On October 24, HUD will publish a Notice in the Federal Register announcing that they are extending the deadline to submit an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) for small community development agencies. These include: consolidated plan program participants that received a Community Development Block Grant of $500,000 or less in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, or in the case of a HOME consortium, whose members collectively received a CDBG grant of $500,000 or less, from the program year that begins on or after January 1, 2018, to the program year that begins on or after January 1, 2019 for which a new consolidated plan is due, the same date that qualified public housing agencies (PHAs) are to submit their AFHs.

NAHRO learned that HUD created a streamlined version of the AFH tool for these groups to help limit the administrative burden caused by completing the longer and more intensive AFH Tool for Local Governments. NAHRO recommended HUD work to streamline the AFH Tools and is pleased that HUD created a separate insert for smaller community development groups.

NAHRO’s comments on the AFH Tool for Local Governments can be found here  (members only).

NAHRO’s joint comments on the AFH Tool for Local Governments with NCDA can be found here (members only).

On October 24, HUD will issue in the Federal Register the initial implementation guidance for the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). HOTMA was signed into law by President Obama on July 29 after being passed unanimously by Congress. HOMTA provides updates and improvements to multiple HUD programs. HUD’s initial implementation guidance informs the public of which statutory provisions are effective immediately and which will require further action by HUD.

The initial implementation guidance includes information on provisions that went into effect immediately upon enactment of the law, provisions which will require either guidance or rulemaking, provisions that require new regulations, and provisions that require HUD to provide PHAs with more information before implementation.

NAHRO’s in-depth summary of HOTMA can be located here (members only).

On October 4, HUD announced its proposed Utility Benchmarking Initiative. The initiative would require PHAs to benchmark water and energy in their portfolios of public and assisted, as well as newly-insured, multifamily housing. Benchmarking allows property owners to compare a building’s utility consumption pattern against similar buildings and helps owners measure and manage energy and water consumption across building portfolios. The proposal was first announced in the President’s Climate Action Plan. Under the initiative, certain providers of HUD-assisted or public housing will be required to collect and report on their water and energy use. This will allow PHAs to make informed decisions, reduce operating costs and improve building performance over time. The proposal will establish procedures for PHAs to input utility and energy data into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s free, web-based ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager®. HUD also posted a 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Energy Benchmarking of Public Housing in the Federal Register. PHAs would benchmark their utilities every three-years.

On October 3, HUD PIH Issued Notice PIH-2016-14 (HA) titled, “Guidance on the Public Housing Agency (PHA) salary restriction in HUD’s annual appropriations.” Congress prohibits PHAs from using any Tenant-Based Voucher, Operating Fund, or Capital Fund dollars to pay any amount of salary above the base rate of pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule. To fulfill its obligations under HUD’s annual appropriations, each PHA must compute the amount of impacted salary and bonus for each covered individual during the PHA’s fiscal year. If any covered individual has a salary and bonus that exceeds the annual rate of basic pay for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule, the PHA must ensure that the amount in excess is not paid from Section 8 or Section 9 funds. Covered individuals include the “chief executive officer” as well as “any other official or employee” of the PHA with an annual salary (including any bonus) greater than the then prevailing salary for level IV of the Executive Schedule.

PHAs should calculate excess salary and bonuses reasonably and should document the calculation so that, if audited, the PHA can explain how each covered individual’s salary and bonus exceeding level IV of the Executive Schedule for that fiscal year were funded and prove to the auditor that there was no improper use of the applicable Section 8 or Section 9 monies to fund excess PHA salary and bonus payments.

For more information on this requirement, see NAHRO’s coverage of the FY16 Omnibus (members only).

On September 30, HUD REAC released their Operating Fund Subsidy Eligibility for November, 2016. The Explanation of Obligations can be found on HUD’s Financial Management Division (FMD) website.

On September 28, HUD published an FAQ  on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing on the HUD Exchange.

FAQ topics addressed include:

• AFFH and the AFFH Rule;
• The AFFH Data and Mapping Tool;
• The Assessment of Fair Housing;
• Community Participation Requirements; and
• Implementing the AFFH Rule.

For more information on AFFH, see NAHRO’s AFFH Resource Center (members only).

On September 23, 14 members of Congress, including Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Blaine Luetkemeyer, submitted a letter to HUD requesting additional information about HUD guidance on the application of Fair Housing Act standards regarding the use of criminal records when admitting tenants. According to the guidance, if a policy or practice that restricts access to housing on the basis of criminal history results in a disparate impact on individuals of a particular race, national origin, or other protected class, such a policy or practice may be unlawful under the Fair Housing Act, even if the provider had no intent to discriminate.

The letter explicitly states that the members of Congress agree that discrimination against individuals with criminal histories should be eradicated, however the letter notes concerns stemming from legal and operating questions for property owners, managers and tenants. Specifically, members of Congress request that HUD provide them with additional information on

• HUD’s steps to reconcile the guidance with judicial decisions, most specifically Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. the Inclusive Communities Project.
• HUD’s efforts to ensure uniformity in FHA compliance efforts pursuant to the rule.
• Research, analysis and data sources used by HUD in conceiving, drafting, and finalizing this guidance, along with information that HUD will use to support criminal screening policies and practices in HUD supported housing.

NAHRO’s Community Revitalization and Development and Housing Committees will meet at NAHRO’s National Conference in New Orleans to begin a white paper highlighting best practices that PHAs can follow to comply with the HUD guidance. NAHRO’s past coverage of HUD’s guidance can be found here.

On September 21, HUD released an interim report, conducted by Econometrica Inc., that examines how the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program is performing. According to the report, by October 2015, public housing agencies (PHAs) that participated in the program successfully generated $2.5 billion in new investment to preserve and improve the public housing stock, leveraging $9 in capital for every $1 of public housing funds. In HUD’s press release, Secretary Castro noted that “[t]he early returns are in and RAD is proving itself to be an exciting new tool that allows us to ensure safe, quality housing for low-income Americans. As we continue to evaluate this demonstration, it’s already clear that RAD is helping to preserve an important piece of our nation’s affordable housing stock.”

NAHRO is pleased to see the success of RAD program in helping PHAs leverage needed dollars. However, more administrative capacity is required from HUD to ensure successful, streamlined RAD transactions. 

RAD is not a panacea to fix our public housing properties. Although it works for some PHAs, it will not work all PHAs. It is imperative that policymakers renew their commitment to adequate funding for the program, and RAD remains just one tool that PHAs can use to modernize their public housing units.

HUD’s press release can be found here.