma Housing Agencies Face Major Budget Gaps

Housing authorities around the country will have a shortfall of $400 million by the end of this year.

1 minute read

December 12, 2024, 7:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Aerial view of Oklahoma state capitol building at golden hour.

SkyBlodgett / Adobe Stock

The Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency is facing a budget deficit for the second year in a row, forcing the agency to keep its waitlist, suspended since October 2023, closed to new applicants, reports Maddy Keyes in The Frontier. The number of people on the list is the highest since 2018, and 800 applicants are listed as having ‘priority’ status.

According to Keyes, “At least three other housing agencies in Oklahoma are in a budget shortfall or expect to have one by the end of the year, including Norman and Oklahoma City.” 

The problem isn’t limited to Oklahoma, Keyes notes. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that housing authorities across the country will have a budget shortfall of roughly $400 million by the end of 2024. “The Department of Housing and Urban Development is offsetting some of the budget gap by giving agencies with additional reserves less funding and using that to pay more to agencies that have a shortage of funds.”

Tuesday, December 10, 2024 in The Frontier

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 28, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Aerial view of homes and businesses destroyed by Altadena wildfire.

Tenant Advocates: Rent Gouging Rampant After LA Wildfires

The Rent Brigade says it's found evidence of thousands of likely instances of rent gouging. In some cases, the landlords accused of exploiting the fires had made campaign donations to those responsible for enforcement.

May 29 - Shelterforce Magazine

View of downtown Seattle with construction cranes and cloudy sky as seen from top of Space Needle.

Seattle’s Upzoning Plan is Ambitious, Light on Details

The city passed a ‘bare-bones’ framework to comply with state housing laws that paves the way for more middle housing, but the debate over how and where to build is just getting started.

May 29 - The Urbanist

Woman and man in orange safety vests and hard hats doing surveying work at road construction site.

DOJ Seeks to End USDOT Affirmative Action Program

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program encouraged contracting with minority- and women-owned businesses in the transportation sector, where these groups are vastly underrepresented.

May 29 - The Washington Post