The Department has published a COVID-19 brochure designed to inform and address concerns of tenants living at multifamily properties. The brochure’s content applies to programs within the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs, but does not apply to Public Housing, Section 8 Mod. Rehab. (unless insured by the Federal Housing Administration), or the Housing Choice Voucher program (unless the voucher is used in a multifamily property with an FHA-insured mortgage).
The brochure can be found here.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) has updated their frequently-asked-questions (FAQ) document on COVID-19, created a chart detailing the new COVID-19 waivers, and posted the PowerPoint slides of their industry stakeholder call from Friday, April 17, 2020.
[4/29/2020 edit – HUD has made a copy of the April 17 PIH stakeholder call publicly available; see below.]
On April 22, 2020, HUD published an FAQ on implementing the eviction moratorium found in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Titled “Eviction Moratorium COVID-19 FAQs for Public Housing Agencies,” the document answers commonly asked questions about how PHAs should be implementing the eviction moratorium. The moratorium is in effect for a 120-day period beginning on March 27, 2020.
The eviction moratorium applies to all public housing residents, including those living in mixed-finance public housing properties owned by a third party, and all housing choice voucher (HCV) holders (including tenant- and project-based vouchers). The eviction moratorium also applies to the HCV and public housing homeownership programs, but only if the families have a federally backed mortgage. Owners of LIHTC units should check with their local State Housing Finance Agency to see if they apply.
The moratorium applies to all tenants regardless of whether their employment has been impacted by COVID-19 or not. However, any missed rent will accumulate and still be due to the PHA at the end of the 120-day moratorium. PHAs may still send late notices to residents, but these notices must not include any fees or charges for the nonpayment of rent or any notice to vacate. Residents cannot be required to vacate a unit for missed rent payments until at least 30 days after the end of the moratorium unless eviction proceedings for the resident began before March 27, 2020. If a PHA believes that a unit has been abandoned, the PHA must take additional steps to ensure that the unit is in fact abandoned (as opposed to the family quarantining elsewhere, being hospitalized, or anything else that may be preventing the family from returning to the unit) before an eviction or termination of assistance is taken against the household.
PHAs can still proceed with evictions and collect fees issued prior to the passing of the CARES Act on March 27, 2020, however, PHAs should review state and local laws as many are also enacting their own moratoriums on evictions and fees that may include different restrictions. Fees issued before March 27 may still be collected, however, PHAs cannot assess interest on fees charged in January and February of 2020. PHAs cannot collect any fees for nonpayment of rent between March 27 and July 24, 2020.
PHAs are still allowed to evict or terminate assistance for drug abuse or other criminal activities and for other lease violations. HUD encourages PHAs to delay initiation or completion of evictions for non-drug or non-crime related reasons until after state and local emergencies are over. If the PHA is evicting a tenant for drug abuse or criminal activity and the local courts are closed, PHAs can still proceed with standard notifications, hearings, and program terminations. However, the PHA must wait until the court of jurisdiction reopens before the final eviction can occur.
HUD’s FAQ can be found here.
Earlier today, HUD published its initial chapter of its HCV Landlord Strategies Guide. The chapter is titled “Education and Outreach.” Topics included in the chapter include new landlord orientation, landlord outreach events, expanding your network, tenant education, information sharing, landlord focused customer service, technology, and partnerships. The Department is also planning a webinar on this chapter on April 22 at 1 pm.
The chapter can be found here.
The HCV Landlord Resources webpage can be found here.
While HUD’s Offices of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) and Community Planning and Development (CPD) have provided a number of waivers and flexibilities for the Public Housing program, Housing Choice Voucher program, HOME Investment Partnership program, Community Development Block Grant, and Continuum of Care (CoC) program, HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) has not waived any of the Section 3 statutory and regulatory requirements.
[Updated Text Begins] On April 17, 2020, FHEO released updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) for Section 3 Covered Recipients which addresses 13 questions on how COVID-19 affects Section 3 compliance. Question 2 specifically asks “Are Section 3 Compliance requirements waived during the virus condition?” and FHEO’s answer is “No, the Section 3 statutory and regulatory requirements have not been waived.” Updated questions are also asked about Section 3 SPEARS reporting requirements and deadlines. In response, FHEO states that the Section 3 reporting requirement is not waived and Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and community development agencies have an extension until July 31, 2020. Additional extensions are not addressed in the updated FAQ but generally PHAs and community development agencies may request extensions beyond July 31, 2020 but must provide justification and any extension request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. [Updated Text Ends]
[Removed Text Begins] On April 3, 2020, FHEO released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) for Section 3 Covered Recipients which addresses 13 questions on how COVID-19 affects Section 3 compliance. Question 2 specifically asks “Are Section 3 Compliance requirements waived during the virus condition?” and FHEO’s answer is “No, the Section 3 statutory and regulatory requirements have not been waived.” Questions are also asked about Section 3 SPEARS reporting requirements and deadlines. In response, FHEO states that the Section 3 reporting requirement is not waived and Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and community development agencies have an extension until June 1, 2020 but “must clearly demonstrate how COVID-19 precluded timely reporting.” PHAs and community development agencies may request extensions beyond June 1, 2020 but must provide justification and any extension request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.[Removed Text Ends]
FHEO has not waived or reduced the Section 3 requirements and reporting so PHAs and community development agencies must continue to create employment, training and contracting opportunities to Section 3 residents and Section 3 businesses. The Safe Harbor requirements have not been reduced either. PHAs and community development agencies should continue to hire staff and procure contracts, if possible, and if unable to meet the Safe Harbor requirements, they should document their efforts “to make every possible effort ‘to the greatest extent feasible’ to make employment and contracting opportunities available to” Section 3 residents.
NAHRO is relaying information from our members on the unprecedented operational and economic concerns affordable housing providers are facing to HUD and is requesting maximum flexibility for PHAs and community development agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.
NAHRO will continue to provide the latest information from HUD and Congress on the COVID-19 emergency response to our members and the public through our communication tools including the NAHRO coronavirus webpage and the NAHRO blog.
As previously mentioned on this blog, HUD’s HCV Landlord Task will host a free webinar titled “Education and Outreach Strategies for Landlord Participation.” The webinar will take place on April 22, 2020 at 1 pm to 2:30 pm ET. The webinar will walk through the first published chapter of the HCV Landlord Strategy Guidebook. The webinar will also feature representatives from PHAs.
Additional information can be found here.
Registration for this webinar can be found here.
Last week HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) issued two memorandums; one of the availability of waivers and suspensions of the HOME Program requirements in response to COVID-19 pandemic and the other on suspensions and waivers to facilitate use of HOME-Assisted Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) and short-term assistance response to COVID-19 pandemic. These memos can be found on the HUD Exchange.
The memo on waivers and suspensions of HOME Program requirements in response to COVID-19 provides guidance and the necessary statutory suspensions and regulatory waivers to allow HOME participating jurisdictions (PJs) to address immediate housing needs and help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. A PJ that intends to implement the HOME statutory suspensions and/or regulatory waivers must send written notification via email to the CPD Division in its local field office. Waivers and suspensions include those available only to major disaster areas and those that are available to all PJs.
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a series of waivers and program updates, 44 in total, for the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs. The waivers were issued by HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) in Notice PIH 2020-05, COVID-19 Statutory and Regulatory Waivers for the Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Indian Housing Block Grant and Indian Community Development Block Grant programs, Suspension of Public Housing Assessment System and Section Eight Management Assessment Program. The notice also includes 16 waivers related to Native American housing programs, specifically the Native American housing Assistance and Self-Determination Action of 1996 (NAHASDA) Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) and the Indian Community Development Block Grant programs. In order to provide relevant information to Public Housing Authorities, this Direct News will focus on the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher program waivers.
This notice only addresses program waivers and does not discuss the allocation or release of the supplemental funding that was appropriated as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public law 116-136). The funding notices are anticipated to be release towards the end of April 2020 with the first round of funding being available to Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) at the beginning of May 2020.
The purpose of the statutory and regulatory waivers is for HUD to assist PHAs and Tribal housing providers in continuing to operate and provide critical housing services to their local communities. HUD provides a non-inclusive list of critical PHA functions which includes issuing vouchers so families can find housing, processing Requests for Tenancy Approvals (RFTAs) so families can be approved to move into a unit, processing requests for portability moves, ensuring occupancy of Public Housing units, processing minimum rent hardship exemptions, and completing reexaminations for participants who have experienced a decrease in income.
The notice is broken into a number of sections and this Direct News will follow the same layout by discussing the underlining waiver authority by program, the applicability of the waivers, and the duration the waivers will be available.
In partnership with our sister groups CLPHA, PHADA and the Moving to Work (MTW) Collaborative, NAHRO has drafted and sent a letter to the House and the Senate thanking them for the nearly $3 billion in affordable housing assistance in the CARES Act, and asking for substantial resources and flexibilities, including:
Almost 800 PHAs and organizations joined NAHRO, PHADA, CLPHA, and the MTW Collaborative in signing the letter. You and your partners can also send the letter to your members of Congress through NAHRO’s Advocacy Action Center.
NAHRO continues to provide the latest information on the NAHRO Coronavirus page.
HUD’s office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) has released it’s program formula allocations for FY 2020 and the CARES Act supplement funding. HUD has posted two spreadsheets. The first includes all CPD formula grant programs, including CDBG, CDBG Housing Recovery Program (RHP), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG). The second spreadsheet lists all CARES Act Grants.
The spreadsheets can be found here.
The NAHRO Blog: Legislative & Policy Updates from Washington, DC 