What Qualifies as a Section 3 Business Concern for HUD-Funded Projects?
- pbarcelona8
- Jul 17
- 1 min read
Updated: Jul 27

Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 ensures that employment, training, and contracting opportunities generated by HUD-funded projects are directed—to the greatest extent feasible—to low- and very low-income individuals and the businesses that employ them.
🧩 What Qualifies as a Section 3 Business Concern?
A Section 3 business concern is a business that currently meets — or has met within the past six months — at least one of the following HUD-defined criteria:
Is at least 51% owned and controlled by low- or very low-income persons
Has over 75% of its labor hours performed by Section 3 workers over the prior three-month period
Is at least 51% owned and controlled by current public housing residents or Section 8-assisted housing residents
These criteria apply to both:
🏢 Projects receiving Public Housing Financial Assistance
🏘️ Projects funded by Housing and Community Development Assistance (e.g., CDBG, HOME, ESG, HOPWA, LHCHH)
If you have questions about Section 3, please contact our compliance team:
Jeanne Burke – jburke@artovia.com
Valerie Kennedy – vkennedy@artovia.com
You can also reach either of them by phone at 985-900-2320.
You can learn about Section 3 targeted workers, Section 3 workers, and Section 3 thresholds in our previous posts:
You can also learn more about ARTOVIA’s Section 3 services and expertise at our


