HUD has published a notice (PIH Notice 2017-07) titled “Implementation of the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2017 Funding Provisions for the Housing Choice Voucher Program.”

The notice lists the funding that the appropriations bill has allocated for tenant-based rental assistance:

• HAP Renewal Funding – $18.355 billion;
• Tenant Protection Vouchers – $110 million;
• Administrative Fees – $1.650 billion;
• Mainstream 5 Year Program – $120 million;
• Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing – $40 million; and
• Family Unification Program – $10 million.

The notice also notes how Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) are rebenchmarked using validated leasing and cost data for calendar year (CY) 2016. HUD states that that it will perform a “small offset” to prevent termination of rental assistance for families as the result of insufficient funding. Additionally, the $75 million set-aside in HAP funding provided by the budget, which is used to perform PHA allocation adjustments, will most likely be used only for shortfall funding. If there are any funds remaining after the set-aside, they will be distributed on a prorated basis to all agencies.

Major sections of the notice are discussed below.

Shortfall Funding – The notice describes the two scenarios under which a PHA can apply for shortfall funding. In Scenario 1, HUD’s Shortfall Prevent Team (SPT) has confirmed the shortfall, while in Scenario 2, PHAs have managed their budget in a reasonable and responsible manner, but are later confirmed to be in a SPT-confirmed shortfall position. PHAs with questions related to the calculation of HUD-confirmed shortfall should contact the SPT at 2017ShortfallInquiries@hud.gov.  The subject line should include the PHA’s number. There are certain submission requirements that must be met. While Category 1 shortfall set-aside funding will remain available throughout CY 2017, PHAs with SPT-confirmed shortfalls in September, October, or November 2017 must submit an application no later than 5 pm ET Friday, July 28. For PHAs with SPT-confirmed shortfalls for December 2017, the application deadline is 5 pm ET, Monday, January 22, 2018. Requests can be be made via email (2017Set-AsideApplications@hud.gov2017Set-AsideApplications@hud.gov) or via mail.

Tenant Protection Vouchers – A $110 million is provided for tenant protection vouchers (TPVs) from the budget. The notice notes the types of actions that are potentially eligible for a TPV and discusses a TPV set-aside for certain at-risk households in low-vacancy areas. The notice also discusses how to apply for TPVs, how TPVs are awarded, and the discusses the documentation required for a TPV.

Administrative Fees – The notice discusses how to apply for blended and higher administrative fees (the deadline of which has already passed). Also, the notice notes that $10 million of administrative fees are reserved for special fees, a portion of which may be used at HUD’s discretion.

Other Information – Finally, HUD recommends using their forecasting tool to appropriately manage the HCV program. HUD also discusses the following: HUD HAP Restricted Net Position (RNP) and HUD-help reserves can only be used for eligible HAP needs; PHAs must continue to report in the VMS and FASS systems; except for certain MTW agencies–agencies may not lease above their baseline ACC units; and other things.

NAHRO members will receive a more detailed write-up of this notice as a Monitor article.

The full notice can be found here.