Day: July 3, 2023

HUD Publishes NSPIRE Administrative Procedures Notice

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On July 3, HUD published a notice titled “Implementation of National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) Administrative Procedures” (PIH 2023-16 / H 2023-07). The notice details the process and operational requirements for public housing and multifamily housing assistance programs. It discusses procedures for inspections; submitting evidence for deficiency correction; submitting technical reviews; administrative review; and certain other administrative requirements associated with the implementation of the NSPIRE inspection protocol.

The notice states that the NSPIRE final rule will be implemented in phases. The Department will begin inspections under the new protocol for public housing properties after July 1, 2023. It will prioritize properties that have not been inspected since normal operations resumed after the pandemic in June 2021; PHAs with a fiscal year end of March 30; and troubled PHAs. For housing choice voucher programs (including project-based voucher properties), the NSPIRE final rule will be effective Oct. 1, 2023. For multifamily housing programs, HUD will begin inspections under the new protocol on July 1, 2023 for those who participated in the NSPIRE demonstration, while those who did not will begin on Oct. 1, 2023.

NAHRO will provide our members with additional information about the contents of the notice in the coming days.

The full notice can be found here.

Guidance on SLRs for PBVs

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On June 29, HUD published a notice titled “Process for Requesting Subsidy Layering Reviews for Project-Based Vouchers” (PIH Notice 2023-15). When PHAs project-base vouchers in combination with other governmental assistance (i.e., other federal, state, or local funds), the project is required to undergo a subsidy layering review (SLR). This review ensures that projects do not receive excessive compensation. If a project-based voucher (PBV) property is not using other governmental assistance, then no SLR is required.

Depending on the specifics of the project, a PHA may request that HUD or its state Housing Credit Agency (HCA) perform the SLR. The notice details the procedures for a PHA to request which entity perform the SLR in certain instances. The HCA’s participation is voluntary and it may charge a reasonable fee. The PHA has discretion on whether to use its administrative fees for this HCA fee.

  • PHA requests that HUD perform the SLR – a PHA may request that HUD perform the SLR whether a project does or does not contain a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC). The PHA must communicate, in writing, to the HUD field office that they would like HUD to perform the SLR. The request can be stated as “AB123 would like HUD HQ to perform the SLR.“
  • PHA requests that the participating HCA perform the SLR – 1) for projects without a LIHTC, the PHA will follow steps detailed in section 4 of the notice, but the memo to the field office will confirm that the PHA requests that the HCA perform the SLR, if the HCA is available for review; 2) for projects with a LIHTC, the PHA sends the request directly to the HCA, but the PHA must notify the field office that it has made the request.

In instances where there is no HCA, the PHA has requested that HUD perform the SLR, or in instances where the HCA will not perform the SLR, the field office public housing representative will submit the appropriate documentation to HUD headquarters for the SLR.

Section 4 of this notice contains a list of steps required for a PHA to request that HUD perform the SLR, including a list of the appropriate documentation.

A list of participating HCAs can be found here.

The full notice can be found here.

New EHV Termination Guidance

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On June 29, HUD published a notice titled “Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV): Guidance on Termination of Vouchers Upon Turnover After September 30, 2023 and EHV Shortfalls Due to Per-Unit Cost Increases of Overleasing” [Notice PIH 2023-14 (HA)]. The notice provides instructions to PHAs with emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) about how EHVs should be administered after Sept. 30, 2023.

Termination

After Sept. 30, 2023, EHVs that are active will no longer be allowed to be reissued to new families and will terminate after the family using the voucher has left the program. Emergency housing vouchers that have not been leased-up may still be leased after Sept. 30 up until they reach the number allocated to the PHA by HUD. After Sept. 30, housing agencies may issue additional vouchers taking into consideration their 180-day lease rate (e.g., if a PHA has leased 80 of its 100 EHVs and has a 180-day success rate of 50%, then it may issue enough vouchers to ensure that 40 households are searching for units).

Portability

Voucher holders with EHVs may still port their vouchers to other jurisdictions after Sept. 30, 2023. If the PHA the voucher holder is porting to has EHV capacity (i.e., it has not reached its cumulative EHV lease-up maximum), the receiving PHA may absorb the voucher. If the receiving PHA is at its EHV capacity, then the receiving PHA may bill the initial PHA or absorb the family into its regular HCV program.

EHV Shortfalls

The Department is making changes to when PHAs may request shortfall funding for EHVs. First, a PHA may request a per-unit cost adjustment when 1) “despite taking reasonable efforts to manage the EHV program effectively, [it] would otherwise be required to terminate participating families . . . due to insufficient Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) funds” and 2) for instances when cost increases were not unforeseen (e.g., using high payment standards) in order to improve success rates or allow a family to remain in their unit.

Housing agencies may also request shortfall funding to “prevent the termination of EHV families due to insufficient funds until the overleasing is corrected through attrition.” The Department may reduce administrative fees when there are “egregious cases of overleasing.”

The full notice can be found here.