On July 26, HUD posted a notice in the Federal Register implementing Public Housing income limits as required by the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). HOTMA places the threshold for over-income families as those with incomes over 120 percent of area median income (AMI) for the most recent two consecutive years. If a family meets this threshold, public housing authorities (PHAs) have the option of either charging the higher of the fair market rent for the unit or the monthly subsidy (operating and capital fund), or terminating the tenancy within 6 months. Language in HOTMA also provides the Secretary the discretion to establish different income limitations based on local construction costs or unusually high or low incomes, vacancy rates, or rents.
Year: 2018
Today!! – Complimentary Smoke-Free Public Housing Webinar
Today, July 19 at 12:30pm Eastern Time join the Clean Air for All team for a complimentary, live discussion and Q&A on the “Instituting Smoke-Free Public Housing” final rule. Participants will hear a brief update on the rule and be able to submit questions to Live Smoke Free, NAHRO, and NAR-SAAH staff. Have any and all your remaining questions on final implementation of the rule answered before the July 30 compliance date. Join us to help your agency transition to and maintain successful smoke-free public housing environments. Register for this complimentary session at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/884748810457188355.
To learn more about the Clean Air for All: The Smoke-Free Public Housing Project or to seek support for a PHA, contact gbanna@nahro.org or goto www.smokefreepublichousingproject.org.
RAD Roundup – RAD Supplemental Guidance
There has been a lot of activity around the new RAD guidance documents over the past few days. This post is meant to compile a lot of that information in one place.
New RAD Guidance Documents:
- Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) – Supplemental Guidance (PIH-2018-11; H-2018-05);
- Rental Assistance Demonstration: Implementation of Certain Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Appropriations Act Provisions;
- Rental Assistance Demonstration: Supplemental Guidance on Final Notice;
- Modified FY 2016 RAD Rents; and
- Rental Assistance Demonstration – Final Implementation, Revision 3 (as amended by the Supplemental Guidance).
Additional HUD Documentation of new RAD Guidance Documents:
- RADBlast! email on July 2, 2018 summarizing new RAD Guidance Documents (with corrected links);
- RAD Webinar slides on new Guidance Documents titled “New Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Notices to Implement Certain FY 18 Provisions and Supplement RAD Notice Revision 3“; Dated July 9, 2018; and
- RAD Webinar on new Guidance Documents (see below).
Additional non-HUD Posts:
- NAHRO’s initial blog post on the new RAD Guidance Documents;
- Nixon Peabody Affordable Housing Blog post titled “RAD updates bring Christmas in July – higher rents, expanded rent-bundling and more! (Part 1: FY 2018 Approps implementation)”; and
- Nixon Peabody Affordable Housing Blog post titled “RAD Updates bring Christmas in July – higher rents, expanded rent-bundling and more! (Part 2: Supplemental Guidance).”
HUD Publishes Notice on Voluntary Transfer and Consolidation of HCV Programs
HUD has published PIH 2018-12 titled “Process for Public Housing Agency Volunteer Transfers and Consolidations of Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Vouchers.” The notice describes the process by which a PHA may request a voluntary transfer or a consolidation of the agency’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. In a voluntary transfer, one PHA’s identifying number and Consolidated Annual Contributions Contract (CACC) remains intact, while in a consolidation, both or all of the PHA’s names, CACCs, and identifying numbers are terminated and replaced. The notice applies to PHAs that administer the HCV program, including project-based vouchers (PBVs), but excludes the Public Housing Low-Rent program and the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation program.
Click below for additional information.
NAHRO Submits Comments on RFIFs
Earlier today, NAHRO submitted comments on HUD’s notice titled “Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program–Fiscal Year 2018 Inflation Factors for Public housing Agency Renewal Funding.”
NAHRO’s comments can be found here.
HUD Publishes New RAD Guidance
Tomorrow, HUD will publish new Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) guidance in the form of two new Federal Register notices. The Department has also published a new RAD Public and Indian Housing (PIH) Notice. The three new guidance documents are the following:
- Rental Assistance Demonstration: Implementation of Certain Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Appropriations Act Provisions (link is to a pre-publication copy);
- [7/3/18 Edit – The final, published document can be found here];
- Rental Assistance Demonstration: Supplemental Guidance on Final Notice (link is to a pre-publication copy);
- [7/3/18 Edit – The final, published document can be found here]; and
- PIH-2018-11 – Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) – Supplemental Guidance.
[7/2/18 11:55 am edit – At the same time this post was published, HUD sent a RADBlast! email with additional information.
- Modified FY 16 RAD Rents can be found here.
- HUD will host a webinar on July 9, 2018 at 2 pm ET. Registration can be found here.
- Finally, a version of the RAD notice revised version 3 as amended with the Supplemental Notice can be found here.]
The first notice announces several things:
- HUD will use rent levels based on the FY 18 RAD rent base year for Commitments to enter into a HAP contract (CHAPs), portfolio awards, and multi-phase awards issued on or after January 1, 2019. Those rent levels will be published once the final public housing operating subsidy obligation is made for FY 18.
- For awards before Jan. 1, 2019, HUD will modify the FY 16 RAD rent base year by replacing the PHA’s FY 16 Capital Fund Formula Grant with the PHA’s FY 18 Capital Fund Formula Grant (i.e., in calculating RAD rents before Jan. 1, 2019, HUD will use FY 18 Capital Grant allocations, but FY 16 Operating Fund allocations and tenant rents);
- The Department can award RAD authority to certain projects where PHAs have submitted Letters of Interest (LOIs) to reserve their position on the RAD waiting list if they submit a complete RAD application within 60 days of publication of the notice;
- For all multi-phase awards issued after March 22, 2018, PHAs will have until September 30, 2024 to submit an application for the final phase of the project covered by the multi-phase award; and
- HUD may approve a replacement CHAP without new application materials, when a PHA voluntarily withdraws a project and requests new RAD authority for the same project within one month thereafter.
The second notice summarizes certain aspects of the PIH notice. It expands Rent Bundling such that PHAs may bundle between RAD project-based vouchers and non-RAD project-based vouchers. It allows PHAs to establish a project-specific utility allowances for Covered Projects. It provides alternative developer fee limits when a PHA adopts a waiting list preference for households exiting homelessness. It establishes that HUD will disapprove a proposed conversion where a PHA is disposing units at a proposed project and HUD determines that the use of disposition and RAD undermines the unit replacement requirements of RAD. It creates a streamlined conversion option for PHAs that have a very small public housing portfolio of 50 units or less that will not involve any rehabilitation, new construction, or relocation.
NAHRO members will receive additional coverage on these notices and the RAD program.
HUD Releases CoC Program Competition NOFA
On June 20, HUD issued the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the FY 18 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition. The FY 18 omnibus provided $2.513 billion to fund the Homeless Assistance Grants account, $130 million above FY 2017 enacted, including at least $2.106 billion for the Continuum of Care (CoC) and Rural Housing Stability Assistance programs. Approximately $2.1 billion is available in this FY 2018 CoC Program Competition NOFA, including up to $50 million available for Domestic Violence Bonus projects. Interested parties can apply as either collaborative applicants or project applicants.
HUD Posts Lead-Base Paint Hazard Reduction Grant NOFA
On June 19, HUD posted a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for federally recognized Native American tribal governments, city or county townships, county governments, state governments, and special district governments for its Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction program. The purpose of the grant is to help eligible entities undertake “comprehensive programs to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately-owned rental or owner-occupied housing populations.” Continue reading
HUD Seeks Comments on Disparate Impact
On Wednesday, June 20, HUD will formally publish their Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) titled, “Reconsideration of HUD’s Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard.” HUD is seeking comment on whether they should reopen the rule based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in the 2015 Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs versus the Inclusive Communities Project, Inc (Inclusive Communities) and public feedback relating to HUD’s regulatory reform efforts. Comments are due 60 days after the ANPR is published on June 20th. HUD announced their plan to reexamine the Disparate Impact Final Rule in a press release on May 10th.
HUD Voucher NOFAs extended
NAHRO members recently emailed me to let me know that HUD has extended two of their voucher NOFA deadlines. According to information posted on HUD’s Public and Indian Housing website the following voucher Notice of Funding Availability (NOFAs) have extended deadlines:
- New 2017 Mainstream Voucher Program Deadline – June 20, 2018; and
- New Family Unification Program NOFA for Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018 Deadline – July 26, 2018.
Additionally, the new deadline for joining ConnectHomeUSA is June 29th, 2018.
The NAHRO Blog: Legislative & Policy Updates from Washington, DC 