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The Trump administration is halting a $1 billion program that helps preserve affordable housing, threatening projects that keep tens of thousands of units livable for low-income Americans, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

The action is part of a聽slew of cuts聽and聽funding freezes聽at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, largely聽at the direction of President Donald Trump聽and Elon Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), that have rattled the affordable housing industry.

Efforts to preserve these units get less attention than ribbon-cuttings, but they are critical in addressing the nation鈥檚 housing crisis. Hundreds of thousands of low-rent apartments, many of them aging and in need of urgent repair, are at risk of being yanked away from poor Americans.

Program administrators have already awarded money to projects that would upgrade at least 25,000 affordable units across the country. How the program will be wound down remains unclear.

A spokesperson for HUD did not respond to repeated requests for comment. But an internal document reviewed by the AP stated that the program is being 鈥渢erminated鈥� at the direction of DOGE. Two HUD workers, who have knowledge of the program and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, confirmed the directive to shutter it.

The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, passed by Congress in 2022, is intended to pay for energy-efficiency improvements. More than $1 billion was allocated for grants and loans to owners of affordable housing in need of updates. Work could include replacing or repairing heating and cooling systems, leaky roofs, aging insulation or windows, or flood-proofing.

But the money plays a much larger role in preservation of affordable units. Recipients who use the funds are required to keep their buildings affordable for up to 25 years. The money is also leveraged to pull in other investments for major repairs and renovations needed to keep the buildings livable.

It鈥檚 like building a Jenga tower, where one of the program鈥檚 grants or loans 鈥� which range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars 鈥� is a bottom block and each new block is another investment, experts said.

This money 鈥渨as essential in order for the project to come together,鈥� said Mike Essian, vice president at American Community Developers, which received funding for several affordable housing projects. 鈥淧rojects will fail and these are projects that are already difficult to finance.鈥�

The news has been a jolt to Al Hase and Joan Starr 鈥� tenants in an apartment building in Vancouver, Washington. Most people there are low-income seniors with few or no other options because they live on less than $33,000 per year.

The 170-unit Smith Tower Apartments, built in the 1960s, needs updates, including its first building-wide sprinkler system. The $10 million federal award was a financial kick start for its nearly $100 million project and is cited in applications for other investments.

The potential loss 鈥渟eriously jeopardizes our ability to be able to provide an upgrade to the current systems,鈥� said Greg Franks, president of the property鈥檚 management company. The work is 鈥渘eeded to sustain the livability of this building based on its age, and to keep it viable for another 60 years.

鈥淲e are depending on that $10 million,鈥� he said.

So, too, are Hase and Starr, a retired couple in their 70s who have lived there for 16 years.

They fill their balcony with geraniums and petunias, count the eagles at a nearby park and live off meager Social Security incomes. They learned about the potential funding loss in a letter from the property鈥檚 management company.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kinda terrifying,鈥� Hase told the AP in a phone call. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like getting news from a doctor that something鈥檚 going to take your life in six months or a year.

鈥淲e鈥檙e from an era where the wages weren鈥檛 there, so our Social Security …,鈥� he said, pausing. 鈥淪ucks,鈥� Starr pitched in.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just regular people,鈥� she added. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e the lucky ones because we鈥檝e got two social securities coming in.鈥�

But being lucky still doesn鈥檛 count for much in today鈥檚 rental market.

鈥淧rices keep going up,鈥� Starr said. 鈥淚鈥檝e looked, and there鈥檚 no way鈥� (to move).

HUD鈥檚 lack of communication about the program鈥檚 future sent organizations in search of contingency plans, though roughly two dozen projects will still get funding, one HUD employee told the AP. The rest are in limbo.

鈥淚f these funds aren鈥檛 reinstated, we will certainly seek other funding to fill that gap鈥� for Smith Tower, said Travis Phillips of the Housing Development Center. 鈥淭he reality is that will take time and will inevitably make the project more expensive.鈥�

It鈥檚 the same position for several hundred other affordable housing projects across 42 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

鈥淚n all honesty,鈥� said Michelle Arevalos, Smith Tower鈥檚 administrator, 鈥渋f this building were not here, a lot of our folks actually probably would be homeless.鈥�