Continuum of Care Program-Increasing Mobility Options for Homeless Individuals and Families With Tenant-Based Rental Assistance

On July 31, 2012, HUD published an interim rule entitled ``Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing: Continuum of Care Program.'' The Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to address the critical problem of homelessness through a coordinated community-based process of identifying needs and building a system of housing and services to address those needs. This rule amends the CoC program regulations to allow individuals and families to choose housing outside of a CoC's geographic area, subject to certain conditions, and to retain the tenant-based rental assistance under the CoC program. In addition to allowing individuals and families to choose housing outside of the CoC's geographic area, this interim rule exempts recipients and subrecipients from compliance with all nonstatutory regulations when a program participant moves to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This relaxation of conditions is consistent with the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, directing greater protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.