President Donald Trump’s proposal to slash the federal budget includes unprecedented cuts to the nation’s largest rental aid program, a move Bay Area housing advocates and officials warn could push thousands of the region’s poorest residents to the brink of homelessness.

The budget plan released last week calls for a 44% reduction in spending on housing and homelessness programs. The biggest cuts target federal Section 8 housing vouchers, which help more than 80,000 low-income households across the Bay Area afford rent each month.

About 2,300 households in Marin County have Section 8 vouchers, according to the Marin Housing Authority, which oversees the rental subsidy program in the county.

Renters with the housing vouchers pay 30% of their income toward rent.

“Marin County has achieved a 16.7% reduction in homelessness since 2015, due in large part to coordinated efforts between the county, the housing authority, and local nonprofit resource coordination,” said Kimberly Carroll, Marin Housing Authority executive director. “That progress, built over years through sustained financial investments, would be devastating to lose in a short period if MHA’s resources are eliminated by the federal government.”But it remains to be seen how Congress will respond to the administration’s proposed cuts, Carroll said.

“What the final outcome will be remains uncertain,” she said. “In addition, it’s unclear whether any cuts would be applied uniformly across all housing authorities or based on other criteria. Therefore, we can’t yet assess the potential local impact in Marin.”

Across the Bay Area, housing advocates say big cuts could be especially devastating for voucher holders, where high rents — now topping $2,900 for a typical two-bedroom apartment — put them at even greater risk of becoming homeless.

“It would be catastrophic,” said Jennifer Loving, chief executive of Silicon Valley homelessness solutions nonprofit Destination: Home. “But not only that, it would be incalculably cruel.”

The Marin Housing Authority’s 2025 budget anticipated $88.8 million in revenues, of which $71.4 million were from vouchers, according to the budget adopted in December.

A 44% across-the-board cut could impact 1,000 households, Carroll said. But she remains hopeful that will not occur.

“While MHA has limited options if federal support is withdrawn, we are hopeful the state and other government or philanthropic partners would come together to think through how they may help in some fashion,” Carroll said.

“Marin as a region is lucky that affordable housing and homelessness are a top priority of the county and other local foundations and funders,” she said. “In a scenario where federal cuts occur, a common-sense response could be for funders to focus most heavily on preservation of existing affordable housing stock as a top priority.”

One of the agency’s biggest projects is renovating Marin City’s Golden Gate Village. The 300-apartment complex was built in 1961 to house the families of Black shipbuilders who came to the region in World War II. In recent years, the development has badly needed remodeling and infrastructure repairs.

The Marin Housing Authority has been working with public and private organizations to raise $300 million for those improvements. It has been planning to submit various application materials to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this month to start that fundraising.

Stephanie Bagala, a spokesperson for Burbank Housing, a nonprofit partner in the project, said sizable Section 8 cuts could postpone that effort.

“The loss of the subsidy would likely cause a delay in the project implementation until the subsidies become available again,” she said.

Other Bay Area housing advocates remain worried that housing subsidies will be curtailed and people will be displaced.

“A lot of people who use vouchers are employed, they’re working,” said Lindsay Haddix, executive director of the nonprofit East Bay Housing Organizations. “We know that wages, particularly in the East Bay and the Bay Area, have not kept up with the rising cost of housing.”

Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.