Federal Regulation

New Small Area FMR Dashboard

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On July 6, HUD sent an email to Executive Directors announcing the posting of a new Small Area Fair Market Rent (FMR) dashboard. The Dashboard lists PHAs that have either adopted the use of Small Area FMRs or the use of an exception payment standard that allows a PHA to raise its payment standard up to 110% of the small area FMR. The dashboard also lists the number of units under small area FMRs, the number of PHAs that use small area FMRs or exception payment standards that can be raised up to 110% of small area FMRs, and the total number of units categorized by Small Area FMR type.

Additionally, the website containing the dashboard also contains links to resources about Small Area FMRs.

The website can be found here.

HUD Publishes NSPIRE Administrative Procedures Notice

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On July 3, HUD published a notice titled “Implementation of National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) Administrative Procedures” (PIH 2023-16 / H 2023-07). The notice details the process and operational requirements for public housing and multifamily housing assistance programs. It discusses procedures for inspections; submitting evidence for deficiency correction; submitting technical reviews; administrative review; and certain other administrative requirements associated with the implementation of the NSPIRE inspection protocol.

The notice states that the NSPIRE final rule will be implemented in phases. The Department will begin inspections under the new protocol for public housing properties after July 1, 2023. It will prioritize properties that have not been inspected since normal operations resumed after the pandemic in June 2021; PHAs with a fiscal year end of March 30; and troubled PHAs. For housing choice voucher programs (including project-based voucher properties), the NSPIRE final rule will be effective Oct. 1, 2023. For multifamily housing programs, HUD will begin inspections under the new protocol on July 1, 2023 for those who participated in the NSPIRE demonstration, while those who did not will begin on Oct. 1, 2023.

NAHRO will provide our members with additional information about the contents of the notice in the coming days.

The full notice can be found here.

Guidance on SLRs for PBVs

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On June 29, HUD published a notice titled “Process for Requesting Subsidy Layering Reviews for Project-Based Vouchers” (PIH Notice 2023-15). When PHAs project-base vouchers in combination with other governmental assistance (i.e., other federal, state, or local funds), the project is required to undergo a subsidy layering review (SLR). This review ensures that projects do not receive excessive compensation. If a project-based voucher (PBV) property is not using other governmental assistance, then no SLR is required.

Depending on the specifics of the project, a PHA may request that HUD or its state Housing Credit Agency (HCA) perform the SLR. The notice details the procedures for a PHA to request which entity perform the SLR in certain instances. The HCA’s participation is voluntary and it may charge a reasonable fee. The PHA has discretion on whether to use its administrative fees for this HCA fee.

  • PHA requests that HUD perform the SLR – a PHA may request that HUD perform the SLR whether a project does or does not contain a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC). The PHA must communicate, in writing, to the HUD field office that they would like HUD to perform the SLR. The request can be stated as “AB123 would like HUD HQ to perform the SLR.“
  • PHA requests that the participating HCA perform the SLR – 1) for projects without a LIHTC, the PHA will follow steps detailed in section 4 of the notice, but the memo to the field office will confirm that the PHA requests that the HCA perform the SLR, if the HCA is available for review; 2) for projects with a LIHTC, the PHA sends the request directly to the HCA, but the PHA must notify the field office that it has made the request.

In instances where there is no HCA, the PHA has requested that HUD perform the SLR, or in instances where the HCA will not perform the SLR, the field office public housing representative will submit the appropriate documentation to HUD headquarters for the SLR.

Section 4 of this notice contains a list of steps required for a PHA to request that HUD perform the SLR, including a list of the appropriate documentation.

A list of participating HCAs can be found here.

The full notice can be found here.

New EHV Termination Guidance

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On June 29, HUD published a notice titled “Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV): Guidance on Termination of Vouchers Upon Turnover After September 30, 2023 and EHV Shortfalls Due to Per-Unit Cost Increases of Overleasing” [Notice PIH 2023-14 (HA)]. The notice provides instructions to PHAs with emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) about how EHVs should be administered after Sept. 30, 2023.

Termination

After Sept. 30, 2023, EHVs that are active will no longer be allowed to be reissued to new families and will terminate after the family using the voucher has left the program. Emergency housing vouchers that have not been leased-up may still be leased after Sept. 30 up until they reach the number allocated to the PHA by HUD. After Sept. 30, housing agencies may issue additional vouchers taking into consideration their 180-day lease rate (e.g., if a PHA has leased 80 of its 100 EHVs and has a 180-day success rate of 50%, then it may issue enough vouchers to ensure that 40 households are searching for units).

Portability

Voucher holders with EHVs may still port their vouchers to other jurisdictions after Sept. 30, 2023. If the PHA the voucher holder is porting to has EHV capacity (i.e., it has not reached its cumulative EHV lease-up maximum), the receiving PHA may absorb the voucher. If the receiving PHA is at its EHV capacity, then the receiving PHA may bill the initial PHA or absorb the family into its regular HCV program.

EHV Shortfalls

The Department is making changes to when PHAs may request shortfall funding for EHVs. First, a PHA may request a per-unit cost adjustment when 1) “despite taking reasonable efforts to manage the EHV program effectively, [it] would otherwise be required to terminate participating families . . . due to insufficient Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) funds” and 2) for instances when cost increases were not unforeseen (e.g., using high payment standards) in order to improve success rates or allow a family to remain in their unit.

Housing agencies may also request shortfall funding to “prevent the termination of EHV families due to insufficient funds until the overleasing is corrected through attrition.” The Department may reduce administrative fees when there are “egregious cases of overleasing.”

The full notice can be found here.

HUD Publishes Notice on HCV Landlord Penalties

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On March 31, HUD published a notice titled “Notice on Remedies PHAs have for Poor Performing Owners in the Housing Choice Voucher and Project-Based Voucher Programs” (PIH Notice 2023-06). The notice informs PHAs of the available punitive measures or remedies they have against landlords that do not comply with their Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contracts. The notice also discusses the punitive measures that HUD has against PHAs that do not comply with the HAP contract.

The notice discusses remedies that PHAs have for landlord non-compliance with the HAP contract. Potential breaches may include the following: violating any obligation under the HAP contract, including maintaining the unit up to Housing Quality Standards (HQS); violating any obligation under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; committing fraud, bribery, or other corrupt or criminal acts related to any federal housing program; failing to comply with regulations for mortgage insurance of loan programs in certain instances; engaging in drug-related criminal activity; or engaging in violent criminal activity. If an owner fails to maintain the unit according to HQS, the PHA must take “prompt and vigorous” action to enforce owner obligations. The notice details other inspection-related scenarios when PHAs must take certain enforcement actions.

The notice also discusses instances when PHAs are required to exclude owners from the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Project-based Voucher (PBV) programs. Instances when a PHA must not approve an owner’s participation include the following: the owner is debarred from participation; HUD directs the PHA not to approve the owner because the federal government has instituted an administrative or judicial action; or if HUD directs the PHA not to approve the owner because the owner has violated a civil rights law.

There are several instances where a PHA may also use its discretionary authority to exclude owners from HCV and PBV programs. Housing agencies may adopt policies that will exclude owners from participating in the voucher program. The PHA may exclude the owner for the following: violating the HAP contract; committing fraud, bribery, or other corrupt or criminal acts in connection with federal housing programs; engaging in recent drug-related criminal or violent activity; frequent non-compliance with HQS; not evicting tenants that threaten peaceful enjoyment of unit, threaten the health and safety of residents, or are engaged in drug-related or violent criminal activity; frequently renting units that do not meet state or local codes; and not paying taxes, fines, or assessments.

Housing agencies should not penalize owners that consider the nature, severity, and recency of tenant offenses, including mitigating circumstances before evicting.

For PHAs that fail to comply with program requirements, HUD has the authority to take certain punitive actions. The Department may do the following: offset administrative fees; prohibit use of funds in the administrative fee reserve account; direct the PHA to use funds in the reserve account to improve program administration; reduce HAP amounts; reduce other HUD funding amounts; or declare the PHA in default. The Department may also initiate claims against owners in certain instances.

The notice states that the Department may take similar actions against PHAs that do not follow PBV program requirements.

The full notice can be found here.

New Subsidy Layering Review Notice Published

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In mid-March, HUD published a new notice titled “Administrative Guidelines: Subsidy Layering Review for Project-Based Vouchers” in the Federal Register. The new notice provides background information about what subsidy layering reviews (SLRs) are; it provides information about when SLRs are needed and applicable safe harbor standards; it discusses the potential role of Housing Credit Agencies; and provides other miscellaneous information, including an appendix with the required elements of an SLR application, which may also serve as a checklist.

HUD mandates that SLRs are performed when project-based vouchers (PBVs) are used in conjunction with other subsidies to ensure that projects are not overly subsidized. This mandate is not applicable to existing housing.

When a PHA begins a new construction or rehabilitation that requires PBVs, it is required to request that an SLR be completed in certain instances. The PHA is responsible for collecting the appropriate documentation.

There are certain safe harbor requirements in SLRs. When a project falls within the scope of these safe harbors, and HUD is conducting the SLR, the project may move forward without additional justification. If the project falls outside the safe harbors, then additional documentation and justifications are required. If a housing credit agency (i.e., a state housing finance agency; HCA) is performing the SLR, the safe harbor requirements may only be exceeded if costs outside the safe harbor still fall within the HCA’s published qualified allocation plan.

A PHA may not execute an Agreement to Enter Into a Housing Assistance Payments Contract (AHAP) until the SLR has been completed and approved by either HUD or the HCA, depending on the circumstance. The chart below reviews project scenarios and potential entities, if any, that may perform the SLR.

ScenarioSLR ReviewerNo additional government funding certification required?
New construction or rehabilitation with PBV funding and 2 or more forms of government assistance.HCA or HUD.*If by HCA, no certification required. If by HUD, then HUD certifies.
New construction or rehabilitation with PBV and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funding.HCA or HUD.If by HCA, no certification required. If by HUD, then HUD certifies.
PBV existing housing.No SLR required.No.
New construction or rehabilitation with only PBV assistance.No SLR required.No.
Mixed-finance projects, with or without LIHTC, with or without PBV assistance, with other forms of government assistance.HUDYes.
*PHAs may request that HUD perform the SLR if the project does not use LIHTCs.

The full notice can be found here.

HUD Issues Second HCV Get Ready Letter – Plan for Higher Funding

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In mid-Feb., HUD sent a letter to PHA executive directors. The letter informed PHAs of their individual inflation factors for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. While HUD had previously revealed that the national average inflation factor for 2023 would be 10.13%, the new letter provides PHAs with their individual inflation factors (which may differ substantially from the national factor). The inflation factor is used by HUD to calculate funding for voucher programs for the upcoming year (i.e., the inflation factor, as a whole number, is multiplied by the renewal funding to calculate the program’s total funding for the year).

In addition to being provided in the letter, the inflation factor has also been added for each individual PHA that has a voucher program in the Two-Year tool. The Two-Year tool is a spreadsheet created by HUD, pre-populated with individualized program data, that PHAs can use to help plan their voucher programs.

This year’s inflation factor is substantially larger than previous years. Housing agencies should plan for a larger yearly increase in funding than they may typically be used to.

The Two-Year Tool can be found here.

The Department has also created a one-pager with links to tools to help increase utilization that can be found here.

Finally, the Department has created a video that provides an overview of the HCV funding process (see below).

HUD Posts Final HOTMA Rule on Reexaminations, Over-income Households, and Asset Limits

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The Department has posted a final rule implementing changes that will affect how PHAs conduct reexaminations, interact with over-income households, and handle asset limits. The rule would implement sections 102, 103, and 104 of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016. The rule primarily affects the Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, and Project-based Rental Assistance programs. It also impacts certain other community development programs in order to align certain program requirements and definitions between programs. These other programs include Community Development Block Grants; HOME Investment Partnerships; the Housing Trust Fund; Housing Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, Supportive Housing for the Elderly (Section 202), and Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Section 811). While not applicable to all sections of the rule, much of it has an effective date of January 1, 2024.

NAHRO will provide its members with additional information on the new rule in the near future.

A one-page fact sheet on the rule can be found here.

The HUD website for the rule can be found here.

The pre-publication copy of the final rule can be found here.

HUD Publishes Notice on 2022 VAWA Changes

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On Jan. 6, HUD published a notice in the Federal Register detailing several changes that were made in the 2022 revision to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The changes were made in several sections. Many of the changes became effective on Oct. 1, 2022. The Department is seeking comment on the proposed changes by March 6, 2022.

Changes to VAWA Definitions

The revision amends the definition of “domestic violence” to include “any felony or misdemeanor crimes committed under the family or domestic violence laws of the jurisdiction receiving grant funding.” This definition includes “in the case of victim services, the use or attempted use of physical abuse or sexual abuse, or a pattern of any other coercive behavior committed, enabled, or solicited to gain or maintain power and control over a victim, including verbal, psychological, economic, or technological abuse that may or may not constitute criminal behavior” by certain individuals including current or former spouses, current or former co-inhabitants, people sharing a child, or people who commit acts against people protected from acts by family or domestic violence laws of a jurisdiction.

The definitional change occurred on Oct. 1, 2022. While the change is only for grants authorized under VAWA, HUD notes that the current definition of domestic violence covers all of the additional conduct specified in VAWA 2022, and HUD interprets the existing regulatory definitions of “domestic violence” and “stalking” to encompass all of the revised conduct.

Additional Covered Housing Programs

The revision expands the scope of covered programs to include the Section 202 Direct Loan Program, the Housing Trust Fund, and any other federal housing programs. For the Housing Trust Fund, the Department already considers it a covered program through its regulatory authority. The Department will issue new regulations to cover all the additional programs.

Continue reading →

Carbon Monoxide Device Requirement for Voucher Units and Multifamily Units in Effect

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On Dec. 27, HUD sent an email to PHA executive directors reminding them that the requirements for carbon monoxide devices in voucher units and multifamily units are in effect. The requirements went into effect on Dec. 27, 2022. The requirements were first outlined at the beginning of the year, in PIH Notice 2022-01. The email states that the “devices are required in properties with carbon monoxide sources, such as those with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages.” Carbon monoxide devices must be installed according to the standards of the 2018 International Fire Code. Additionally, HUD has created a simple flowchart to help illustrate the instances when an owner may need to install a device.

Resources mentioned in the email include the following: