Year: 2022

HUD Publishes Revised FY 2022 FMRs for Certain Areas

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Today, HUD published revised fair market rents (FMRs) for public housing agencies that submitted survey data on their local rental prices. The new FMRs reflect the estimated 40th percentile rent levels trended to Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. The revised FMRs for these areas are below. The revised FMRs are applicable on April 11, 2022.

2022 Fair Market Rent Area

FMR by number of bedrooms in unit

 0 BR1 BR2 BR3 BR4 BR
Abilene, TX MSA$688$732$945$1,288$1,598
Asheville, NC HUD Metro FMR Area1,1881,2091,3781,8792,359
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area1,8031,9862,3992,9663,253
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA MSA1,1741,3681,7652,4352,909
Iron County, UT6157579261,2681,585
New York, NY HUD Metro FMR Area2,0182,0542,3402,9523,173
Portland, ME HUD Metro FMR Area1,1431,3301,7212,1952,689
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA1,4161,5121,7352,4512,903
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA MSA1,5731,7392,2323,0993,795
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA MSA1,8752,1572,5163,3163,790
Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area1,6741,7392,0442,7963,285
Transylvania County, NC7067119351,1561,364

The Department also replied to comments on the FY 2022 FMRs and their calculation-methodology submitted by various stakeholders, including NAHRO.

The full notice can be found here.

HUD Publishes CARES Act Waiver Reporting Tool Dashboard

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

HUD has published their CARES Act Waiver Reporting Tool (CAWRT; pronounced “cart”) dashboard. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This act gave HUD the authority to offer PHAs the option to waive certain statutory and regulatory requirements. In late 2021, HUD requested that all PHAs fill out a survey on which, if any, waivers they used. The Department took that information and created a publicly accessible dashboard on which PHAs used waivers and which waivers they used.

The CAWRT dashboard can be found here.

HUD Publishes Notice Officially Extending Deadline to April 1st for Submitting Expedited Waiver Requests

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

As previously reported by NAHRO, HUD has now officially extended the deadline to April 1st for submitting a request for an expedited waiver. The new notice, Notice PIH 2022-04, states the following:

“This notice amends PIH-2021-34 solely by extending the submission deadline in Section 5 of the notice from March 1, 2022 to April 1, 2022. No additional submission extensions will be issued.”

From NAHRO’s discussions with HUD staff, NAHRO was able to learn that even after the deadline, PHAs will be able to apply for these waivers, but post-deadline requests will not go through the expedited waiver process. In addition, the simplified payment standard waiver process in the expedited waiver notice will remain in place after the deadline. Additional details on that process remaining in place will be explained in a future notice.

The full notice extending the deadline to April 1st can be found here.

Congress Holds Hearing on Affordable Housing and Economic Mobility

~ Jenna Hampton ~ Leave a comment

Housing is a significant part of economic wellbeing for most American families. The House Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth held a March 1 hearing on “Affordable Housing and Economic Mobility.” Chairman Jim Himes (D-CT) and Ranking Member Bryan Steil (R-WI) opened with remarks on affordable housing construction, inclusive zoning, and homeownership. On the purpose of the hearing, Chairman Himes said,

“We will examine the critical role that stable and affordable housing plays in creating paths to economic prosperity and giving every American the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.”

Following the opening statements, five expert witnesses testified before the committee, including:

Bailey and Waggoner both discussed the history of inequity in housing policies. Former Secretary Donovan proposed three pathways to promote prosperity through housing: increase investments in rental assistance and construction programs, expand homeownership, and invest in improving disadvantaged neighborhoods. Nowak spoke about the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) as one of the best tools developers have for creating more affordable housing. Finally, Dr. Furth testified about the regional differences in housing markets and affordability.

Disagreement was clear among committee members about whether subsidies are helpful or harmful in addressing the affordable housing crisis. Ranking Member Steil (R-WI), Rep. Davidson (R-OH), and Rep. Arrington (R-TX) argued that subsidies only drive up costs within the housing market, making rents even more expensive. In place of subsidies, they argued for an increase in housing supply through reduced regulations and fewer taxes in the construction supply chain.

In contrast, Chairman Himes (D-CT), Rep. Jayapal (D-WA), and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) talked about the benefits of housing subsidies for those in their communities who struggle to afford housing. Rep. Jayapal said in Seattle there are people working full time at $15 per hour who still cannot afford a home. In response to a member’s question, Bailey pointed out that, in addition to rental assistance subsidies, many Americans benefit from homeownership subsidies that make it financially feasible for them to own homes.

The hearing also covered homelessness, source of income discrimination, zoning restrictions, Housing Choice Vouchers, the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), and credit scoring. The recorded hearing and all witness statements are available on the Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth’s website.

HUD to Update VMS

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On Feb. 28th, HUD sent an email to PHA Executive Directors informing them that the Voucher Management System (VMS) will be revised on March 25th (though the updates should be visible to end users on April 4th). The envisioned changes include revising “existing fields, add[ing] new fields, and delet[ing] fields that are not necessary.” Some of the fields will not be used immediately, but will gain functionality in the future as the appropriate funding has been awarded.

The Department has updated the VMS Quick Reference Guide to reflect these changes. It can be found here.

Charts of the revisions, additions, and deletions of VMS fields can be found below.

Continue reading →

New Guidance on “Designated Housing” and “Accessible Designation” Unit Categories in IMS/PIC

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On Feb. 18, HUD issued a notice titled “Guidance on Unit Designation Categories and Accessible Designation Categories in IMS/PIC” (Notice PIH-2022-03 (HA)). This notice instructs PHAs to properly classify their units in IMS/PIC. In particular, units that may have been set aside as “Designated Housing,” for elderly families, disabled families, or units for both elderly and disabled families after approved by HUD through a Designated Housing Plan (DHP), should be properly classified. Additionally, units that are classified with an “Accessible Designation,” for people with a mobility or sensory impairment or to contain some accessible features, should also be properly classified. PHAs should review their portfolios and make changes within 30 days of the publication of this notice.

Designated Housing

The Sept. 2010 IMS/PIC system release implemented three significant changes to the unit designation categories. First, units titled “Family Unit, Elderly Unit, Family and Disabled, and Elderly and Disabled” were placed in the “General Occupancy” category. Second, “Mixed Elderly and Disabled Not HUD Officially Designated” was created as a new unit designation category. Third, “Merged Units” were reported in the unit designation detail.

Housing agencies must review their portfolios and make changes within 30 days of the publication of the notice. Any issues or corrections must be worked out by March 31, 2022. The Department will publish data highlighting discrepancies between counts of designated units in IMS/PIC and those approved in Designated Housing Plans. That information will be available here.

Accessible Designation

The Sept. 2010 IMS/PIC system release implemented the accessible designation categories. Housing agencies must ensure that units are properly categorized according to the definitions in the notice. The notice provides definitions for the following units: mobility impairment; hearing/visual impairment; partially accessible; and not accessible.

Housing agencies must review their portfolios and make changes within 30 days of the publication of the notice. Any issues or corrections must be worked out by March 31, 2022. Additionally, accessible designations require the PHA to obtain HUD user approval to a change in IMS/PIC. Finally, PHAs must continue to maintain the accuracy of accessible designation categories moving forward.

The notice provides instructions for making the necessary changes to both “Designated Housing” units and units with an “Accessible Designation” in IMS/PIC.

The full notice can be found here.

HUD Expedited Waiver Notice Deadline Extended to April 1, 2022

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

The deadline to apply for an expedited waiver has been extended to April 1. The CARES Act waivers, which were passed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic expired at the end of 2021. A more limited set of regulatory waivers were created in PIH Notice 2021-31 titled “Expedited Regulatory Waivers for the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher (including Mainstream and Mod Rehab) Programs.” PHAs must apply for these waivers to be able to use them and must apply by April 1. After April 1, PHAs may still apply for the waivers, but they will not be processed as quickly. Available waivers include the following:

  • A waiver to set the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program payment standard up to 120% of the fair market rent (FMR);
  • A waiver to increase the payment standard for a family at any time after the effective date of the increase, instead of the next regular reexamination;
  • A waiver to waive the application of SEMAP for PHAs with certain fiscal year ends;
  • A waiver to grant a voucher term of extension without changing the administrative plan; and
  • A waiver to extend homeownership assistance for an additional year.

Instructions on how to apply for these expedited waivers can be found here.

Reminder: HCV Utilization Webinar Tomorrow at 2 pm ET

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

[Edit: A prior version of this post incorrectly identified the day and time of this webinar. The date and time has been corrected.]

Tomorrow (2/17/2022) at 2 pm ET, HUD will host a webinar titled “HCV Utilization Webinar – Landlord Engagement.” During the webinar, HUD will provide an overview of newly available resources to improve landlord relationships, including landlord testimonial videos, a toolkit for planning and facilitating a landlord symposium, and and fact sheet explaining the roles of PHAs.

Registration for the webinar can be found here.

PHA Voter Registration Activities

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On Feb. 9, HUD sent an email to PHA Executive Directors informing them what role a PHA may play in ensuring public housing residents have access to the electoral process and certain voter registration activities. PHAs should note that many electoral rules are set by the state and should ensure that they are complying with all applicable state and local laws.

Permissible PHA activities included the following:

  1. “Providing documentation of residence (e.g., address verification, leases, etc.) to public housing residents when requested to ensure residents are able to register to vote and vote. Your PHA and PHA residents can visit Vote.gov to determine what documentation of residence will be most helpful to persons trying to register to vote in your state.
  2. Applying to States to operate as a voter registration agency under the National Voter Registration Act. States are allowed to designate state, federal and non-governmental offices as voter registration agencies.
    • If your PHA would like to be considered to be a voter registration agency, you can reach out to state election officials for more information about the rules and laws for your state. HUD does not make determinations about what offices can be designated as voter registration agencies – only your state election officials can make that determination.
    • For more information on what it means to be a voter registration agency, see this FAQ by the Department of Justice: https://www.justice.gov/crt/national-voter-registration-act-1993-nvra
  3. Making voter registration resources available to residents. If you are not designated by the state as a voter registration agency, you can still facilitate residents’ access to voter registration. Such permissible actions include:
    • Making voter registration forms available to residents.
    • If the laws of your state allow, accepting completed voter registration application forms and transmitting these forms to the appropriate State election official.
    • If the voter registration laws of your state allow, running a PHA-initiated voter registration drive. However, you would need to consult with your counsel and your state election director to identify the rules and laws around voter registration drives for your state.
  4. Permitting the use of PHA community space on an incidental basis to hold meetings, candidate forums, or voter registration, provided that all parties and organizations have access to the facility on an equal basis and are assessed equal rent or use charges.
  5. Collaborating with local election administrators to permit the use of PHA space for voter drop boxes and voting sites, including for early voting.” [Citations removed.]

To meet the costs of the above activities, PHAs may use public housing operating subsidies or administrative fees from the voucher program.

PHAs must not fund partisan political facilities or activities. Additionally, PHAs should not suggest that benefits are tied to voting activity, nor should they give the appearance that voting and voter registration are not voluntary activities. Additionally, PHAs should follow all applicable civil rights laws, including those that ensure voting processes are accessible for individuals with disabilities.

Additional information may be found at https://vote.gov. Additional questions may be sent to PHAVoterRegistration@hud.gov.

PHA Executive Compensation Information Collection Released

~ Eric Oberdorfer ~ Leave a comment

On February 11, HUD released a 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection in the Federal Register on Public Housing Agency Executive Compensation Information. As required by Congress, HUD collects information on the compensation provided by public housing agencies (PHAs) to the top management official, the top financial official, and all employees who are paid an annual salary over the compensation cap imposed by Congress in HUD’s annual appropriations (Level IV of the Executive Schedule). The compensation data collected includes base salary, bonus, and incentive and other compensation, and the extent to which these payments are made with any Section 8 and 9 appropriated funds.

HUD will shift from collecting data on PHA compensation from annually to triennially (once every three years). This will reduce reporting requirements for all PHAs. While HUD may only collect PHA compensation data once every three years, PHAs are still subject to the annual compensation restrictions imposed by Congress. Therefore, all years remain subject to potential review by HUD to ensure compliance with the Annual Appropriations Act.

Comments are due on March 14, 2022.