Federal Funding

House Passes $1.75 Trillion Build Back Better Plan

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

House Takes Steps Toward Historic Housing Investments

The largest single housing investment in American history took a monumental step forward this morning, passing the House by a narrow 220-213 margin. The Build Back Better Act now moves to the Senate for further consideration. 

NAHRO led the fight to fully fund the Public Housing Capital Fund backlog at $70 billion, strongly championed the expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and ardently supports the increase in Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Rental Assistance contracts.  

NAHRO members – thank you for raising your voices in support of affordable housing! The more than 50,000 letters you sent to Congress and the White House this year, maintained the spotlight on housing as infrastructure and made sure the critical housing provisions remained in the Build Back Better bill. But the fight isn’t over yet! Be ready to speak out after Thanksgiving to preserve housing in the bill as it moves to the Senate.  

The vote was originally scheduled for Thursday night, but an extended floor speech by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) delayed the final vote. Build Back Better passed along party lines, with a single Democrat opposing.  

The path forward is not clear in the Senate, as several Democratic Senators have issues with several provisions. Negotiations are expected to heat up after Thanksgiving, aiming for a final vote in the Senate by Christmas. Though there is widespread support for the housing provisions in Build Back Better, it is possible that changes to the bill could put the housing investments at risk. If the bill is approved by the Senate, it is likely to go back to the House for another vote. 

NAHRO member advocacy will be needed to ensure these critical housing resources remain in the Build Back Better bill as it is debated in the Senate. NAHRO will be reaching out to you through future Direct News emails and also follow NAHRO on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin) for the latest information. 

The bill currently proposes the largest one-time investment in housing and community development programs ever, including: 

  • $65 billion for Public Housing investments 
  • $24 billion for Housing Choice Vouchers 
  • Expanded Low-Income Housing Tax Credits 
  • $15 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund 
  • $10 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program 
  • $3 billion for Community Development Block Grants 
  • $1 billion for Project-Based Rental Assistance 
  • $450 million for Section 811 Supportive Housing for People with Disabilities 
  • $450 million for Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 

Want more information? Check out NAHRO’s detailed breakdown of the bill’s housing provisions. 

Voucher Investments in the Build Back Better Framework

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

The Build Back Better framework, which was released yesterday, included $24 billion in housing choice vouchers and $1 billion in project-based rental assistance. Here’s some additional information on what specifically is included in the Section 8 components of the framework.

Housing Choice Vouchers

New Vouchers – The latest Build Back Better framework includes $15 billion for new vouchers for extremely low-income families (30% of area median income). This amount includes costs for renewals and the costs of administrative fees. Administrative fees may be used for “other eligible expenses,” which may include the cost of facilitating the use of vouchers.

Vouchers for Households Experiencing Homelessness, Survivors of Domestic Violence, and Certain Other Survivors – The framework provides $7.1 billion for new vouchers for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and survivors of trafficking. The amount includes costs for renewals and the costs of administrative fees. Administrative fees may be used for “other eligible expenses,” which may include the cost of facilitating the use of vouchers.

Homelessness Waiver Authority – In administering vouchers targeted for homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and survivors of trafficking, HUD may waive or specify alternative requirements for the following: preferences in the selection of families; documentation of citizenship, ineligibility for drug crimes, drug users, alcohol abusers, and other criminal offenders, and regulatory provisions related to verification of eligibility, eligibility requirements, and admissions process; lease lengths and regulatory provisions related to the initial lease term; residency requirements; and the regulatory provisions related to the establishment of payment standards.

Tenant Protection Vouchers – The framework provides $1 billion for tenant protection vouchers (TPVs) for relocation and replacement of public housing units that are demolished or disposed as part of a public housing repositioning transaction made available in this framework. The cost also includes renewals of these TPVs and administrative fees. Administrative fees may be used for “other eligible expenses,” which may include the cost of facilitating the use of vouchers.

Mobility-related Services – The framework allocates $300 million for competitive grants for PHAs for mobility-related services for voucher families, including families with children, and service coordination.

Continue reading →

Oct. 17th – Last Chance to Receive Issuance Reporting Fee for EHVs Issued on or before Oct. 3rd

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Housing agencies with Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs) that have issued vouchers before or on Oct. 3, have until Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021 to submit a form HUD-50058 (or form HUD-50058 MTW) to receive the $100 issuance reporting fee. To report in IMS/PIC, PHAs should do the following:

  • “PHAs should report in line 2n when submitting the HUD-50058 by entering ‘EHV.’
  • MTW PHAs that have received HUD approval to apply MTW flexibilities to EHV vouchers may report household participant data on the HUD-50058 MTW and must enter “EHV” on line 2p and leave line 2n blank.”

HUD has created an EHV report to identify IMS/PIC reporting discrepancies.

HUD Publishes 2022 OCAFs

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

In early Oct., HUD published the list of operating cost adjustment factors (OCAFs) for project-based assistance contracts under Section 8. These adjustment factors are used to adjust certain Section 8 rents. They were calculated in the same manner the 2021 OCAFs. They are calculated as “the sum of weighted component cost changes for wages, employee benefits, property taxes, insurance, supplies and equipment, fuel, oil, electricity, natural gas, and water/sewer/trash, using publicly available indices.” They are applicable beginning Feb. 11, 2022. These OCAFs are distinct from renewal funding inflation factors (RFIFs), which are usually applicable for the Housing Choice Voucher program.

The Federal Register notice announcing the OCAFs may be found here.

HUD to Revise HUD-VASH Program Rules

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Early next week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development will publish in the Federal Register a notice titled “Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers: Revised Implementation of the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program.” The HUD-VASH program combines Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program assistance with case management and clinical services through Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers (VAMCs), Community-based Outpatient Clinics, or a designated service provide (DSP). The program aims to increase access to affordable housing for veterans, while also providing additional needed supports.

This notice revises the policies and procedures for the administration of HUD-VASH vouchers. As part of this revision, the notice includes new waivers and program flexibility. The new waivers and flexibility include the following:

  • Allowing the PHA to act in the role of the VAMC or the DSP for the purposes of family selection, where the PHA has been selected for this authority in the past;
  • Allowing the PHA and owner to agree to amend a project-based voucher (PBV) housing assistance payment (HAP) contract to re-designate a normal PBV as a HUD-VASH PBV;
  • Allowing PHAs to apply separate payment standards for HUD-VASH families without prior HUD approval; and
  • A new requirement that PHAs must allow special housing types for HUD-VASH.

The notice also updates some of the existing requirements. These updates include the following:

  • Allowing PHAs to house HUD-VASH veterans referred by the VA in a PBV unit without selecting from the PHA’s waiting lists or applying local preferences;
  • Additional explanation for the portability process for moves of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking;
  • Additional information regarding case management from the VAMC or DSP;
  • Clarification that when a family breaks up, the HUD-VASH assistance must stay with the veteran, but not in cases where the veteran is a perpetrator of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
  • Revision stating that Moving to Work (MTW) agencies may apply their MTW flexibilities to their HUD-VASH program with approval from HUD’s HCV office;
  • Explanation of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA) exceptions for project-basing HUD-VASH vouchers;
  • Explanation that when a HUD-VASH family is eligible to move from its PBV unit, the family must be able to move with a HUD-VASH tenant-based voucher; and
  • An explanation of the HUD-VASH reallocation process through voluntary moves between PHAs and voucher recapture.

A pre-publication copy of the notice can be found here.

Eviction Moratorium to Expire Saturday; NAHRO Urges Extension

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

Despite efforts from House Democratic leaders to extend the federal eviction moratorium, which expires Saturday, July 31, no vote was issued to extend the order as of Friday afternoon. Earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) publicly advocated for the Biden administration to act unilaterally to protect renters at risk of eviction due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

About 11 months ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) enacted the federal eviction moratorium to prevent the spread of the deadly virus among families and individuals that could be at high risk if made homeless through eviction. The public health measure has been extended on several instances, with the last extension made in June. The moratorium offered uniform protections to renters across the nation.

With the COVID-19 delta variant surging across the nation, now is not the time to put vulnerable families at risk by ending the eviction moratorium. NAHRO calls on Congress and the Administration to extend the moratorium through at least the end of September 2021.

Whether or not the eviction moratorium expires, NAHRO’s housing agency members remain committed to using every available resource to keep as many people in their homes as possible. Nationwide, NAHRO members continue to work with their residents and with local and national partners to provide support and aid – especially to those who have been most impacted by the pandemic. We are continually looking for new and better ways to help.

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program is a vital and cost-effective tool to help people stay in their homes. As Treasury, HUD, and state and local entities work to distribute these much-needed funds as quickly as possible, we also look forward to the passage of a robust FY 2022 HUD budget and additional housing resources that will further help to provide the safety and stability of a home to all who need it.

NAHRO Interim CEO Mike Gerber statement on extending the eviction moratorium and quickly distributing Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds.

As more information is released on the status of the eviction moratorium, NAHRO will continue to provide updates.

2021 Adjustment Funding for the HCV Program

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

HUD has published a notice titled “American Rescue Plan Act – Adjustment Funding for Calendar Year 2021 Housing Choice Voucher Program and Mainstream Vouchers Renewal Funding and Updated Application Process for Unforeseen Circumstances Funding” (PIH Notice 2021-23). In allocating money for Emergency Housing Vouchers, the American Rescue Plan also stated that the money may be used for adjustments in the 2021 voucher renewal funding allocation. This notice makes $200 million available for PHAs that fall under the following categories:

  1. They experience a significant increase in voucher per unit cost (PUC) due to extraordinary circumstances (i.e., extraordinary circumstances); or
  2. That despite taking reasonable cost saving measures, they would otherwise be required to terminate rental assistance for families as a result of insufficient funding (i.e., shortfall funding).

Extraordinary Circumstances

This category is for PHAs and Moving to Work (MTW) PHAs that administer the voucher program or have Mainstream vouchers. To qualify, a PHA’s PUC must be 102% or greater than the PUC HUD used to determine the PHA’s calendar year (CY) 2021 renewal funding and PHAs must have less than four months of reserves. If the PHA’s reserves account has less than the amount needed to cover two months, the application will receive priority status. HUD will fully fund priority applications before considering regular applications. If the PHA has previously applied for funding from the extraordinary circumstances funding, it does not need to reapply. Adjustment funding in this category must be used by June 30, 2022 or will be recaptured. Applications should be submitted to 2021ARPApplications@hud.gov by 5 pm local time on Tuesday, August 10, 2021.

Shortfall Funds

The criteria for these shortfall funds are the same as for the shortfall category in PIH Notice 2021-10. The reporting requirements for these funds will differ depending on the source of funding (the appropriations act HAP set-aside or the American Rescue Plan). If the funding is from the American Rescue Plan, PHAs must track and report the funding and expenses of the funds according to the requirements of this notice. If a PHA has previously applied for shortfall funding, it does not need to reapply under this notice. Adjustment funding under this category must be used by Dec. 31, 2021 or will be recaptured.

The full notice can be found here.

Join Us!! NAHRO Summer Symposium is Tomorrow!

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

Please join National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) for our 2021 Summer Symposium on universal vouchers and expansion of the housing voucher program tomorrow, July 13, 2021. There is no cost to attend the NAHRO Summer Symposium! Register at https://www.nahro.org/events/summer-symposium/registration/.

The NAHRO Summer Symposium is a day-long event on the present and future of the Housing Choice Voucher program. The event will bring thought leaders from across the country along with housing industry professional together to discuss the expansion of the housing voucher program. There is no registration fee to attend the Summer Symposium. Anyone interested can register at https://www.nahro.org/events/summer-symposium/registration/ for the July 13, 2021 NAHRO Summer Symposium.

White House Summit on Eviction Prevention Best Practices

~ Claire Salant ~ Leave a comment

At a White House summit on eviction prevention, researchers and experts in the field shared resources and best practices from around the country.

After outlining documented long-term health and economic impacts of evictions, Matthew Desmond, director of the Eviction Lab at Princeton, focused on the problems present in eviction courts. Since so few municipalities guarantee families facing an eviction the right to counsel, many families simply don’t show up because they don’t think they can win. Labeling eviction courts those without “justice or fairness,” Desmond called for advocates to focus three alternate approaches:

  1. Advocacy – including the right to counsel, with either a lawyer or a caseworker
  2. Assistance – wraparound social services
  3. Alternative Processes – eviction diversion  

Desmond urged advocates to focus as much as possible on early stage interventions, because a third of families move between notice and filing, court records can follow families and make it harder to move into a good home, and because families can still end up moving or being harmed by court proceedings without an official eviction. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta also recommended that state courts consider issuing orders requiring landlords to apply for emergency rental assistance before filing, and alerting litigants about availability of rental assistance.  

To help stand up new eviction diversion programs that include these three pieces, the National Center for State Courts has developed an eviction diversion program that offers models, resources, and technical assistance here. Multiple administration officials repeated in today’s summit that Treasury made it clear that the $350 billion from the American Rescue Plan can be used for court-supported eviction diversion programs.

Best Practices

Experts from the field then shared their knowledge about how to make these programs work in practice. Rasheedah Phillips, Managing Attorney of Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack both recommended that diversion programs need a right to counsel or other tenant representation. Philadelphia passed a right to counsel law in 2019, and uses trained mediators, housing counselors, and legal representation depending on tenant need. However, Michigan has only included a right to counsel in its emergency diversion program for COVID, and it has made a significant difference in both application rates and successful cases. Prior to this program, only 4% of tenants in Detroit had representation in eviction cases.

Philadelphia has also recently passed the Renters Access Act, which prohibits landlords from rejecting potential tenants solely because of evictions or low credit scores, prohibits rejections based on failure to pay rent or utility bills during the pandemic, and requires landlords to inform potential tenants why they were rejected.

From the landlord perspective, Gilbert Winn of WinnCompanies, which houses over 45,000 tenants in more than 15 states, spoke about the program his company launched to prevent evictions, which WinnCompanies believes can serve as a blueprint for other landlords going forward. This included:

  • Long-term, sustainable payment agreements to have backpay addressed
  • Pre-court checklist before any staff can file for eviction
  • Incentives to property staff and property legal counsel to lower eviction filings

With zero evictions in the last 15 months with all 15,000 participating families, the program has been extremely successful, and WinnCompanies intends to use it into the post-pandemic period.

More resources on eviction prevention can be found here.

Senate Hearing on Bipartisan Bills to Increase Access to Housing

~ Claire Salant ~ Leave a comment

On Thursday June 24th, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a full committee hearing, “Examining Bipartisan Bills to Increase Access to Housing,” to consider the following legislation:

Witnesses included Lisa Mensah, CEO of the Opportunity Finance Network, and Nan Roman, CEO and President of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, who both testified about the need to rehabilitate existing housing and build more housing in order to address the current crisis in affordable housing and homelessness. American Enterprise Institute witness Howard Husock argued against expanding Housing Choice Vouchers without making sure that emergency rental assistance was being disbursed more efficiently. Mr. Husock also testified in favor of the Moving to Work approach to voucher rental contracts for new tenants that use flat rent for a fixed-period, independent of tenant income, so that tenants can avoid an income cliff and put any additional income into an escrow account.

In his questions, ranking member Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) was very interested in this MTW model and the possibility that the current model might discourage increased work, following up on his opening statement criticizing elevated unemployment benefits. Both Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) asked about bills that would collect more data on different aspects of the housing crisis, and ways that agencies could collaborate on high-needs populations, including work to prevent evictions and services for vouchers to high-opportunity areas. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Sen. Cortez Masto (D-NV) both asked questions in support of the Native American Homeownership Act. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) argued that none of the bills under discussion addressed the current address “the failed state of our housing finance system,” focusing on the lack of diversity and competition in the mortgage market. To make credit more available for mortgages, Sen. Scott argued that the committee also needed to look for serious, bipartisan approaches to comprehensive mortgage finance reform.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) asked about the overall disrepair in the nation’s housing stock, the $70 billion backlog in repairs in public housing, and the estimated 10,000 units of public housing lost per year as a result of these deferred costs. She reiterated her belief that housing is infrastructure, and the importance of making public housing safe for families who are there now. Commenting on the current infrastructure talks, she argued that the current state of housing puts families at risk and that Congress must go further than the President has proposed in order to meet the needs of families.