Affordable Housing

HUD to Expand Mandatory Use of Small Area FMRs

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On October 23, a pre-publication copy of a notice titled “Small Area Fair Market Rents in the Housing Choice Voucher Program Metropolitan Areas Subject to Small Area Fair Market Rents” was made publicly available. The notice would add additional metropolitan areas to the list of areas in which PHAs are required to adopt the use of Small Area Fair Market Rents (FMRs). Small Area FMRs are Fair Market Rents calculated over a zip code, instead of a larger geography. The Department’s regulations require that HUD update the list of areas that must adopt Small Area FMRs every 5 years. The designation is permanent. These designations will take effect on October 1, 2024, but affected PHAs have until January 1, 2025 to update their payment standards.

In deciding which areas must use Small Area FMRs, HUD considers the following factors:

  • at least 2,500 vouchers must be under lease in the metropolitan FMR area;
  • at least 20% of the standard quality rental stock within the metropolitan FMR area is in zip codes where the Small Area FMR is more than 110% of the metropolitan FMR;
  • the percentage of voucher families living in within low-income areas within the area must be at least 25%;
  • the percentage of voucher holders living in low-income areas relative to all renters within these areas over the entire metropolitan area exceeds 155%; and
  • the vacancy rate for the metropolitan area is higher than 4 percent.

Through recent research, HUD has found that “[n]ew voucher recipients were more likely to move to low-poverty neighborhoods after [Small Area FMRs] were implemented . . . [though] the magnitude of these positive effects is modest.” The research also found that Small Area FMRs “did not affect the success of households with vouchers in leasing up (i.e., the number of households leasing up within 180 days), even for high-barrier households or those living in zip codes where [Small Area FMRs] were lower than FMRs.” Additionally, HUD staff analysis found “little discernable difference in the annual change in [per unit cost] in [Small Area FMR areas].”

In implementing Small Area FMRs, HUD has committed to providing the following: “adequate technical assistance, opportunities for peer-to-peer training, additional program materials, and additional training for HUD field office staff.”

The full pre-publication notice can be found here.

The new mandatory Small Area FMRs designations are the following:

Continue reading →

Reminder: NAHRO’s Free Day 3 Webinar Series Starts Today!

~ Andrew Van Horn ~ Leave a comment

NAHRO’s 2nd annual Day 3 webinar series is back! Starting today, October 19, this five-week webinar series will feature sessions and topics that give attendees a taste of what they could expect from concurrent sessions at our National Conference. Registration is free to all. Attendees that sign-up for a session will automatically be enrolled in the five-week series. Sessions run from 1:30-2:30pm ET.

This week’s topic is “Building Cyber Resiliency Safeguarding Public Housing in the Digital Frontier.” While rapidly evolving technologies have improved housing agency operations, they’ve also created new and emerging cybersecurity risks like ransomware and business email compromise that can disrupt operations for weeks. So how can agencies become more cyber resilient? The panelists will answer that question by walking attendees through Denver Housing Authority’s 2021 ransomware incident. Using Denver’s experience as a backdrop, panelists will outline common cyber vulnerabilities, common sense defense strategies, and best practices to fortify housing agencies against cyber risks, ensuring the safety and privacy of residents and employees in this rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Register here: https://nahro-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Zhq2tIjNRtOkYjsjfbfuag

Future Webinar Topics:
October 26: Breaking down Barriers to FSS
November 2: This USDA Program is for Rural and Urban Areas
November 9: Centering Impacted Communities in Advocacy
November 16: Building Resident and Owner Financial Resiliency

$212 Million in Section 811 Funding Now Available

~ Steven Molinari ~ Leave a comment

On October 12, HUD announced the availability of $212 million in Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program funding. Applications are due by February 12 at 11:59 pm ET.

Funding for the Section 811 program is available for program participants to expand the supply of affordable housing and supportive services for very-low and extremely-low-income persons with disabilities.

Capital Advance/Project Rental Assistance Contract Program

Among the total amount, $106 million is available for Section 811 Capital Advance/Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) program. This part of the Section 811 program provides capital advances that can be used for the development or rehabilitation of supportive housing and project rental subsidies. Under the PRAC program, 21 awards will be made available.

Project Rental Assistance Program

Additionally, another $106 million of the total is available for Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA). This funding provides state housing and other agencies project rental assistance. This assistance is meant to cover the difference between tenant contributions of rent and the HUD-approved rental amount for tenants with disabilities. Under the PRA program, 13 awards will be made available.

Both programs within Section 811 have their own grant application.

To apply for the Section 811 PRAC program see here.

To apply for the Section 811 PRA program see here.

NSPIRE Compliance Date for HCV and PBV Programs Extended

~ Steven Molinari ~ Leave a comment

On September 27, HUD released a notice under public inspection that extends the compliance period under the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) final rule for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Project Based Voucher (PBV), and Moderate Rehabilitation programs until October 1, 2024.

The delay is meant to give Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) additional time to implement NSPIRE standards as required by HUD. In this time, PHAs will have more time to train staff, communicate with landlords, and gain more knowledge from HUD in transitioning to NSPIRE.

PHAs must notify HUD of their decision in whether they decide to continue using Housing Quality Standards (HQS) for inspections or transition to NSPIRE before the October 2024 deadline.

To notify HUD of either decision, PHAs must email NSPIREV_AlternateInspection@hud.gov and send a courtesy copy to their Field Office representative. Additionally, PHAs must list the date on which they plan to transition to and or implement NSPIRE.

The notice is expected to be published in Federal Register on September 28, 2023.

For more information, please see the full notice here.

CISA Announces new Cybersecurity Program

~ Eric Oberdorfer ~ Leave a comment

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will launch a new nationwide cybersecurity program on Tuesday, September 26 at 3:00 pm EST. The program focuses on educating Americans on how to stay secure online and will also include the launch of the agency’s first-ever Public Service Announcement (PSA) that will air nationwide. The launch will include remarks by CISA Director Jen Easterly. Cybersecurity is only becoming more and more important as we move systems online and into the cloud. Interested individuals can watch the launch online here. The session is today, at 3:00pm EST.

HUD Releases Notice for Implementing Risk Analyses of CPD Grantees

~ Steven Molinari ~ Leave a comment

On September 12, HUD issued Notice CPD–2023-08, which is meant to provide consistent methodology for conducting risk analyses for Community Planning and Development (CPD) formula and competitive grantees. The notice also establishes monitoring priorities within CPD’s Grants Management Process Reporting (GMP-R) system.

The notice supersedes Notice CPD-22-11, which implemented a risk analysis methodology that considered risk factors, sub factors, and symptomatic causes in program performance.

The new notice incorporates revisions to CPD’s risk analysis policies and procedures to provide greater flexibility towards CPD’s monitoring obligations. The revisions are intended to augment departmental policy to include:

  • Developing risk-based rating systems to evaluate all program grantees;
  • Rating and selecting grantees for monitoring;
  • Identifying program risks and setting monitoring objectives; and
  • Documenting the process and recording the rationale for choosing grantees to be monitored.

In addition, the notice highlights the role of CPD Field Offices in performing risk analysis and ratings for grantees/grants.

Programs assessed under this notice include:

  • Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG)
  • HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)
  • Emergency Solutions Grants Program (ESG)
  • Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program (HOPWA)
  • Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program Competitive (HOPWA-C)
  • Continuum of Care (CoC)
  • Neighborhood Stabilization Programs (NSP 1, 2, and 3)
  • Section 8 Single Room Occupancy Moderate Rehabilitation (SRO)
  • Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR, including CDBG-NDR and CDBG-MIT funds)
  • Community Development Block Grant-CARES Act (CDBG-CV)
  • Emergency Solutions Grants Program-CARES Act (ESG-CV)
  • Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program-CARES Act (HOPWA-CV)
  • Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program Competitive-CARES Act (HOPWA-C-CV)
  • Recovery Housing Program (RHP)
  • Housing Trust Fund (HTF)

To view the full notice, see here.

NSPIRE Compliance Date to be Extended for CPD Programs

~ Steven Molinari ~ Leave a comment

On September 15, HUD released a notice under public inspection that extends the compliance date for HUD’s National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) final rule for Community Planning and Development (CPD) programs until October 1, 2024.

The notice is set to be officially published on September 18 and extends the compliance date for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and Housing Trust Fund (HTF), Housing
Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), Emergency Solution Grants (ESG) and
Continuum of Care (COC) programs.

According to HUD, they note that the basis for extending the deadline is due to the different implementation needs of various program participants. Additionally, some CPD programs such as the HTF and HOME programs are unable to update some of their standards and policies in accordance with the NSPIRE final rule until HUD publishes the lists of specific deficiencies. P

Participating jurisdictions and grantees of the the HTF and HOME programs should prepare for the compliance date by updating property standard regulatory citations and requirements in
written agreement templates. The templates should include State recipients, subrecipients, and project owners as required by law.

Program recipients including those of the CoC, ESG, and HOPWA programs that administer housing choice vouchers or project based vouchers may still use NSPIRE standards beginning October 1, 2023. Guidance for the following programs as they apply to NSPIRE standards is intended to be published by HUD soon.

For the full notice, see here.

Small-Rural Frozen Rolling Base Applications Due September 21, 2023

~ Andrew Van Horn ~ Leave a comment

Applications to participate in the Small-Rural Frozen Rolling Base (SR-FRB) program are due on September 21, 2023 through the Public Housing Portal. The program allows PHAs who have the Small Rural designation and operate public housing to receive public housing subsidy amounts based on their average utility usage for the most recent three years before entering the program. Meanwhile, PHAs should make investments to become more efficient, thereby decreasing expenses. If PHAs spend less on utilities than the frozen amounts in the Public Housing Operating Fund formula, the agency keeps the cost savings. 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.

Key requirements to join the program include the following:

  • Agencies must meet the Small Rural designation;
  • Moving to Work agencies (MTW) are only prohibited if their MTW agreement modifies utility expense levels (UEL);
  • Agencies must operate public housing;
  • The program applies to PHA-paid utilities, so resident-paid utilities are not included in the program;
  • The SR-FRB does not apply to trash removal or flat rate utilities;
  • Agencies may choose to freeze specific utilities and at specific asset management projects (AMPs); and  
  • Agencies may not layer this program with an energy performance contract in the same year at the same AMP.

For more information, visit the SR-FRB web page for guidance, points of contact, and a technical support videos.  Additionally, see the list of small rural PHAs for eligibility questions and NAHRO’s summary of the most recent SR-FRB guidance.

Join NAHRO for a Webinar on MTW Cohort #5

~ Eric Oberdorfer ~ Leave a comment

Join NAHRO’s Policy Team and HUD’s MTW Office on September 12 from 3pm – 4pm to learn more about HUD’s request for applications for the 5th cohort of the MTW Expansion. Hear about the MTW expansion, the MTW flexibilities available for the new cohort, eligibility for the cohort, the application process, and the requirements of the application. There will be time to ask NAHRO staff questions. Recommended for PHAs with 1,000 or less combined units. Register here. 

HUD Verifies Allowing the Use of HQS for an Additional Year

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On September 5, HUD sent an email to Executive Directors discussing the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate for the Housing Choice Voucher program (NSPIRE-V). The new NSPIRE-V protocol is currently scheduled to be implemented for the voucher program beginning on October 1, 2023. These standards will be applicable to all PHAs with voucher programs, including Moving to Work (MTW) agencies.

The email discusses several key points about NSPIRE-V implementation. First, HUD still intends to publish an administrative notice to implement NSPIRE-V. The Department is still aiming to publish that notice before October 1, 2023. Second, the email states that the new notice will “announce additional time for PHAs to retain the Housing Quality Standards (HQS) as their inspection standard until October 1, 2024.” This is the first time that HUD has confirmed in writing that PHAs will have the option to retain the use of HQS for an additional year. Third, agencies with “approvals for acceptability criteria variations will need [those] approvals reviewed by HUD.” These criteria variations allow for the use of local standards in certain areas depending on geographic conditions, but only if they are more stringent than the NSPIRE-V standard. Finally, the email states that HUD has developed technical assistance materials, which can be accessed on HUD’s NSPIRE website.

The full email can be read here.