On July 6, HUD released the “National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate and Associated Protocols, Scoring Notice” for public inspection. It will be officially published in The Federal Register on July 7, 2023. Public Housing inspections were scheduled to begin July 1, 2023. 

The notice outlines how NSPIRE inspections will be scored and responds to comments submitted in response to the Proposed Scoring Notice. It significantly revises the proposed notice in two ways.  

1. The final notice eliminates the new letter grade requirement. Now, NSPIRE scores will no longer provide a letter grade categorizing a property’s physical condition based on the inspection score it receives.  

2. Projects that have one deficiency in multiple parts of a building will only have points deducted once per “inspectable area”—units, inside common areas, and outside areas—but not multiple times per each inspectable area.  

The final notice does not revise the new methodology, which prioritizes resident health and safety by prioritizing units most heavily. Final scores will be calculated by weighting each deficiency the inspection finds. Weights are determined by the location and severity of the deficiency. Those found in units are weighted more heavily than common areas inside buildings, and deficiencies outside of buildings are assigned the lowest weights. At the same time, “life-threatening” deficiencies, as defined by HOTMA, are given the greatest weight and the lowest severity deficiencies are given the lowest. Therefore, a life-threatening deficiency found in a unit will result in the largest possible score deduction of any single deficiency.  

The NSPIRE Administrative Procedures Notice was published on July 3, 2023. For more information, please see the pre-published Final Scoring Notice, NAHRO’s July 3^rd NSPIRE coverage, and the forthcoming July 15 edition of The NAHRO Monitor.  

Applications due August 21, 2023

PHAs who are in receivership or are considered substandard, troubled, or at-risk may apply for a new notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), and HUD intends to prioritize agencies in receivership. Agencies may submit one application for one asset management project in order to either address physical condition or management concerns using awards from this Capital Fund program. HUD expects to make five awards.

For more information, find the full grant announcement, which includes information about program requirements, application requirements, and eligibility information. Additionally, please see the grant description, the grants.gov webpage, and the June 15 edition of The NAHRO Monitor.

May 30 at 1:00pm ET

Join the NAHRO Small Agency Advisory Committee for a webinar focused on building capacity in two ways on May 30 from 1:00 to 1:30pm ET. First, Sean Gilbert, Executive Director of Tennessee Valley Housing Services, will discuss using strategic planning as a first step in pursuing agency goals. Second, Lashun Bland, Senior Director of Operations of the Lonoke County Housing Authority, will discuss maximizing the impact of each PHA staff member. Both will present actionable examples that attendees can use to increase their own agency’s capacity.

Registration Link: https://nahro-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K_V_RtgQQPSqMbstaFdepQ

On May 16, HUD announced that Richard Monocchio will begin as PIH Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) on May 22, 2023. In summarizing his experience with PIH programs, HUD emphasizes PDAS Monocchio’s focus on resident-centered programs. Based on his work on large scale housing projects in his most recent position as Housing Authority of Cook County Executive Director, in addition to his community goals, HUD expects PDAS Monocchio to impact PIH programs’ high-level needs. For additional information about PIH leadership, see the PIH Headquarters staff directory.

On May 9, HUD published the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) final rule for public inspection in the Federal Register. As of May 10, it is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on May 11, 2023. This rule maintains an effective date of July 1, 2023 for public housing and October 1, 2023 for other programs covered by NSPIRE, and it responds to comments received for the proposed rule.

For more information, see NAHRO’s May 10 Direct News, the May 15 Edition of The NAHRO Monitor, NAHRO’s May 18 Housing Update from Washington webinar at 2:30pm ET, or the public inspection preview of the final rule.

Applications due June 28, 2023

HUD has released Notice PIH 2023-10, outlining the application process for Emergency Safety and Security Grants (ESSG) as part of the Public Housing Capital Fund program. This funding may be used to address natural disaster emergencies, carbon monoxide detectors, heat and smoke detectors, and crime or drug-related activities in public housing. PHAs may apply for funding to support one or more projects, but the total amount requested cannot exceed $250,000 per agency.

For deadline and submission information requirements, see Notice 2023-10, the Notice of Due Date for Application Submission document, and the April 30 edition of The NAHRO Monitor.

HUD has published a National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) score calculator for properties that have had an NSPIRE Demonstration inspection. This calculator does not apply to pass/fail inspections.

The tool is a Microsoft Excel file into which PHAs or POAs can enter the number of deficiencies from an NSPIRE Demonstration inspection by location and severity. It provides a rough NSPIRE score estimate based on the deficiencies cited at the time of the inspection and duplicates the scoring methodology explained in the proposed NSPIRE Scoring Notice. HUD emphasizes that this tool only provides an estimate of inspection scores and that past inspections are less accurate because both the NSPIRE standards and property conditions may have changed.

Download the calculator and find more information on the NSPIRE webpage.

HUD has released a new public interest waiver delaying the implementation of the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) for most HUD programs. The implementation dates are as follows for the following programs and purchases.

2022

• Community Development Block Grants used for iron and steel: November 15, 2022;

2023

• Choice Neighborhood and Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes grants used for iron and steel: February 22, 2023;
• Recovery Housing Program grants used for iron and steel: August 23, 2023;

2024

• Choice Neighborhood and Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes grants used for construction materials and manufactured products: August 23, 2024;
• Community Development Block Grants used for construction materials and manufactured products: Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025;
• Recovery Housing Program grants used for construction materials: Fiscal Year 2024 and manufactured products: Fiscal Year 2025;
• All other HUD programs receiving Federal Financial Assistance used for iron and steel (not including HOME, Housing Trust Fund, and Public Housing funding used for maintenance): February 22, 2024; and
• All other HUD programs using Federal Financial Assistance (including for maintenance) for construction materials and manufactured products: August 23, 2024.

These dates apply to when funds are obligated by HUD to recipients. For example, only Public Housing Capital Fund dollars obligated on or after August 23, 2024 would fall under BABA requirements but those obligated before this date would not. Because the current public interest phased implementation waiver runs through February 21, 2023 and this new proposed waiver will not be effective until after its comment period ends March 2, 2023, funding obligated between these two dates would be subject to BABA requirements. However, HUD has informed NAHRO that the department will not allocate funding to agencies during this gap to ensure funds do not fall under BABA.

For more information about this waiver, see the waiver text here, NAHRO Direct News, and the February 28 edition of The NAHRO Monitor.

Comments due March 13, 2023

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has continued implementing the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) by releasing a proposed rule that clarifies and revises BABA requirements.

First, the proposed rule seeks input on definitions of materials covered by BABA—construction materials, manufactured goods, and iron and steel—as well as “suggestions for reducing burden for recipients” of Federal Financial Assistance.

Second, the notice provides text of Part 184, an addition to 2 CFR chapter I, “Office of Management and Budget Governmentwide Guidance for Grants and Agreements.”

Find the notice here and see the Feb. 28 edition of The NAHRO Monitor for further details.  

Applications due April 13, 2023

HUD has combined Housing-related Health Hazards and Lead-Based Paint Capital Fund Program funding for public housing. PHAs may apply for grants to reduce “lead-based paint, carbon monoxide, mold, radon, fire, and asbestos.”

Find the application form on grants.gov here, the HUD press release here, and more information in the January 31^st edition of The NAHRO Monitor.