Author: Jenny Hsu

New Mapping Tool Shows What HUD Investments Your Community Receives

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

On December 6, HUD launched the Community Assessment Reporting Tool (CART) – a new online and mobile-friendly tool that offers the public real-time information on HUD investments across a community. This interactive reference and mapping tool uses geospatial technology to show a variety of  property- and grant level detail by city, state, county, metropolitan area, or congressional district levels. According to HUD, CART cuts down the time that it typically takes to generate this information from several days to minutes.

CART includes information on many of HUD’s major programs, including:

  • Community Planning and Development Competitive and Formula Grants
  • Rental Assistance through HUD’s Multifamily programs, Housing Choice Vouchers and Public Housing properties
  • Housing Counseling
  • Signature programs – Promise Zones, Strong Cities Strong Communities and Rental Assistance Demonstration.
  • Census demographic information

CART also allows users to build custom community maps using thematic layers (i.e., voucher concentration, poverty rate) and property layers (i.e., location of public housing buildings, CDBG and HOME activities).Access CART online at: egis.hud.gov/cart

Technical Correction to HUD’s VAWA 2013 Implementation Final Rule

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

On December 6, HUD will issue a technical correction to the “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013: Implementation in HUD Housing Programs” final rule. This correction updates the compliance date for completing an emergency transfer plan and providing emergency transfers, and associated recordkeeping and reporting requirements to June 14, 2017. After the rule’s publication last month, HUD discovered the compliance date was incorrectly listed in the preamble as May 15, 2017, while the regulatory text provided the correct date of June 14, 2017. The final rule’s effective date (separate from the emergency transfer compliance date) is still December 16, 2016. 

New HUD Rule Makes Changes to HOME Commitment Requirement

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Today, HUD issued an interim final rule for the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program that makes changes to how the Department will determine participating jurisdictions’ (PJs) compliance with the statutory 24-month commitment requirement.

Starting with Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 HOME grants, HUD will begin determining compliance using a grant-specific accounting method. In order to prevent PJs from losing appropriated funds when they expend program income, this rule also establishes a new method of administering program income.

Beginning in 2013, HUD has provided frequent discussions and training on the transition from the cumulative method to grant-specific method of accounting for its formula grant programs. With the exception of the new requirements related to program income, this rule does not establish new and unfamiliar requirements for PJs. Thus, HUD has elected to omit the advanced public notice and comment process. This interim final rule becomes effective on January 3, 2017

HUD is still accepting public comments on the rule however, and requests comments on the best way to treat program income to avoid loss of appropriated HOME funds. Public comments are due by January 31, 2017.

NAHRO staff will provide with a section-by-section analysis of this rule in the forthcoming edition of the NAHRO Monitor (members only).

[Note: This article previously reported  erroneous effective and comment due dates that were included in HUD’s final rule. HUD has since issued a technical correction and this article has been updated to reflect the correct dates.] 

Upcoming Climate Corps for Affordable Housing Webinar

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

NAHRO would like to share information on an upcoming Climate Corps for Affordable Housing Webinar provided by HUD, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and TDA next Monday, November 21st at 2 PM (EST).

 Climate Corps for Affordable Housing

On October 4, 2016, HUD announced a proposed reporting requirement that will require all Public Housing Authorities and owners of HUD-assisted multifamily housing to benchmark their portfolios’ utility usage.  The notices can be found at  https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-10-04/pdf/2016-23979.pdf and https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-10-04/pdf/2016-23978.pdf; the 60-day public comment period ends December 5, 2016.  Benchmarking will give affordable housing owners and operators a better understanding of the overall utility consumption and costs associated with their properties and enable them to more efficiently and effectively manage their portfolios.

To help owners with the greatest need for technical assistance in complying with the benchmarking requirement, HUD is partnering with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and TDA Consulting to bring you the Climate Corps for Affordable Housing Summer Fellowship program.  The program will embed 12 fellows with affordable housing organizations across the country for the summer of 2017 and will be offered at no cost to host institutions, which will be chosen on the basis of need.  This free, full-time technical assistance will allow affordable housing organizations to get ahead of the curve on this upcoming HUD requirement.

Please join us for a webinar to further explain the details of this exciting new opportunity on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 @ 2 PM ET.

To register, please click here.

Report: Homelessness in the U.S. Continues to Decline

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Earlier this week, HUD published Part 1 of the 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment (AHAR) Report, providing Congress with local estimates of sheltered and unsheltered persons experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2016. According to the report, on a single night in 2016, there were 549,928 persons experiencing homelessness – a 14 percent decrease from 2010 and a 3 percent decrease over the past year. This decline was especially prevalent among families with children, Veterans, and individuals with long-term disabling conditions. Despite the downward trend of homelessness nationally, 13 states and the District of Columbia still saw an increase in their share of homelessness between 2015 and 2016.

The AHAR is typically released in two parts: Part 1 provides Point-in-Time (PIT) estimates that offer a “snapshot” of homelessness as reported by Continuums of Care (CoCs) across the U.S.; Part 2 offers in-depth detail on the characteristics of the homeless. The PIT methodology is regarded as a reliable estimate of the general size of the homeless population; however, it is important to note that it does not count every single homeless person, nor does it measure the number of people who are at risk of homelessness.

****

paperphoto

NAHRO members have long been on the front lines of preventing and ending homelessness. Read this recent NAHRO white paper to learn about public housing authority (PHA) collaborations and new directions and opportunities for ending homelessness.Case studies include: effectively ending veteran homelessness in Houston, Texas; implementing medical respite to save lives and reduce costs in Fargo, North Dakota.; and using a model for working with the chronically homeless in encampment settings by the City of West Sacramento, Yolo County, California.

HUD Final Rule Provides Expanded Housing Protections for Survivors of Violence

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Today, HUD published a final rule in the Federal Register that provides expanded housing protections for survivors of violence and fully codifies the provisions of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013) into HUD’s regulations. At its core, VAWA 2013 prohibits housing providers from denying or terminating housing assistance on the basis that an applicant or tenant is a survivor of violence.

The rule’s regulations become effective on December 16, 2016, and compliance with the rule with respect to completing an emergency transfer plan and providing emergency transfers, and associated recordkeeping and reporting requirements, is required no later than June 14, 2017.

Read more about the rule’s provisions in our blog post, published last month. A more in-depth analysis of the rule is also available in the NAHRO Monitor (members only).

[Note: After the final rule’s publication, HUD discovered an incorrect compliance date in the rule’s preamble, with respect to completing an emergency transfer plan and providing emergency transfers, and associated recordkeeping and reporting requirements. The compliance date was incorrectly listed as May 15, 2017, while the regulatory text provided the correct date of June 14, 2017. This blog post has been updated to reflect the correct compliance date of June 14, 2017]

HUD Publishes Notice on the Modernization of the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS Program

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Last week, HUD published new guidance (notice CPD-16-17) for Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) grantees explaining the changes to the HOPWA program  that resulted from the passing and signing of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) on July 29, 2016. The passage of HOTMA was a huge victory for NAHRO and its members because it provided housing authorities with the effective tools and mechanisms to improve the operation of their programs. The new law also provided long-awaited amendments to the HOPWA statue that modernizes the program’s allocation formula, and addresses administrative provisions and adds program definitions. HUD’s new notice describes how the HOTMA provisions will effect HOPWA formula allocations for FY 2017 and beyond. The notice also details the program changes that became effective on July 29, 2016 versus the program changes that must be implemented by HUD through future rulemaking.

Learn more about the modernization of the HOPWA program in next edition of the NAHRO Monitor – available November 15, 2016 (members only).

HUD Extends AFH Submission Deadline for Small Local Governments

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

On October 24, HUD published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the extension of the initial Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) submission deadlines for small consolidated plan program participants that received a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) of $500,000 or less in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 or in a subsequent FY; or in the case of a HOME consortium, whose members collectively received a CDBG grant of $500,000 or less.

Previously, HUD established the first AFH due date for small consolidated plan program participants to be 270 days (approximately 9 months) before the program year for which a new 3-5 year Consolidated Plan is due, starting on or after January 1, 2018. HUD is now extending the initial due date to 270 days before the program year which a new 3-5 year Consolidated Plan is due, starting on or after January 1, 2019 – the same date that qualified public housing agencies (QPHAs – PHAs with a combined unit total of 550 or less) are required to submit their AFHs.

Learn more about HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Final Rule and subsequent AFH requirements for states, local governments, and PHAs by accessing NAHRO’s AFFH Resource Page (members only).

HUD Family Options Study: HCV Most Effective and Rapid Re-Housing Least Costly

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

On October 25, HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) released a report titled Family Options Study: Long-Term Impacts of Housing and Services Interventions for Homeless Families, which seeks to identify the most efficient and cost-effective way to house and serve homeless families with children.capture

The report presents the long-term (37 months) outcomes of HUD’s Family Options Study, which tracked how homeless families in emergency shelters across 12 U.S. communities responded to various homelessness interventions. Between September 2010 and January 2012, over 2,000 families were enrolled and randomly assigned to participate in one of four homelessness interventions: housing subsidy, community-based rapid re-housing, project-based transitional housing, and usual care (defined as any housing or services that a family accesses in the absence of immediate referral to the other interventions).

The study found long-term housing subsidies, typically Housing Choice Vouchers, had the greatest impact on reducing family homelessness and improving non-housing family outcomes (i.e., increased adult well-being, child well-being, food-security, and less economic stress). While not as effective as housing vouchers, rapid re-housing programs were significantly less expensive, with an average per-family monthly cost of approximately $800, compared to voucher at $1,172/month, transitional housing at $2,700/month and emergency shelter programs at $4,800/month.

Read more about HUD’s study and findings here.

 

 

HUD Finalizes Rule to Expand Housing Protections for Survivors of Violence

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

On October 24, HUD announced the impending publication of a final rule that will expand the housing protections for victims of  domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (hereinafter known as “victim”) regardless of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age. The final rule will fully codify the provisions of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013) into HUD’s regulations.

At its core, VAWA 2013 prohibits housing providers from denying or terminating housing assistance on the basis that an applicant or tenant is a victim. HUD’s final rule expands the universe of HUD rental assistance programs subject to the VAWA 2013 statute beyond Public Housing and Section 8 programs to also include:

  • Housing Trust Fund (HTF) – a program originally not listed under VAWA 2013;
  • HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program;
  • Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program;
  • HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless programs;
  • Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities;
  • Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly;
  • Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR) Program
  • Section 236 Rental Program

These programs, along with properties assisted through the USDA Rural Housing programs and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, are collectively referred to as “covered housing programs.”

Overall, HUD’s final rule:

  • Codifies the core protections under VAWA 2013 across HUD’s covered programs by ensuring survivors are not denied assistance as an applicant, or evicted or have assistance terminated due to the individual’s victim status, or for being affiliated with a victim.
  • Provides a model emergency transfer plan for housing providers and explains how housing providers must address their tenants’ requests for emergency transfers.
  • Offers protections against the adverse effects of abuse that can often have negative economic and criminal consequences on a survivor. For example, a perpetrator may take out credit cards in a survivor’s name, ruining their credit history. Covered housing providers may  not deny tenancy or occupancy rights based solely on adverse factors that are a direct result of being a survivor.
  • Makes clear that under most circumstances, a survivor need only to self-certify in order to exercise their rights under VAWA, there by “ensuring third party documentation does not cause a barrier in a survivor expressing their rights and receiving the protections needed to keep themselves safe.”

HUD’s final rule is currently pending publication in the Federal Register. Once published, the rule’s regulations will become effective after 30 days.

An in-depth analysis of the final rule can be found in the October 30, 2016 edition of the NAHRO Monitor (members only).