Year: 2022

Administration Announces Housing Supply Action Plan

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ 1 Comment

On May 16, the administration announced a housing supply action plan that is intended to “ease the burden of housing costs over time, by boosting the supply of quality housing in every community.” The plan includes both legislative and administrative actions and is meant to align with other policies currently in effect (e.g., federal rental assistance) to create more affordable rents and make homeownership more affordable.

While the plan includes many specific actions, many of those actions can be grouped into the following categories.

  • Incentivizing jurisdictions to reform their zoning and land-use policies by giving higher scores to jurisdictions that do this in federal grant allocations.
  • Implementing new financing mechanisms to build and preserve housing, including manufactured housing; accessory dwelling units; two to four unit properties; and other multifamily buildings.
  • Improving existing federal financing for development and preservation, which includes making construction to permanent loans more available; promoting the use of COVID recovery funds for affordable housing; reforming the low-income housing tax credit and the HOME program.
  • Ensuring that more housing goes to owners that live in the units or non-profits that will rehabilitate them.
  • Addressing supply chain issues by working with the private sector.

The White House’s full announcement of their housing supply action plan can be found here.

HUD Proposes Final Rule to the FSS Program

~ Steven Molinari ~ Leave a comment

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released its final rule, which will amend regulations to implement changes to the Family
Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program. After consideration of public comments made about the new regulations in Section 306 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, HUD has decided to further revise and incorporate the changes proposed in the previous amendments.

The final rule, which is targeted to improve the program for PHAs, multifamily property owners, and eligible families, will include several revisions. Some revisions include: allowing HCV and Section 8 families to be eligible for the FSS program; revising definitions; further revising the Contact of Participation (CoP); revising the lists of activities for which forfeited escrow funds may be used; and making changes to portability provisions.

The rule is set to go into effect 30 days after publication. Compliance of the proposed rule is required no later than 180 days after date of publication.

Further information on the FSS program can be found here.

The proposed rule from September 2020 can be found here.

Public Housing Residents and Section 8 Program Participants Eligible for Affordable Connectivity Program

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Public housing residents and Section 8 program participants are eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The program provides a discount of up to $30 per month (and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands) towards internet service for eligible households. Households can also receive up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute between $10 and $50 toward the purchase price.

To enroll in the program, a household has to do the following:

  1. Complete an online or mail-in application at ACPBenefit.org; and
  2. Contact a participating provider to select an internet plan and have the ACP discount applied.

There is a limit of one monthly service discount and one device per household.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has created a consumer outreach toolkit. The toolkit includes infographics, fact sheets, flyers, consumer handouts, audio public service announcements, videos, newsletter blurbs, press release text, and sample social media posts to help spread the word about the program. It also includes translations of some of the handouts, web resources, and a speaker request section.

Additional information on the Affordable Connectivity Program can be found here.

HUD’s guide to the program can be found here.

A program fact sheet can be found here.

The FCC’s ACP Consumer Outreach Toolkit can be found here.

MTW Expansion Cohort #4 – What Is It and How to Apply?

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Wednesday, May 18th at 2 pm ET

HUD recently announced that they are accepting applications for admission into the Asset Building Cohort of the Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program. The cohort will expand the overall program to an additional 30 PHAs with 6,000 combined units or less by the end of the year. NAHRO’s policy team will discuss the background to the MTW expansion, the asset building options for the new cohort, eligibility for the cohort, the application process, and the requirements of the application. There will be time to ask NAHRO staff questions.

Registration for the webinar can be found here.

New Opportunities to Learn Asset Building Strategies

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, the HUD Moving to Work (MTW) office sent an email with information about upcoming webinars on asset building strategies that PHAs can employ to help their residents. Asset building (as defined in PIH 2022-11–the MTW cohort on asset building) is defined as “activities that encourage the growth of savings accounts and/or aim to build credit for assisted households.” The information from the email is reproduced below.

  • Asset Building Opportunities for HUD-Assisted Tenants
    Tuesday, May 10, 2022 | 2:00-3:00 pm EST
    Join HUD and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Webinar to learn the key financial components for people trying to build assets & increase financial well-being.
    Link to Join | Access Code: KbnJzUPA?782
  • How to Apply – MTW Expansion Asset Building Cohort Webinar
    Tuesday, May 24, 2022 | 2:00 – 3:00 pm EST
    During this webinar, HUD will walk through the selection notice and application materials and give PHAs more information about this cohort.
    Link to Join | Join via telephone phone at 888-251-2949 | Access Code 3334803#
  • Rent Reporting and Credit Building Opportunities for PHA Residents
    Tuesday, June 7, 2022, 2:00-3:00 pm EST
    Join HUD and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Webinar to learn about strategies for helping public housing residents build positive credit histories.
    Link to Join | Access Code: 2SThfN6Zmj$2

MTW Notice on Fourth Cohort Application Process Published

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD published Notice PIH 2022-11 which states the process by which PHAs may apply to participate in the fourth cohort of the Moving to Work (MTW) Program. The notice is titled “Request for Applications under the Moving to Work Demonstration Program: Asset Building Cohort.” MTW allows PHAs additional flexibilities to customize and implement innovative solutions that best serve the needs of a PHA’s community. Applications for this cohort are due on July 28, 2022.

In addition to providing full MTW flexibilities to chosen PHAs, this cohort will also seek to answer research questions related to “Asset Building Initiatives.” The Department seeks to find PHAs to fill 30 remaining slots available in the MTW expansion. Selected housing agencies will participate in one of three asset building initiatives, which encourage the growth of savings accounts or aim to build credit for assisted households. The asset building initiatives are the following:

  • Opt-Out Savings Account Option – PHAs must deposit a certain amount of funds per month into an escrow account on behalf of an assisted household.
  • Credit Building Option – PHAs must report public housing rent payments to credit bureaus.
  • PHA-Designed Asset Building Option – PHAs must design their own local asset building program.

HUD will conduct an informational webinar on May 24, 2022 at 2 pm ET. The Department will discuss the notice and an MTW agency will share its experience with asset building initiatives.

To join the webinar, at the appointed time, click here. To access the webinar by phone, dial 888-251-2949 or 215-861-0694 and use the access code 3334803# at the designated time.

NAHRO members will receive additional information on this notice in the near future.

Implementation Guidance for Section 3 Final Rule Issued

~ Eric Oberdorfer ~ Leave a comment

HUD has issued guidance on tracking and reporting compliance with the new requirements for the Section 3 Final Rule issued in September, 2020. The new guidance, Notice PIH 2022-10, discusses transition period activities, reporting, contracting and procurement, monitoring and compliance, recordkeeping, complaints, and training for Section 3. Section 3 requires PHAs and their contractors and subcontractors to give low- and very low-income persons training, employment, and economic opportunities, to their best efforts, when using certain federal funding, including public housing Operating and Capital funds.

For more information on the Section 3 final rule, see here. The Notice can be found here.

HUD Publishes Public Housing Dashboard

~ Andrew Van Horn ~ Leave a comment

On April 14th, HUD published their new Public Housing Dashboard for public use. The dashboard consists of interactive data visualizations for several elements of the Public Housing program. Each page presents national-level Public Housing data with the opportunity to select data for specific areas or years. The dashboard provides information for the following topics:

  • Occupancy,
  • Funding,
  • Operating subsidy eligibility,
  • Resident demographics, and
  • Energy use.

The HUD website includes more specific guidance for using the dashboards.

The dashboard can be found here.

New Webinar on Using PBVs

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On April 21st, from 2 pm to 3 pm ET, HUD will host a webinar on how PHAs can expand their project-based voucher (PBV) portfolio. According to HUD, “[t]his webinar will review the PBV program requirement, highlight PBV resources, and provide case studies for how PHAs have used PBVs to improve HCV program utilization.”

Registration for the webinar can be found here.

HUD Extends Streamlined Waiver Requests for Certain HCV Waivers

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On April 11th, HUD published a notice extending the time in which certain Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waivers could be applied for in an expedited manner. The notice is titled “Streamlined Regulatory Waivers for the Housing Choice Voucher (including Mainstream and Mod Rehab) Program” (PIH 2022-09).

The notice extends the deadline–until September 30, 2022–to apply for three specific waivers that apply to the Housing Choice Voucher program. These waivers were previously available through prior notices, but the deadline to apply through the expedited process had ended.

The three waivers that are still available for the HCV program are the following:

  • Increase in Payment Standard During HAP Contract Term – this waiver would allow the PHA to increase the payment standard for a family at any time after the effective date of the increase, rather than waiting for the next regular reexamination.
  • Term of Voucher: Extensions of Term – this waiver would allow PHAs to grant extensions of the initial voucher term, irrespective of what is written in the PHA’s administrative plan.
  • Voucher Tenancy: New Payment Standard Amount – this waiver would allow PHAs to establish payment standards from 111 to 120 percent of the Fair Market Rent (FMR).

In requesting a waiver, the PHA must articulate a good cause justification. The good cause justification must include three elements: 1) why the PHA needs the waiver; 2) the impact on PHA operations or applicants if the waiver is not provided; and 3) the proposed waiver duration. The waiver may not extend past Dec. 31, 2022. The notice provides examples of good cause.

To request a waiver, PHAs should email PIH_Expedited_Waivers@hud.gov. The notice provides instructions on the information required and the proper formatting of the email request.

The full notice can be found here.