HUD awarded $27.8 million to PHAs in 25 states to identify and reduce lead-based paint hazards. These competitive grants can be used for risk assessments, abatement, and interim controls as defined in Section 1004 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992. Grants would be subject to normal PHA regulations. A list of PHAs that received the funding can be found here.

According to HUD, the Department will award a record $330 million later this year to clean up lead-based paint and other housing-related health and safety hazards in privately owned low-income housing. 

On August 19, HUD released Notice PIH 2019-22 titled “Emergency Safety and Security Grants Annual Funding Notification and Application Process.” The notice provides guidance to PHAs seeking to apply for Emergency Capital Needs funding for safety and security measures. Funding is available to address needs resulting from unforeseen or unpreventable emergencies and natural disasters, excluding Presidentially Declared disasters, occurring in the current fiscal year. HUD is including the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning as a potential emergency safety need for public housing residents and including costs for the purchase, repair, replacement, and installation of carbon monoxide detectors as eligible activities for emergency safety and security grant funding. HUD will only accept one emergency safety and security grant per PHA, however, the Department may elect to accept separate applications from a single PHA in the same fiscal year for funding to address crime and drug-related activity and for funding for the purchase, repair, replacement, and installation of carbon monoxide detector. Safety and security funding will be limited to $250,000 per application. 

Applications and the application deadline will be posted on HUD’s Office of Capital Improvement Website shortly. 

HUD will publish it’s Notice of Demonstration to Assess the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) and Associated Protocols in the Federal Register tomorrow. The NSPIRE demonstration will change the way that public housing agencies, owners, and agents (POAs) inspect public housing properties. HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) wants to ensure that public housing units are adequately maintained, so they are developing the NSPIRE protocol to emphasize regular upkeep and maintenance of units throughout the year, rather than immediately before inspections. NSPIRE scores will be advisory, and agencies will keep their current UPCS scores during their participation in the demonstration. Through the Notice, HUD is seeking comment on the proposed, voluntary demonstration. Comments are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The demonstration is also anticipated to begin 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Interested agencies may pre-register for the demonstration here. 

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Up to $35 million in funding has been released through a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Resident Opportunity and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Program on grants. gov. ROSS grant funding is provided to eligible applicants to hire a Service Coordinator to asses the needs of Public and Indian Housing residents and link them to supportive services. In the case of elderly or disabled individuals, the Service Coordinator links residents to services to help them age in place.

ROSS funding may be used to pay the coordinator’s salary and fringe benefits, travel and training expenses, and administrative costs. Applications are due October 15 at grants. gov. Please email any questions to ROSS-PIH@hud.gov.

On August 14, the Department of Homeland Security will publish a final rule titled “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds.” The advance copy of the final rule published in the Public Inspection of the Federal Register can be found here.

According to the law, any individual who is applying for a visa or for admission to the United States is inadmissible if he or she is likely at any time to become a public charge. Currently, however, public charge is not defined. The final rule would define a “public charge” based on the receipt of financial support from the general public through government funding (i.e. public benefits).” This includes individuals that receive federal rental assistance. The individual would need to receive one or more designated public benefits, including but not limited to federal rental assistance, for more than 12 months in the aggregate within any 36-month period to meet the threshold.

The final rule goes into effect 60 days after being published in the Federal Register. NAHRO is currently reading through and analyzing the final “Public Charge” rule, and will provide more information to our members in the coming week. 

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