Day: May 31, 2022

Voucher Funding Opportunities

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD sent a letter detailing future funding opportunities for PHAs with Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs. The letter states that voucher funding is currently high (including an approximately 92% administrative fee proration). It also provides a table clearly delineating future voucher funding opportunities. The full letter can be found here (due to technical difficulties, the letter cannot be currently published, but will be soon).

The following is a reproduction of the information in the table. Additional information can be found in Notice PIH 2022-14. (* indicates that there are two deadlines for the funding category.)

  • HAP Set-Aside and Admin. Special Fee category deadlines
    • No Deadline
      • HAP Set-Aside – Prevention of Terminations Due to Insufficient Funding (Shortfall) – Provides funding for PHAs that would be required to terminate participating families from the program due to insufficient funds despite taking reasonable cost savings measures.
    • June 15, 2022
      • HAP Set-Aside – Unforeseen Circumstances – Aids PHAs who have experienced an occurrence, within or after the re-benchmarking period, that could not have been anticipated and was out of the PHA’s control.
      • HAP Set-Aside – Portability – Helps PHAs that experienced a significant increase in renewal costs due to portability for tenant based rental assistance under Section 8(r) of the Act.
      • HAP Set-Aside – Project Based Vouchers – Reimburses PHAs for HCV renewal funds that were not included in the CY2021 re-benchmarking because the PHA intentionally held the funds for an upcoming PBV to enter into a Housing Assistance Payment (AHAP).
      • HAP Set-Aside – Moving to Work (MTW) New Cohorts – Provides funding for PHAs that received their MTW designation in CY 2021 where funds were obligated, but not expended in CY 2021.
      • HAP Set-Aside – HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH)* – Supports PHAs administering HUD-VASH that can demonstrate a need for adjustment funding due to at least one of the following situations: (1) PUC Increase (2) Leasing Cost Increase.
      • HAP Set-Aside – Lower-than-average Leasing – Aids PHAs that are leasing at a lower-than-average percentage of their authorized vouchers, and have low amounts of budget authority in HCV program reserves. A list of eligible PHAs can be found here.
      • HAP Set-Aside – Non-Life Threatening (NLT) Inspection Withheld HAP – Reimburses PHAs for cases where the PHA paid the owner HAP that were withheld during CY 2021 in accordance with the requirements of the NLT initial inspection option.
      • Blended Rate Administrative Fees – Increased Administrative Fees for PHAs serving multiple Administrative Fee areas.
      • Higher Administrative Fees – Increased Administrative Fees for PHAs that operate over a large geographic area, as defined as two or more counties.
    • July 8, 2022
      • Special Fees – HUD-VASH – Supports necessary additional administrative expenses incurred to increase lease-up success rates or decrease the time it takes for a veteran to locate and move into a unit. See Appendix C of the notice.
      • Special Fees – HUD-Family Unification Program (FUP) – Supports necessary additional administrative expenses incurred to achieve either of the following activities: 100% FUP/Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) voucher utilization; and Increase access to the program for FUP-eligible youth. See Appendix C of the notice.
    • September 30, 2022
      • HAP Set-Aside – Disaster* – Supports PHAs whose expenses have been impacted by disasters.
      • HAP Set-Aside – Unforeseen Circumstances* – Second and final deadline for additional funding for unforeseen circumstances.
      • HAP Set-Aside – HUD -VASH* – Second and final deadline for additional funding for HUD-VASH.
    • October 28, 2022
      • Special Fees – Disaster – In the event of a future allocation of disaster vouchers during CY 2022, PIH will provide eligibility and application guidance for disaster related vouchers’ special fees. See Appendix C of the notice.
      • Special Fees – Secretary’s Discretion – Provides additional administrative fee funding to cover administrative expenses incurred as the result of a situation outside of the specific categories described in PIH Notice 2022-14. See Appendix C of the notice.
    • December 30, 2022
      • HAP Set-Aside – Disaster* – Second and final deadline to request funding for Disaster assistance.
  • Other Voucher Funding Opportunities (Date is target publication date of notice; unless noted otherwise, these will be published as PIH notices at www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/publications/notices.)
    • June, FY 2022
      • Mainstream Vouchers ($40 million; 4,200 vouchers) – An opportunity for PHAs to receive new Mainstream vouchers and extraordinary administrative fees to help PHAs lease their Mainstream vouchers. See PIH Notice 2022-07.
      • Stability Vouchers ($43 million; 4,000 vouchers) – Supports families experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, those fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and veterans and family members that include a veteran family member that meets one of the preceding criteria. Implements the funds provided in the 2021 appropriation.
      • FYI – Competitive ($15.3 million; 1,500 vouchers) – Provides assistance for FUP-eligible youth under the FYI program. (To be published at www.hud.gov/grants.)
    • July, FY 2022
      • HUD-VASH ($79 million; 8,500 vouchers) – Pairs HCV rental assistance with VA case management and supportive services for homeless Veterans. Awards based on geographic need and performance.
      • FYI – Non-Competitive ($15 million) – Provides assistance for Family Unification Program (FUP)-eligible youth under the Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) program.
      • New HCV Incremental Vouchers ($200 million; Up to 25,000 vouchers) – Provides rental assistance to families to support affordable housing and provide greater access to areas of opportunity through noncompetitive formula awards.
    • August, FY 2022
      • FUP ($5 million; 380 vouchers) – Provides rental assistance to families whose lack of adequate housing is a primary cause of the separation or imminent separation, of a child or children from their families. (To be published at www.hud.gov/grants.)
    • March, FY 2023
      • Mobility Related Services ($25 million; no additional vouchers) – Provides funding for mobility related services that are modeled after services provided with the Community Choice Demonstration. Preference will be given to PHAs with a higher concentration of HCV families with children residing in high-poverty areas. (To be published at www.hud.gov/grants.)

Measuring Resident Agency

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ 1 Comment

The Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future have created a guide to help “outline measures and data gathering practices” that may “amplify resident voice and agency.” The guide is titled “Measuring Resident Agency and Voice in an Affordable Housing Setting: A Set of Guiding Questions to Move Forward.” The measures suggested by the guide fall into four categories. The categories were chosen based on how prevalent they were in current research, their relevance to the affordable housing industry, and their applicability to the affordable housing industry. In each category, the guide presents a few paragraphs on why the category is important, some suggested questions on how to think about the category for organizational staff, and some suggested questions to ask residents.

The categories covered by the guide are the following:

  • Resident Satisfaction – the guide notes that assessing resident satisfaction is a way to check if resident needs and safety are being met, which are needed, if additional and deeper resident engagement is to be had.
  • Social Cohesion – the guide defines this as “connectedness among residents” and notes that it can provide insight into a property’s culture, especially around “neighborliness and collaboration.”
  • Resident Power – the guide notes that this is important because it can help determine what a property remodel can look like or how operations and service delivery can be changed. It is the “ultimate outcome of exercising agency and voice.”
  • Civic Engagement – the guide gives examples of this as “volunteering, attending public hearings, and voting” and notes that these activities have served as indicators of community participation.

The full guide can be found here.