The Housing Act of 1937 (Act) is a federal legislation of the United States that provided for subsidies to be paid from the United States government to local public housing agencies in order to improve living conditions for low-income families.
The Act is sometimes referred to as the Wagner-Steagall Act or the Low-Rent Housing Act. The act builds on the National Housing Act of 1934, which created the Federal Housing Administration. Under the programs of the Act, the federal government, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provides subsidies to local public housing agencies (PHAs) that rent housing to low-income families.
Initially the Act was controversial, but it gained acceptance and provisions of the Act have remained, but in amended form.