The Reagan Administration would like to introduce housing allowances as the federal government's principal low‐income housing program. The results of HUD's 10‐year Experimental Housing Allowance Program suggest important structural limitations to this approach. Only a small portion of the housing allowance is spent on housing. An allowance is likely to least serve those who most need housing assistance. The stock of vacant units is inadequate to meet the demands of voucher recipients. Landlords are not likely to repair substandard units to meet this limited added buying power. And housing market discrimination inhibits mobility that might capture existing standard units. Additional evidence from the Section 8 existing housing and the public assistance programs suggest the limitations of the housing allowance approach. The true motivation for introducing housing allowances would appear to be a desire to withdraw the federal government from its traditional rote as housing provi