Federal funding cuts force San Diego to halt Section 8 housing waitlist

The waitlist for Section 8 housing vouchers in San Diego has been closed as federal funding grows increasingly scarce, leaving local officials warning of a bleak outlook for affordable housing in the region.

The vice chair of the San Diego Housing Commission, Ryan Clumpner, told NBC 7 that federal dollars have not kept pace with rising housing costs for years, particularly after the pandemic, when the agency saw significant increases in rent from private landlords for those with little to no income. 

“So we’ve been supplementing our federal funding with local funding sources even before we started seeing cuts,” Clumpner said. “Even if we don’t have a direct cut, if it’s not keeping up with our costs, that’s effectively a shrinking of the program.”

Clumpner added that the region is in “uncharted territory” when it comes to the decision to shut down the Section 8 waitlist because, realistically, the wait time is now 15 or more years.

“We don’t want to give people false hope or imply that there’s a resource — a voucher — available for them when the truth is, there’s not,” Clumpner added. 

The funding shortfall is also impacting housing development. Starling Place, a three-story, 82-unit building in Serra Mesa, is expected to be the last project of its kind in San Diego for the foreseeable future. The building will provide housing relief for 80 people, including 60 who are currently homeless, 40 of whom are veterans, and 20 of whom who are at immediate risk of becoming homeless, along with two units that are unrestricted.

“That is only possible with the voucher program that we now don’t have any more vouchers for,” Clumpner said.

Starling Place is considered permanent supportive housing, offering on-site services to connect residents with resources they may need. In addition to the voucher payments required to operate the building, a $12 million federal grant was used to purchase the propert,y and, Clumpner said, that funding source is also being cut and won’t be a possibility in the future. 

“We’re not going to be able to have another project like that,” Clumpner said.

Clumpner added that it is particularly disappointing because of the direct impact on San Diego’s homeless community that permanent supportive housing projects have had after coming online in recent years.

The uncertainty comes as President Donald Trump recently said he would cut off all federal funding to cities and states with sanctuary laws, including California. Clumpner said the comments reflect broader federal priorities, adding that housing vouchers have long been limited to U.S. citizens under federal law.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.