NAHRO has been informed that HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) has postponed all inspections for Multi-Family and Public Housing until further notice.
Below is the email the REAC sent out today.
NAHRO is maintaining a clearinghouse of COVID-19 (coronavirus) information at www.nahro.org/coronavirus and will provide additional information as warrants.
The Department has published a guide titled “Quick Guide to CDBG Eligible Activities to Support Infectious Disease Response.” The Department notes that “[g]rantees should coordinate with local health authorities before undertaking any activity to support state or local pandemic response.” The guide also notes that the CDBG activities may fund a range of eligible activities that prevent and respond to the spread of coronavirus.
The guide can be found here.
The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness has published a page titled “Planning and Preparing for COVID-19 (Coronavirus).” The page provides both recommendations and further resources on preparing for potential COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreaks and their impact on people experiencing homelessness. The page will be updated regularly.
The page can be found here.
Tomorrow–March 13, 2020 from 2 pm to 3 pm ET–HUD, CDC, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the National Healthcare for the Homeless Council (HCH) will host an “Office Hours” session to discuss COVID-19 planning and response. Before joining the question and answer session, please review the webinar recording titled “Infectious Disease Preparedness for Homeless Assistance Providers and Their Partners (or watch below).”
Participants do not need to register in advance, but it is strongly recommended that they join the session 15 minutes in advance of the start time (1:45 pm ET).
To join the session (at the appropriate time) click here.
As previously mentioned on this blog, IMS-PIC will be down starting tomorrow (Friday, 3/13/2020) until the Monday after next (Monday, 3/23/2020). During this period, housing agencies are asked not to use the system so that a security-related patch may be applied. The Department is encouraging PHAs with programs with fiscal years that end prior to Dec. 31 to complete submission of their SEMAP certification prior to the system entering the shutdown phase. When the system resumes operation, the Department will publish step-by-step instructions for PHAs and Field Offices to address potential problems.
Questions may be directed to REAC_TAC@hud.gov.
Further updates may be found here.
The full letter explaining this process from HUD can be found here.
The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials has created a Coronavirus Resource Page with links to information and resources related to PHAs and the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The page can be found here or at the following web address:
The page should be accessible to non-members and members. If you’re aware of additional relevant resources, please send them to tgurjal@nahro.org.
As always, please be sure to always check the CDC’s coronavirus page and HUD’s coronavirus page also.
[3/11/2020 – 12:59 ET Correction: This post originally incorrectly identified this webinar as the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness’s webinar. It is actually the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s webinar.]
A recording of HUD’s webinar on Infectious Disease Preparedness for Homeless Assistance Providers and Their Partners has been posted. It can be found below.
The HUD Exchange sent an email of links to new material from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for Homeless Assistance Providers. The new materials include the following:
The email also provides a link to the CDC: Interim Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations for US Community Facilities with Suspected/Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Finally, HUD notes that it has portal where individuals can ask questions about preventing or responding to the threat of infectious diseases, which can be found here.
HUD has sent letters to PHAs announcing their 2020 Capital Fund Grant awards. In order to receive their grant awards, PHAs are required to submit an ACC Amendment to HUD. Accepting this amendment does not make any changes to a PHA’s existing ACC. The 2020 ACC Amendment for the Capital Fund Grant awards does not incorporate any changes and is the same version of the amendment PHAs signed in 2017.
In a key victory that NAHRO fought more than a year to achieve, the FY 2020 Appropriations Act included an industry-drafted legislative pause to HUD’s attempt to change the ACC contract. The Act prohibited HUD from requiring or enforcing any changes to the terms and conditions of the ACC as a requisite for PHAs to receive funding unless the changes are mutually agreed upon by HUD and the PHA.
[3/11/2020 3:39 pm ET edit – the recorded webinar can be found here.]
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is presenting a webinar titled “Infectious Disease Preparedness for Homeless Assistance Providers and Their Partners” on March 10, 2020 at 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm ET. Presenters for the webinar include the following:
The webinar can be joined here.
The NAHRO Blog: Legislative & Policy Updates from Washington, DC 