Solving Homelessness: Title V's Shortcomings and Potential Explained

The Title V program makes the hard parts of solving homelessness—finding the money and the property—a lot easier. So why hasn't it been used at a much larger scale?

2 minute read

May 22, 2017, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Homeless Man

Robert Couse-Baker / Flickr

Kriston Capps provides an explainer of a little-known provision of federal law that could provide large-scale benefit in finding shelter for the homeless population living in this country. The name of the government program is Title V, and it was enacted by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, which Capps describes as the most ambitious federal law that Congress has ever passed on homelessness. 

Title V—that’s the name of the 1987 provision that transfers disused federal properties to homeless-service providers—addresses one of the most vexing questions dogging many American cities. There’s vacant property everywhere, and there are homeless people everywhere. So why the hell don’t we use that property to house the homeless?

Despite bureaucratic obstacles, detailed by Capps in the article, Title V "has created some 500 emergency shelters, transitional housing facilities, nonprofit offices, and other spaces using about 900 acres of federal land across 30 states and D.C."

But a new federal law, approved late last year called the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016, could help remove some of those obstacles and unleash the full potential of Title V. Capps explains the changes to the program enacted last year:

The FAST Act included big changes for Title V. It enabled HUD to list properties online, through the HUD Exchange. (According to Juanita Perry, HUD’s Title V lead, the department is currently working on a mapping tool to make these opportunities even more visible.) The formal application process with HHS was broken into two steps, giving nonprofits four months to demonstrate financing options. The bill streamlined certain other eligibility criteria, too. And under FAST, properties could be used for permanent supportive housing, not just shelters, a major expansion to the scope of potential programming.

In shedding light on the Title V program, Capps also implies an appeal to all levels of government to get to work on solving homelessness, and offers Title V as an example of powerful tools that already exist for addressing some of the country's biggest challenges.

Thursday, April 27, 2017 in CityLab

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

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

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.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Looking out at trees on 4th Street in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA’s Tree Emergency Goes Beyond Vandalism

After a vandal destroyed dozens of downtown LA trees, Mayor Karen Bass vowed to replace them. Days later, she slashed the city’s tree budget.

6 hours ago - Torched

White and blue Sacramento regional transit bus with one bike on front bike rack.

Sacramento Leads Nation With Bus-Mounted Bike Lane Enforcement Cameras

The city is the first to use its bus-mounted traffic enforcement system to cite drivers who park or drive in bike lanes.

7 hours ago - Streetsblog California

View of downtown Seattle with Space Needle and mountains in background

Seattle Voters Approve Social Housing Referendum

Voters approved a corporate tax to fund the city’s housing authority despite an opposition campaign funded by Amazon and Microsoft.

April 23 - Next City