Rural Housing Service: Agency Has Overestimated Its Rental Assistance Budget Needs over the Life of the Program

May 2004 Rural Housing Service: Agency Has Overestimated Its Rental Assistance Budget Needs over the Life of the Program Based on their age, contracts (both 5 and 20 year) issued from 1978 through 1997 should have expired by the end of 2002. As of June 2003, approximately 18 percent of these contracts were still active, accounting for $605 million in unexpended balances. Most of this amount ($510 million, or 84 percent) involved the 32 percent of the contracts from 1978 through 1982 that were still active. At current spending rates, it will take another 7 years for these contracts to . . .