Next webinar October 27^th at 1:30 p.m. ET

The “NAHRO Together Day 3” webinar series continues this week with the third informational presentation similar to those in our national conference.

This week, guest speaker Dr. Diane Biray Gregorio will present “Building Resilience and Reclaiming Creativity in a Volatile World.” She will explore the following questions.

“In a time of pandemic and accelerating climate crisis, advocates for affordable housing face unprecedented challenges and stresses. Yet the global need has never been greater.

How can we build emotional resilience in ourselves, in our families, and communities? 

Is it enough to just bounce back in the face of uncertainty? How can we reclaim our creativity from the jaws of burnout? Can we actually use these challenges as fuel for creativity and far-reaching vision? 

What this difficult time is asking of us is to look with fresh eyes, without the baggage of (emotional) reactivity, so we can see clearly together how we can move forward. 

Is this possible? How?”

This webinar will address the needs of housing professionals directly and the communities they serve indirectly. It is free and open to everyone. Register here.

Future Day 3 topics will include the following.

• PHAs and CoCs – A True Continuum: Nov. 3, 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET
• All Things FSS: Nov. 10, 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET
• Tax-Exempt Essential Function Bonds, Providing 100% Financing For Publicly Owned Affordable Workforce Housing: Nov. 17, 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET

We look forward to seeing you at our NAHRO Together Day 3 webinars.

Last week, HUD reached out to PHAs requesting participants to help test a new feature of the Public Housing Operating Fund Web Portal in a process called “User Acceptance Testing.” Participants would use this new electronic module to complete HUD forms 52723 and 52722 to help HUD improve this tool before it is fully implemented. Providing feedback on the user experience should make the module more effective.

This process will take roughly six hours in total and occur in November, 2022. To participate, executive directors should email opfundwebportal@hud.gov by October 25, 2022. HUD requests interested PHAs include the subject line “UAT PHA Participant,” their authorized representative’s name, PHA name and code, and email address.

On October 6, HUD issued PIH Notice 2022-32, updating the guidance from Notice 2020-30 for the Small Rural Frozen Rolling Base (SR-FRB) program. This notice applies to small, rural PHAs who operate public housing. The program allows PHAs to receive subsidy amounts based on their average energy usage for the three-year period before entering the program. The money saved from improving efficiency while receiving funding at their prior energy usage level can be used to supplement either Public Housing Operating or Capital Fund needs for up to 20 years. This new notice provides additional updates for calendar year 2023 beyond those described in Notice 2021-30. The four significant updates in Notice 2022-32 are discussed below.

First, PHAs will now join the SR-FRB program via the Operating Fund web portal, unlike in years prior to 2021. Participants will use it to opt in and out of the program as well as make any changes to utility data. HUD notes that they provide a user guide.

Each year, the operating subsidy processing notice and the operating subsidy grant calendar will include the official Notification date. This date is the deadline for joining, leaving, and updating specific data for the program. For 2023 funding, the Grant Submission Schedule currently shows SR-FRB submissions opening November 7, 2022 and closing November 18, 2022. Inclusion in the submission schedule is a change from calendar year 2022.

Like previous years, PHAs may still request one adjustment to their Heating Degree Days (HDD); however, to be eligible, this change must now modify usage by at least 10%. Prior HDD regulations still apply, and this change must be completed by the submission deadline listed above.

Finally, the notice describes a new appeals process. Any denials can be appealed for seven business days after receiving the denial and must be submitted to SRFRB@hud.gov.

Like prior notices, this updated version discusses eligibility, program requirements, entering and leaving the program, modifying program data, specific participation requirements, debt service, and example scenarios. HUD includes a list of eligible PHAs here.

Notice 2022-32 can be found here.

On July 27^th, HUD issued a press release with updates to programs affecting energy and utility usage, two of which may be of interest to PHAs: Community Solar Credits and the Small Rural Frozen Rolling Base program. Both can help PHAs support tenants by lowering the cost of energy.

Community Solar Power

Community Solar Power credits allow residents in a multifamily structure to opt to use power from community solar panels rather than having their own panels installed on their individual units. This model makes solar power more accessible and can lower tenants’ utility bills. HUD issued a national solar credit memo that applies to a number of rental assistance programs within Multifamily Housing. This memo is not the same information HUD recently provided to several states, which were implementing their own solar programs. This new national memo specifies the rental assistance programs eligible for community solar participation. Next, it defines how to determine the effect of community solar on utility allowances. And finally, it articulates how to incorporate or exclude solar credits in annual income calculations. The new community solar power memo can be found here.

Small Rural Frozen Rolling Base Utility Program

The Small Rural Frozen Rolling Base (SR-FRB) is the average amount of utility usage incorporated into the Public Housing Operating Fund formula. This program allows PHAs to capture average usage for their most recent three-year period and use this data in Operating Fund calculations for up to 20 years. Savings generated from using the SR-FRB in the formula and improving efficiency afterward may be used to support the public housing program. HUD has not released new guidance but rather has announced an “educational campaign” to encourage utilization of this program. Currently, HUD has provided PIH 2020-30, a list of eligible PHAs, and a list of properties that qualify for the Department of Energy’s Weatherization program. HUD states that the deadline to apply for the SR-FRB program is September 2022. Notice PIH 2020-30 can be found here. The list of eligible small and rural PHAs can be found here. Properties qualifying for the Department of Energy’s Weatherization program can be found here.

HUD’s press release including additional programs intended to lower electricity costs can be found here.

Trainings begin on July 11^th

HUD’s Office of Capital Improvements will provide six webinars on the Public Housing Capital Fund requirements. These trainings will each cover different important program elements and provide an update of recent changes to the program. Though the trainings will provide background on the Capital Fund program, participants who are unfamiliar with it should view short background “vignettes” prior to attending the trainings, available here. Participants must register in advance to attend the trainings and the separate question-and-answer session for participants that will follow each.

The link to register for the July 11^th training is available here. The webpage with information and registration for the remaining five trainings is available here.

Applications Due July 28, 2022

On June 2, HUD announced that they have begun accepting applications for Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants for fiscal year 2022. Planning Grants exist to help PHAs create plans to revitalize distressed HUD-assisted housing, the community, and the neighborhood of the project into more desirable areas. This type of Choice Neighborhood grant is intended to provide the resources and support PHAs need to create a strategic plan and take initial action steps toward revitalization and is separate from Implementation Grants.

This year’s Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) contains significant changes from previous years, including the following:

• an increase in the total amount of funding available for planning grants and thus an increase in maximum award size to $500,000 and number of grants to 20;
• eligibility of Public Housing developments with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding; and
• new application evaluation criteria.

In May, HUD held a webinar explaining changes to the application and scoring process. All applications must be downloaded from www.grants.gov. Links to prior webinars detailing the application directions, scoring process, and Choice Neighborhoods background are available on the FY 2022 NOFO page here.

Tuesday, June 7 from 11:30am – 1:30pm ET

HUD will hold a webinar covering issuing vouchers and leasing units virtually. This training will discuss strategies to begin conducting these Housing Choice Voucher processes remotely, including examples from PHAs.

The link to register for the webinar can be found here.

On April 14^th, 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.

In February, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) continued exploring how to increase participation in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program with a paper by their Multidisciplinary Research Team titled “Landlord Participation Study.” The study found that the most common method for incentivizing landlord participation is increasing payment standards, though many of the methods described below are still relatively new. However, HUD believes that these landlord incentives may apply to rental housing markets across the country.

Conclusions about Rental Markets

The study was conducted in two parts: a quantitative analysis of administrative data and a qualitative set of interviews with nine innovative Public Housing Authorities (PHAs). The primary quantitative findings are as follows:

• vouchers per landlord increased from 2010 to 2016, from 2.6 to 3.1;
• the concentration of vouchers is increasing mainly in neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and residents without high school degrees; and
• the change in voucher concentration is unequal across states.

The qualitative interviews confirmed that three common hypotheses about why landlords decline to participate in HCV programs are financial concerns, administrative burdens, and negative perceptions of voucher tenants. These interviews revealed several key points about rental markets:

• each PHA interviewed works in a competitive place to find housing;
• PHAs frequently have to increase payment standards, the amount that they pay to landlords to assist tenants with vouchers;
• tenants frequently need help with more than rent, such as searching for units and paying security deposits; and
• supply and demand for housing can become unbalanced due to other local housing factors.

Why Landlords Do Not Participate

Staff identified three primary concerns when asked about the most important reason why landlords do not participate in the HCV program: five PHAs answered with financial or profitability considerations, 3 named concerns about the bureaucratic and administrative process, and one cited negative attitudes about voucher holders. Specifically, PHAs mentioned anecdotes similar to the following:

• low payment standards sometimes made vouchers unprofitable for landlords;
• fair market rents (FMRs) can adjust slowly to increasing rents;
• money sometimes trumps the social mission to landlords;
• neither the hassle of dealing with a bureaucracy nor concerns that PHAs do not value landlords’ time exist in the free market; and
• stigmas about voucher-holders exist.

Incentives to Encourage Landlord Participation

Researchers asked staff from the nine PHAs selected for this study about what activities they have begun to overcome landlords’ concerns. First, in order to build confidence in the profitability of the HCV program, the most common approach has been increasing payment standards. Other frequent activities include:

• helping tenants pay security deposits or negotiating other arrangements regarding damages;
• offering bonuses to landlords for joining the program; and
• making it easier to complete administrative steps and communicate with the PHA.

Second, the most common strategies for simplifying the bureaucracy for landlords involve altering inspection requirements to make the process easier and implementing landlord portals to facilitate communication and conduct business quickly. Staff also mentioned creating ways for landlords to inform PHAs about tenant compliance and making other processes like payment electronic or automatic.

Finally, PHAs offer an array of strategies to change negative views of tenants, most of which are based on strengthening ties between landlords and tenants through communication. The most evidence-based activity for overcoming negative stereotypes is the District of Columbia Housing Authority’s “Meet-and-Lease event” model, in which PHAs bring landlords and tenants together to facilitate lease-ups. PHAs have also implemented regular landlord communications, dedicated communication positions, and information campaigns.

This summary has been a brief overview of the “Landlord Participation Study.” The full paper contains more detailed lists of anecdotes and analysis and can be found here.

Clean Air for All, a collaboration between NAHRO, Live Smoke Free, and NAR-SAAH, hosted a webinar about smoke-free requirements for public housing yesterday. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) smoke-free rule went into effect on July 30, 2018 and requires that all buildings funded by public housing prohibit smoking in units, in indoor common spaces, and within 25 feet of buildings.

Throughout the webinar, Clean Air for All emphasized the importance of fostering communication between housing authorities and residents. The presenters demonstrated how several specific tools might help agencies to both comply with the rule and improve health outcomes. Example strategies for housing staff included engaging with residents about smoke-free policies formally and informally, using conflict resolution methods, and providing materials for quitting smoking. They demonstrated that enforcing the rule is an opportunity to support residents’ health goals. Finally, initial results from an ongoing NAR-SAAH resident survey highlight that successful compliance with smoke-free policies requires resident participation and buy-in.

For more information about smoke-free public housing, visit the Clean Air for All website here.