Community Development

NAHRO Releases Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

In 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was very busy setting forth new rules and regulations and providing updated notices and guidances on many of the HUD administered affordable housing programs. The year has also been marked by many legislative victories and a few challenges.

img_0015NAHRO has drafted and compiled this Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016 to provide a primer of the topics on the forefront of the affordable housing industry. It can also provide you, your public housing agencies (PHAs) and local redevelopment agencies (LRAs) and your stakeholders with current information on many of the programs used and administered by HUD and the affordable housing community.

The full Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016, along with the individual topic one-pagers, is available on the NAHRO website. For the most up-to-date versions and information visit the NAHRO website and the NAHRO blog.

NAHRO Policy and Congressional teams are also conducting two e-Briefings through NAHRO Professional Development. The first is This Just in from Washington on January 31, 2017, where NAHRO’s Congressional team will give you an update on FY2017 appropriations, preview FY2018, outline potential legislative action on HCD programs, and discuss ways in which you can be the most effective advocate in this rapidly changing political climate. The second is part of the Housing Rules! Series, Moving Forward: A Review of 2016 Regulation and Legislation on February 7, 2017, where NAHRO’s Policy team will discuss many areas that HUD and Congress addressed during 2016 and NAHRO reviewed in detail in NAHRO’s Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016, which will provide a solid regulatory and legislative foundation as we work with the new Administration and new Congress to keep our affordable housing agenda moving forward. Registration information for both of these e-Briefings is available through the NAHRO Professional Development calendar.

Regulatory Freeze Memo Issued

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

On January 20, the Trump Administration issued a “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” memo that applies to all Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This memo is similar to memos issued by previous administrations as they come into office, and NAHRO had expected this regulatory freeze.

Generally, the regulatory freeze requires agencies to withdraw any regulations that have not yet been published in the Federal Register and to extend the effective date by 60 days of any regulations that have not become effective as of January 20, 2017. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) can issue exceptions to the regulatory freeze in emergency situations and to address urgent health, safety, financial, or national security issues.

The regulatory review not only applies to regulations but also any “guidance document.” A “guidance document” is any substantive action or an agency statement that states a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or technical issue that is normally published in the Federal Register.

NAHRO will continue to monitor the effects of the regulatory freeze and has reached out to HUD staff on how this regulatory freeze will affect specific regulations. As more information becomes, available NAHRO will share it with our members through The NAHRO Blog and the Monitor.

For any specific questions or concerns, please contact Georgi Banna, NAHRO’s Director of Policy and Program Development, at gbanna@nahro.org. As always for the most up-to-date information of the affordable housing and community development regulations and legislation, follow The NAHRO Blog and check the NAHRO website.

HUD Publishes Interim Guidance on AFFH

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier this January, HUD published Interim Guidance on the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) tools. The Interim Guidance gives the status of the Assessment of Fair Housing tools (AFHs) (reproduced below) and gives general guidance for program participants.

  • Local and Government and Joint / Regional Tool – Final tool available.
  • PHA and PHA-only collaboration – Final tool available. HUD will issue another Notice specifying PHAs’ new submission date.
  • Qualified PHA (QPHA) – Tool still under development. Not publicly available.
  • State and Insular Area Tool – Tool still under development. Still going through the notice-and-comment process.

The guidance also provides a table to help choose tools and understand appropriate AFH deadline dates.

The full AFFH Interim Guidance can be read here.

HUD Publishes MTW Expansion Application

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

HUD has posted pre-publication versions of the Moving To Work (MTW) Expansion Application and the MTW Expansion Operations Document. There will be multiple cohorts to the expansion with each cohort testing a different policy to be researched. The first cohort will test the overall impact of MTW flexibility. The cohorts will test the following (in no particular order, except for the first, which will test the overall impact of MTW flexibility):

  • Overall Impact of MTW Flexibility – the overall effects of the MTW “bundle” will be tested.
  • Rent Reform – PHAs will test different rent reform models, including “flat rents, tiered rents, and stepped-up rents.” PHAs “may also evaluate the interaction of these rent reform models with or without work requirements or time limits.”
  • Work Requirements – this will be a work requirements only cohort (i.e., additional rent reforms or time limits will not be evaluated). PHAs will provide supportive services.
  • Landlord Incentives – this cohort will investigate various landlord incentives (e.g., participation payments, vacancy payments, alternate inspection schedules and other methods).

The first cohort will include 30 PHAs with “1,000 or fewer aggregate public housing and HCV units.” To select applicants HUD will make sure each applicant meets eligibility requirements and certain geographic diversity requirements. Each potential cohort participant will then be selected via a lottery. These PHAs will then be randomly assigned to a treatment group (receiving MTW designation) or a control group (not receiving MTW designation). HUD will research the cost effectiveness, ability to create self-sufficiency, and ability to provide housing choice for this first cohort.

The application due date will be revealed, when the notice is formally posted in the Federal Register. NAHRO will continue to have more detailed coverage on both of these documents and the perspectives of the new administration in the coming days and weeks.

The pre-publication MTW Expansion Application can be found here.

The pre-publication MTW Expansion Operations document can be found here.

HUD Releases Data-Sharing Road Map for PHAs and School Districts

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

In an effort to improve the educational outcomes of students living in public housing agencies and local redevelopment agencies, HUD has release a “Data-Sharing Road Map.” This Road Map will provide PHAs practical guidance, such as starting the data-sharing conversation and negotiating the data-sharing agreement, to establish partnerships with their local school districts. The Data-Sharing Road Map is based on the experience of PHAs that have successfully developed data-sharing agreements with their local school district.

NAHRO continues to partner with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and HUD on promoting and improving the education outcomes of children living in HUD-assisted properties.

HUD to Publish Lead-Free Final Rule and additional AFH Tools

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Tomorrow, January 13, 2017, HUD will publish in the Federal Register the lead-free final rule and additional Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) tools. The final rule titled “Requirements for Notification, Evaluation and Reduction of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Federally Owned Residential Property and Housing Receiving Federal Assistance; Response to Elevated Blood Lead Levels” adopts a revised definition of “elevated blood lead level” (EBLL) in children under the age of 6 to track the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. The rule will become effective 30 days after publication and compliance will be required by 6 months after publication. NAHRO will provide additional coverage of the final rule in the next few days.

The Department also released two additional AFH tools:

  1. A Revised Local Government Tool: This tool is meant for use by CDBG, HOME, ESG or HOPWA recipients. One of the major changes to the tool is an insert for use by PHAs with 1,250 of fewer units that choose to collaborate with their local governments. NAHRO is pleased that HUD increased number of PHAs that can use this insert, making collaboration easier.
  2. A Final PHA Tool: The notice states that this tool has been approved, but “the Notice does not trigger the obligation of PHAs to conduct and submit an AFH . . . as HUD has not yet provided PHAs with the data they will need.” Again, one of the major changes from the proposed tool includes increasing the threshold for the Qualified PHA insert to 1,250 units.

NAHRO will continue to look through these tools and will provide additional coverage to our members in the coming days.

The Lead-Free final rule can be found here.

The Local Government AFH Tool can be found here.

The PHA AFH Tool can be found here.

Reminder!! Dr. Carson Confirmation Hearing for HUD Today!

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs  will hold a confirmation hearing for HUD Secretary-Designate Carson at 10 am ET on Thursday, January 12, 2017. The hearing will be held at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Room 538.

The confirmation hearing will be webcast live on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing website. Dr. Carson’s written testimony is also posted, here, on the Senate Banking Committee website.

John Bohm, NAHRO Acting CEO, is attending the hearing and additional coverage of the confirmation hearing will be available for members in the January 15 Monitor.

HUD Housing Counseling Final Rule Conference Call

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently published a final rule implementing statutory requirements on housing counselor certification.  Among other things, it provides that housing counseling required by HUD or provided in connection with any HUD program must be delivered by a HUD certified counselor working for a HUD-approved housing counseling agency.

HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling will hold a conference call for housing counseling funders and service providers to explain this new rule and help you determine if your housing counseling program may be covered under this final rule.  This informative session is open to the public.  Please note that if you attended the call on December 19 for stakeholders who participate in HUD’s Housing Counseling Program you do not need to attend this call.

Please register for this Stakeholders Conference Call on the Final Rule on Housing Counseling Certification on January 13, 2017 2:00 PM EST at:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8027531475293201155.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For more information on HUD’s Final Rule for Housing Counseling Certification including the press release, final rule, and frequently asked questions, please visit:  https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/housing-counseling/certification/.

HUD Secretary-Designate Carson to Have Confirmation Hearing on 1/12/17

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs  will hold a confirmation hearing for HUD Secretary-Designate Carson at 10 am ET on Thursday, January 12, 2017. The hearing will be held at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Room 538.

The confirmation hearing will be webcast live on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing website.

NAHRO will cover this hearing and other HUD-related transition events in the coming weeks.

 

Book-Rich Environment Initiative Launched

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

On January 5th; HUD, Dept. of Education, and President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force along with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (GLR), the National Book Foundation (NBF) and the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) launched the Book-Rich Environment Initiative at Washington, D.C.’s Southwest Public Library. HUD Secretary Julian Castro, Dept. of Education Secretary John King, and My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Chair Broderick Johnson along with Adrianne Todman, Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority spoke about the importance of education as the key to opening the door to future opportunities.2017-01-05_10-50-17_052

The Book-Rich Environment Initiative has three major components – Book Distribution, Partnership Building, and Library Engagement. Book Distribution will launch in Spring 2017 with local events that will introduce children and families to their local library, summer learning and literacy, and preparing to go back to school and success in the next grade level. Partnership building will focus on creating strong local partnerships between HUD-assisted housing providers; such as PHAs; with their local library, local and national non-profits and foundation, and the children and family served by these organizations. Library engagement between PHAs, the children and families living in HUD-assisted properties, and the local library is essential to keeping children engaged in reading. Engagement strategies include mobile libraries in public housing buildings, summer learning opportunities and registering children and families for library cards.

NAHRO attended the Book-Rich Environment Initiative launch and continues to partner with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and HUD on promoting and improving the education outcomes of children living in HUD-assisted properties.

More information on the Book-Rich Environment Initiative can be found, here, in HUD’s press release.