Federal Regulation

HCV TPV Funding Awards for FY 2017 Posted

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD posted a pre-publication copy of a notice titled “Announcement of Tenant Protection Voucher Funding Awards for Fiscal Year 2017 for the Housing Choice Voucher Program” in the Federal Register. The notice notifies the public of Tenant Protection Voucher (TPV) funding awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program.

The recipients of these funds were awarded their vouchers on a as-needed, non-competitive basis. The awards published in the notice were provided to do the following:

  1. Assist families in HUD-owned properties that are being sold;
  2. Assist families affected by the expiration or termination of their Section 9 Project-based and Moderate Rehabilitation contracts;
  3. Assist families in properties where the owner has prepaid the HUD mortgage;
  4. Assist families in projects where the Rental Supplement and the Rental Assistance Payments contracts are expired (RAD – Second Component);
  5. Provide relocation housing assistance in connection with the demolition of public housing;
  6. Assist individuals affected by the expiration or termination of their Section 8 single room occupancy (SRO) contracts;
  7. Assist families in public housing developments that are scheduled for demolition in connection with a HUD-approved HOPE VI revitalization or demolition grant; and
  8. Assist families consistent with PIH Notice 2016-12 titled “Funding Availability for Tenant Protection Voucher for Certain At-Risk Households in Low Vacancy Areas-Fiscal Year 2016.”

HUD awarded 9,218 housing choice vouchers ($94,468,761 in new budget authority) in the above categories. A special administrative fee of $200 per occupied unit was provided to PHAs to compensate for any extraordinary HCV administrative costs associated with Multifamily Housing conversion actions.

The pre-publication version of the notice can be found here.

HUD Releases Guidance on HCV Shortfall Funding and CY 2018 Administrative Fees

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD released Notice PIH 2018-05 titled “Guidance Related to (1) Eligiblity for Potential Shortfall Funding Under the Calendar Year (CY) 2018 Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) Renewal Set-Aside for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and (2) CY 2018 Administrative Fees.” Although released today, after the passage of the FY 2018 budget, it appears that this notice was written before the passage of the budget. Certain details may be changed by HUD to better reflect the FY 2018 budget. This notice offers guidance on shortfall funding; administrative fee set-aside funding; and blended rate administrative fees and higher administrative fee rates.

Click below to read a brief overview of the notice.

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HUD Publishes Small Area FMR Guidebook and Additional Information on Small Area FMR Implementation

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

HUD has recently published several additional sources of information on Small Area FMR implementation. Recently published sources of information include the following:

Additionally, links are provided to the previously published Small Area FMR guidance and Small Area FMR HUDUser page.

All of these links and additional information on each these sources can be found on the HUD Exchange page here.

HUD Permanently Sets Aside Small Area FMR Suspension

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

In a stipulated judgment filed on February 16, HUD has permanently set aside the Small Area Fair Market Rent (FMR) suspension. Last summer, using authority in the Small Area FMR regulation, HUD suspended the mandatory implementation of Small Area FMRs for 23 of 24 designated areas. Recently, a federal court found that HUD did not appropriately use its regulatory authority to suspend the mandatory components of the rule. In this document, HUD agrees to permanently set aside the suspension and continue implementing the Small Area FMR program on an expedited basis.

The full stipulated judgment and order can be found here.

HUD Updates FY 2018 FMRs

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD published a notice in the Federal Register titled “Fair Market Rents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program and Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy Program Fiscal Year 2018; Revised.” The notice updates the FY 2018 FMRs based on new survey data for the following eight areas:

  • Hawaii County, HI;
  • Hood River County, OR;
  • Jonesboro, AR HUD Metro FMR Area (HMFA);
  • Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA);
  • Santa Maria-Santa-Barbara, CA MSA;
  • Seattle-Bellevue, WA HMFA;
  • Urban Honolulu, HI MSA; and
  • Wasco County, OR.

These eight areas requested reevaluation and provided data to HUD to allow for a reevaluation. The notice also responds to comments previously submitted.

The full notice can be found here.

HUD Publishes Notice on FY 2017 Set-Aside Tenant-Protection Vouchers

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD published a notice titled “Funding Availability for Set-Aside Tenant-Protection Vouchers – Fiscal Year 2017 Funding” (PIH 2018-02; H 2018-01). In it, HUD makes 5 million dollars available from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Appropriations Act that the bill allocated for Tenant Protection-Vouchers (TPVs) for certain at-risk households in low-vacancy areas.

Major changes from the FY 2016 Funding Availability for Tenant-Protection Vouchers notice include the following:

  • Application submission has been revised in two ways:
    • Owners may submit an application for a triggering event that occurred within the past 5 years or will occur within 180 days;
    • applications will be received on a rolling basis until funding is exhausted or HUD issues a new notice for FY 2018;
  • Removes the “Rental Assistance Payments (RAP) contract expirations prior to” FY 2012 and “properties with Rent Supplement contract expirations prior to FY 2000” categories;
  • Requires owners specify between enhanced vouchers or Project-based Vouchers (PBVs) and whether the owner is willing to accept the other form of assistance where the Public and Indian Housing (PIH) Field Office is unable to find a PHA willing to administer the preferred assistance type;
  • Adopts Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and Small Area FMRs (in metropolitan areas) as a proxy for market rents;
  • Revises owner calculation of household income requirements;
  • Consolidates previous household list requirements;
  • Allows PHAs to rely on an owner’s determination of a rent burden for a household;
  • Allows owners and PHAs to use an owner’s most recent family income examination in certain circumstances;
  • Revises how low-vacancy areas are defined; and
  • Removes HUD internal standard operating procedures.

NAHRO is still in the process of reading through this notice and will supply additional details to its members.

The notice can be found here.

Harvard Webinar on Implementing Smoke-Free Public Housing

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

NAHRO has been asked to share the following webinar invitation:

Building Success: Adopting and implementing an effective smoke-free housing policy

Webinar offered on:

Wednesday, February 14, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (EST) Register Here

OR

Tuesday, February 20, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. (EST) Register Here

Please join the team from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston University School of Public Health for a webinar that will provide useful, practical guidance and support for the implementation of smoke-free policies, whether you are just starting the process or engaged in ongoing implementation. The webinar will summarize key findings from the experiences of more than 150 public housing authorities that have adopted and implemented smoke-free policies. We will offer this webinar on February 14 and again on February 20, 2018. Space is limited – register today!

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To register for the online event on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 2:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00)
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1. Go to https://huit-uc.webex.com/huit-uc/onstage/g.php?MTID=e624490f2602de87357e4b5dd3bceeb8e
2. Click “Register”.
3. On the registration form, enter your information and then click “Submit”.

Once the host approves your registration, you will receive a confirmation email message with instructions on how to join the event.

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To register for the online event on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 1:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00)
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1. Go to https://huit-uc.webex.com/huit-uc/onstage/g.php?MTID=e9b46ec4054ca4b09dfc9b4a7ce584cbe
2. Click “Register”.
3. On the registration form, enter your information and then click “Submit”.

Once the host approves your registration, you will receive a confirmation email message with instructions on how to join the event.
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For assistance
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You can contact Robyn Keske at:
rkeske@hsph.harvard.edu

https://www.webex.com

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This WebEx service includes a feature that allows audio and any documents and other materials exchanged or viewed during the session to be recorded. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to the recording, discuss your concerns with the meeting host prior to the start of the recording or do not join the session. Please note that any such recordings may be subject to discovery in the event of litigation.

Small Area FMR Guidance Published

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

HUD has published PIH 2018-01 (HA) titled “Guidance on Recent Changes in Fair Market Rent (FMR), Payment Standard, and Rent Reasonableness Requirements in the Housing Choice Voucher Program.” The guidance states that “PHAs are expected to have completed the implementation as expeditiously as possible and no later than April 1, 2018.” NAHRO will provide additional details on the guidance in the coming days.

The notice can be found here.

HUD Publishes New AFFH FAQ

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On Friday, HUD sent an email announcing a new list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that responds to the new notice delaying the submission date for the local government Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH). HUD “strongly encourages program participants to visit [the FAQ].” The new notice can be found on the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) HUD Exchange webpage.

The FAQ can be found here.

HUD Extends AFH Deadline for Local Governments

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ 2 Comments

Tomorrow, HUD will publish a notice in the Federal Register titled “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: Extension of Deadline for Submission of Assessment of Fair Housing for Consolidated Plan Participants.” The notice states that for local government consolidated plan participants, the deadline for submitting their Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) will be extended to the next AFH submission date after October 31, 2020. Although the notice will be effective immediately after publication in the Federal Register, HUD is inviting public comment for 60 days on the extension. [1/5/18 Edit – Comments are due by March 6, 2018.]

The notice extends the deadline for submission of an AFH to all local government consolidated plan program participants to the AFH submission deadline after October 31, 2020. Local governments that qualified for a previous extension under a October 24, 2016 notice are also covered under this extension. All local government program participants must still comply with the statutory obligation of affirmatively furthering fair housing.

Until a consolidated plan program participant is required to submit an AFH, it will continue to provide the AFFH Consolidated plan certification in accordance with requirements that existed prior to August 17, 2015. These requirements obligated a program participant to certify that it would affirmatively further fair housing by conducting an Analysis of Impediments (AI) to fair housing choice within the jurisdiction and take action to overcome the effects of the identified impediments.

For program participants starting a new 3 to 5 year consolidated plan cycle, the AI should continue to be updated until those consolidated plan program participants submit an AFH after October 31, 2020. Program participants that have already submitted an AFH which has been accepted by HUD must continue to execute the goals of that AFH (they are not required to perform an additional AI). Program participants that received a non-accept decision should not submit their revised AFHs. HUD will discontinue the review of AFHs currently under review and will not render an accept, deemed accepted, or non-accept determination.

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