Month: December 2023

HUD Institutes Cash Management Practices for the EHV program

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On Dec. 19, HUD published a notice titled “Cash Management and Closeout Procedures for the Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) Program funds, and Supplemental Information Regarding EHV Contract Renewal Calculation.” The notice establishes cash management procedures for PHAs with EHVs. These vouchers are for households that are homeless; at risk of homelessness; fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking; or recent homeless or have a high risk of housing instability.

The Department will distribute EHV funds in accordance with Treasury cash management procedures. It will make monthly or multi-month disbursements based on the most recent month of validated EHV Housing Assistance Payments (HAP). Excess HAP will be held in HUD-held reserve accounts. Undisbursed amounts will likely be offset in the next year. Moving to Work agencies will be subject to these cash management processes.

The full notice can be found here.

HUD Reopens Jobs Plus Notice of Funding Opportunity

~ Andrew Van Horn ~ Leave a comment

Applications due March 12, 2024

HUD has reopened the FY 2023 Jobs Plus NOFO to distribute remaining funding amounts from fiscal years 2023-2024 until March 12, 2024. Applicants can find this grant opportunity on grants.gov, and more information is available on the FY 2023 Jobs Plus NOFO webpage, including a full Program NOFO, FAQs, and instructions. PHAs that did not submit an application by the August 21, 2023 deadline may apply, and agencies that applied by the that deadline do not need to submit another application. PHAs who received a Jobs Plus award from FY 2019 or earlier may apply again. In their announcement, HUD “strongly encouraged” agencies to apply who have not received a Jobs Plus award previously or did not apply by the August deadline.

HUD Releases 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report

~ Steven Molinari ~ Leave a comment

On December 15, HUD Released part one of their Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR), which revealed a 12% increase in the number of individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night compared to 2022.

According to HUD, this is highest number of people reported to be experiencing homelessness on a single night since 2007 when reporting began.

The report, which is conducted every year, provides a glimpse into the number of individuals in shelters, temporary housing, and in unsheltered settings. More than 650,000 people were found to be experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2023. Six in ten people experienced homelessness in shelters while the remaining experienced unsheltered homelessness.

Demographics of Homelessness in 2023

In 2023, the report shows that people who identify as Black or Indigenous continue to be overrepresented among the population
experiencing homelessness. Of the total number of those experiencing homelessness in the U.S., 37% identified as Black, African American, or African. Additionally, those who identified as Indigenous had the largest percentage increase in sheltered homelessness by 18% or 1,631 more people.

Of those experiencing homelessness, 72% experienced homelessness in households without children. More than 34,700 unaccompanied youth under the age of 25 were found to experiencing homelessness as well (a 15% increase from 2022). Veterans experiencing homelessness saw a 7% increase raising the total to 35,574 in 2023.

Continuums of Care (CoC)

According to data received from 381 CoCs, more than 52% of all people experiencing homelessness in the United States were located in the top 50 largest cities. This is 50,277 more people than 2022. While this may be the most notable increase, homelessness increased across all geographic categories in 2023.

The rise in homelessness also meant a rise in bed inventory. Between 2022 to 2023, bed inventory increased for those currently experiencing homelessness by 7% and for those formerly experiencing homelessness by 6%. This inventory increased across all rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and other permanent housing programs.

For the full report, please see here.

HUD Awards $10 Million in Funding for Family Unification Program Vouchers

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On December 19, in a press release sent via email, HUD announced that it was awarding approximately $10 million in funding for new family unification program (FUP) vouchers. These vouchers serve families whose lack of adequate housing is a primary factor in the imminent placement of the family’s child in out-of-home care or youth exiting the foster care system who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

To administer these vouchers, housing agencies work collaboratively with public child welfare agencies (PCWAs). These PCWAs refer potentially eligible households to the housing agency, which provides the voucher and any other services.

The awards were made to the housing agencies listed below.

 PHA NameVouchers AwardFunding
1.Santa Clara County Housing Authority42$1,175,590
2.Sonoma County Housing Authority53$1,182,229
3.Housing Authority of the County of San Diego49$1,131,976
4.Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver52$862,761
5.Hialeah Housing Authority44$566,650
6.Chicago Housing Authority55$778,477
7.Jefferson Parish Housing Services and Development District46$417,064
8.Mississippi Regional Housing Authority VIII52$376,940
9.Home Forward (Portland, OR)56  $788,081
10.Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation28$354,369
11.Housing Authority of the City of Austin50$772,020
12.Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake dba Housing Connect50$628,548
13.King County Housing Authority (WA)48$934,197  
 Total Award625  $9,968,902

NAHRO congratulates these agencies on receiving these vouchers.

New Report on the Benefits of Increasing Housing Supply

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

A new report titled “Supply Skepticism Revisited” by Vicki Been, Ingrid Gould Ellen, and Katherine O’Regan has been highlighted by the Furman Center in a recent email. The report is structured into four parts. The first part shows evidence that housing is unaffordable and that supply is not meeting demand in many parts of the country; the second part reviews arguments made by skeptics at the efficacy of increasing housing supply to increase affordability; the third part identifies new research that shows the benefits of increasing the housing supply; and the fourth part identifies areas where additional research is needed.

The report presents evidence for the following (see page 44 of the report):

  • Additional housing slows the growth in or decreases rents in an area;
  • In some instances, additional housing may also reduce rents or the rate of growth of rents in surrounding areas;
  • New construction causes “chains of moves” where higher-income households move to new housing freeing up older units for use by other households in different income brackets;
  • While increasing housing supply may increase gentrification, it does not necessarily displace lower income households; and
  • Reducing restrictions in land use usually leads to an increase in the supply of housing, but increases may happen over a longer time horizon and those increases may not be equivalent to the theoretical capacity created as other constraints may hinder development.

The full report can be read here.

HOTMA Sections 102 and 104 Compliance Date Extended for CPD Programs

~ Steven Molinari ~ Leave a comment

On December 8, HUD published a notice that extends the compliance date to January 1, 2025 for Community Planning and Development (CPD) grantees implementing Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) requirements.

HUD extends the compliance date for grantees of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Housing Trust Fund (HTF), Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), Emergency Solution Grants (ESG), Continuum of Care (CoC) programs, and CPD programs funded through competitive process.

According to HUD, the compliance date extension is meant to allow grantees additional time to incorporate HUD’s income and asset requirements into their own programs. Additionally, it is meant to provide grantees flexibility in transitioning to the implementation of HOTMA requirements.

The extension deadline is in alignment with Notice PIH 2023–27. The original compliance date was set for January 1, 2024.

The full notice can be found here.

HUD Publishes New HOTMA Resources

~ Andrew Van Horn ~ Leave a comment

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has released several new Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) resources on HUDExchange. First is the “Sample Admin and ACOP HOTMA Policies.” This document provides brief descriptions of the discretionary policies agencies will need to create to implement sections 102 and 104 of HOTMA as well as sample language PHAs could adopt in their plans. Second, HUD has released four resources intended to be resident-facing, including:

For more information, see the December 15 edition of The NAHRO Monitor.

Small Area FMR Resources

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On Dec. 6, HUD sent an email with an attached letter that contains links to several resources to implement small area fair market rents (FMRs) to PHA executive directors. The resources mentioned in that letter are the following:

The letter also includes a link to a previously recorded webinar on small area FMR implementation. A link to the above recording on small area FMR implementation and presentation slides can be found here.

The communication also reminds executive directors that PHAs in metro areas that must mandatorily implement small area FMRs will receive $10,000 in supplemental administrative fees.

The HUD small area FMR letter can be found here.

HUD Publishes 2024 OCAFs

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On Nov. 30, HUD published a notice in the Federal Register titled “Notice of Certain Operating Cost Adjustment Factors for 2024.” Operating cost adjustment factors (OCAFs) are annual factors used to adjust certain Section 8 rents. These OCAFs are calculated as “the sum of weighted component cost changes” for certain publicly available cost indices.

Some indices reflect data collected at the state level, while some indices reflect data collected at the national level. The nine cost indicators used in calculating OCAFs are the following:

  • State-level data;
    • Electricity;
    • Fuel Oil;
    • Natural Gas;
  • National-level data;
    • Employee Benefits;
    • Employee Wages;
    • Goods, Supplies, and Equipment;
    • Insurance;
    • Property Taxes; and
    • Water, Sewer, and Trash.

The notice lists the specific data sources for each category of data and alternative sources where a region may not have specific data available.

The full notice with the 2024 OCAFs listed as an appendix can be found here.