Month: June 2017

NAHRO Comments on Reopened MTW Expansion Operations Notice

~ Eric Oberdorfer ~ Leave a comment

On June 5, NAHRO submitted comments in response to HUD’s “Operations Notice for the Expansion of the Moving To Work Demonstration Program Solicitation of Comment; Waiver Revision and Reopening of Comment Period.” This notice reopened the comment period of the January 23, 2017 Moving to Work (MTW) Operations Notice for 30 days, and also made revisions to one General Waiver in Appendix 1 and two Conditional Waivers in Appendix 2. NAHRO also submitted in-depth comments to HUD on the Operations Notice in late March (members only).

NAHRO’s comment letter makes several suggestions over the course of three main sections. The first section responds to HUD’s specific request for comments on revisions to the Operations Notice included in the revised Notice, while the second section highlights some of NAHRO’s general recommendations to improve the Operations Notice. The third section, “Attachment 1,” contains NAHRO’s previously submitted comments to HUD regarding the MTW Expansion Operations Notice.

NAHRO’s general comments asked HUD to include “safe harbors” that PHAs could use for conditional waivers, to clarify the general purpose of the Operations Notice, to clarify the use of waivers not included in the Operations Notice, and to make specific changes to waivers listed in the Operations Notice.

NAHRO’s comment letter can be found here.

 

HUD Extends Deadline for ’17 Operating Fund Revisions

~ Eric Oberdorfer ~ Leave a comment

On May 31, HUD released Notice PIH-2017-19, amending the Public Housing Operating subsidy eligibility calculations for Calendar Year 2017. The notice extends the Operating Fund revision deadline from August 1 to August 15. This provides PHAs additional time to submit revisions to their original CY 2017 Operating Fund submissions. Revisions should be submitted to local HUD Field Offices.

Happy National Homeownership Month

~ Lydia Miller ~ Leave a comment

On June 1, 2017, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) kicked off National Homeownership Month with the “New Era of Homeownership” panel discussion. Keynote speaker, Secretary Ben Carson, described homeownership as “security, certainty, a path forward, and a place to live with loved ones”. He stated, “after all we’ve been through, homeownership remains an American value and the cornerstone of our economy,” and noted that  63.6 percent of Americans are homeowners. Based on research from Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, homeownership has increased since 2016 and is projected to increase within the next eight years by 13.6 million households.

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HUD to Investigate Perception of Small Area FMRs

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Tomorrow, HUD will publish a notice in the Federal Register titled “30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collections: Small Area Fair Market Rent Demonstration Evaluation.” The notice announces an information collection to determine perception of the shift from regular Fair Market Rents (FMRs) to Small Area FMRs among voucher holders and landlords.

For voucher holders, HUD will investigate whether new and current voucher holders understood how shifting to Small Area FMRs changed their housing options, whether voucher holders who moved searched in new neighborhoods, and whether voucher holders moved at a different rate.[1]

For landlords, HUD will investigate whether landlords were aware of the shift to Small Area FMRs, whether this affected their willingness to rent to voucher holders, and the level at which they set their rents.[1]

To investigate, HUD will interview 70 tenants and 35 landlords. Both groups will be interviewed in the areas served by the PHAs in the Small Area FMR Demonstration. Incentive payments of $20 for tenants and $40 for landlords will be made.

HUD seeks comments on the following: 1) Is the information collection necessary and does it have practical utility; 2) the accuracy of the information collection burden; 3) ways to enhance the quality of the information collected; and 4) ways to minimize the burden of the information collected. Comments will be due 30 days after the notice is published. The pre-publication notice can be found here.

[6/2/17 Edit – The notice has been published in the Federal Register, and comments are due on July 3, 2017. The notice can be found here.]

[1] – NAHRO notes that this information would have been useful to know before HUD mandatorily directed PHAs to implement Small Area FMRs in certain areas.