Recently, HUD released four new Notices. Two of the Notices relate to HUD-VASH Vouchers, one is on the Stability Voucher Program, and the last is on revocation and reallocation of Emergency Housing Voucher Awards.

Notice PIH 2022-22: Revoke and Reallocation of Emergency Housing Vouchers: This notice explains HUD’s process for revocation and reallocation of Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) awards. The Notice updates the award allocation formula found in Section 4 of Notice PIH 2021-15 in connection with reallocation of the EHV Awards.

Notice PIH 2022-24: Stability Voucher Program: This notice explains HUD’s non-competitive allocation strategy and program requirements for the new Stability Voucher program. HUD is awarding up to $43,439,000 to support approximately 4,000 new incremental vouchers. Stability Vouchers may assist households who are homeless, at-risk of homelessness, those fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violent, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, and veterans and families that include a veteran family member that one of the proceeding criteria. All Registrations of Interest must be transmitted no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on October 20, 2022.

Notice PIH 2022-25: Voluntary Reallocation or Recapture of HUD-VASH Vouchers: This notice established the processes under which a HUD-VASH PHA may be approved to voluntarily reallocate all or a portion of their HUD-VASH vouchers to another HUD-VASH PHA or, if reallocation is not an option, have all or a portion of their HUD-VASH vouchers returned back to HUD.

Notice PIH 2022-26: Registration of Interest for HUD-VASH Vouchers: This Notice announces the availability of approximately $79 million in HUD-VASH vouchers. HUD anticipates that the funding will support approximately 8,500 new HUD-VASH vouchers. The FY 22 HUD-VASH Electronic Registration of Interest form must be submitted no later than midnight in the time zone of the PHA on Friday, September 16, 2022.

On August 16, HUD released a sample version of the FSS Action Plan, which is a required document to be completed for each Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program (funded or not) to be approved by HUD. The FSS Program, which has recently seen changes due to the announcement of the final rule effective June 17, 2022, implements the requirement for all grantees to submit new Action Plans. The Plan should describe how a program will be administered, services that will be offered, and the size/characteristics of anticipated participants of the program.

In the sample, HUD includes instructions for grantees/programs in creating their Action Plan, an Action Plan template, and a checklist for specific items to be addressed in the Plan. The sample also includes resources that can help in the submission process, which must be completed by September 30, 2022. The reviewal process of an Action Plan takes up to 45 days. New participants of an FSS program will not be able to be enrolled until the Action Plan is approved by HUD.

The Sample Action Plan can be found here.

More information and details on how to create your Action Plan for the FSS Program will be in the August 31 addition of the NAHRO Monitor.

On July 27, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued Notice PIH-2022-20, which clarifies portions of the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program final rule. The final rule was published in May of this year and went into effect on June 17, 2022. The sections that are clarified in the notice cover the establishment of an escrow account for FSS participating families, the use of forfeited FSS escrow funds, and reporting requirements of financial data as related to FSS escrows.

The notice provides the following information summarized below:

Establishing an FSS Escrow Account

• PHAs or owners are required to deposit FSS escrow funds of all families participating in an FSS program into a single interest-bearing depository account.
• The escrow account may be part of the PHA or owner’s overall account or a separate account.
• Funds deposited into either account must only be used for the purposes of escrow.
• The total of the account funds must be supported by accounting records that show the balance applicable to each FSS participating family.

Forfeited FSS Escrow Funds

• The final rule requires that all forfeited escrow funds be used by a PHA/owner to benefit any FSS participants in good standing with the program regardless of the original funding source.
• The funds may only be used for activities such as transportation, child care, training, fees associated with employment or professional development, training for FSS Coordinators, and any other activities as determined by HUD.

Reporting Financial Data

• PHAs that administer the Section 8 and/or Section 9 programs must submit annual financial data to HUD.
• Data must be submitted electronically and be prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
• The FSS program provides an accounting brief that provides clarity for this process. The brief can be found here.

For more information, see the notice here.

HUD will be hosting a Webinar on the FY 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition on August 11 from 2:30-4 PM ET. The webinar will highlight various parts of the CoC Competition process including: funding tiers, CoC application, and project application. Interested parties can join the webinar here. HUD posted the CoC NOFO on August 1. Applications are due September 30. The NOFO is available at grants.gov.

On July 27^th, HUD issued a press release with updates to programs affecting energy and utility usage, two of which may be of interest to PHAs: Community Solar Credits and the Small Rural Frozen Rolling Base program. Both can help PHAs support tenants by lowering the cost of energy.

Community Solar Power

Community Solar Power credits allow residents in a multifamily structure to opt to use power from community solar panels rather than having their own panels installed on their individual units. This model makes solar power more accessible and can lower tenants’ utility bills. HUD issued a national solar credit memo that applies to a number of rental assistance programs within Multifamily Housing. This memo is not the same information HUD recently provided to several states, which were implementing their own solar programs. This new national memo specifies the rental assistance programs eligible for community solar participation. Next, it defines how to determine the effect of community solar on utility allowances. And finally, it articulates how to incorporate or exclude solar credits in annual income calculations. The new community solar power memo can be found here.

Small Rural Frozen Rolling Base Utility Program

The Small Rural Frozen Rolling Base (SR-FRB) is the average amount of utility usage incorporated into the Public Housing Operating Fund formula. This program allows PHAs to capture average usage for their most recent three-year period and use this data in Operating Fund calculations for up to 20 years. Savings generated from using the SR-FRB in the formula and improving efficiency afterward may be used to support the public housing program. HUD has not released new guidance but rather has announced an “educational campaign” to encourage utilization of this program. Currently, HUD has provided PIH 2020-30, a list of eligible PHAs, and a list of properties that qualify for the Department of Energy’s Weatherization program. HUD states that the deadline to apply for the SR-FRB program is September 2022. Notice PIH 2020-30 can be found here. The list of eligible small and rural PHAs can be found here. Properties qualifying for the Department of Energy’s Weatherization program can be found here.

HUD’s press release including additional programs intended to lower electricity costs can be found here.

HUD released its FY 2022 Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Notice of Funding Opportunity on August 4. The FSS program provides grants to PHAs to support the salaries and training needs of FSS Program Coordinators who assist participating families receiving assistance through the Section 8 or Public Housing Program.

HUD’s FSS Final Rule was published on May 17 which made certain changes to program requirements related to program eligibility, escrow deposits, and supportive services. The rule also allows the Secretary to establish a funding formula and extends eligibility by allowing private owners of PBRA properties to voluntarily make an FSS program available to their tenants. 

Agencies will only be eligible for Renewal funding if the agency was funded under any of the FY 2021, FY 2020, and/or FY 2019 FSS NOFOs. PHAs that have not been funded for an FSS grant in any of the last 3 years and PBRA owners already implementing or wishing to implement an FSS program are eligible for funding after renewal funding is distributed. HUD expects to award 800 grants with an estimated total program funding of $113 million. Applications can be submitted through grants.gov.

This article was written by Richa Goel, NAHRO’s Legislative Affairs Intern.

As rents skyrocket across the country, many Americans are struggling to find safe, affordable housing. On August 2, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing to discuss the impact of today’s housing market on renters and communities.

Chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) opened by discussing the impact of housing shortages on renters:

“We’re 3.8 million homes short of what we need. Not a single state in the country has enough housing. For the lowest income renters, there are just 36 units affordable and available for every 100 renters who need them…this huge shortage of housing means renters have to make do with what they’ve got.”

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On July 27, the Treasury Department released new guidance to increase the flexibility of how governments can use State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to expand affordable housing in their areas. The new guidance:  

1. “Increases flexibility to use SLFRF to fully finance long-term affordable housing loans” 

2. “Expands presumptively eligible affordable housing uses to further maximize the availability of SLFRF funds for affordable housing” 

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