Making Work Pay for Public Housing Residents: Financial-Incentive Designs at Six Jobs-Plus Demonstration Sites

Traditional public housing rules that set rent as a percentage of a tenant's income have long been thought to discourage residents from taking jobs, because much of the extra income from employment is simply absorbed by an increase in rent. The Jobs-Plus demonstration project is testing ways to break that cycle by changing rent rules in combination with other incentives that make work pay. Making Work Pay for Public Housing Residents describes initiatives underway at seven public housing developments in six cities across the nation and their potential effects on residents' income and decisions about work.