HUD

HUD’s Oversight and Evaluation Division Renamed the Inspection Standards & Data for Vouchers Division

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD sent an email stating that HUD’s Oversight and Evaluation Division (OED)–in the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC)–would be renamed the Inspection Standards & Data for Vouchers (ISDV) Division. The ISDV Division is the group within HUD running the UPCS-V (the inspections protocol which will be the successor to the HQS protocol in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program) Demonstration. The email notes that the name change “serves to align the division’s name with [its] mission, culture, services and philosophy.” ISDV will strive to maintain a culture of transparency; streamline inspections, while maintaining accuracy; and increase owners’ and tenants’ ability to access information about their homes.

ISDV Division’s website can be found here.

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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2012 Offset Litigation Update

~ Georgi Banna ~ 2 Comments

This update is for the plaintiffs of the 2017 judgment on the 2012 public housing offset litigation (the first round of litigation.)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a request to the Judgment Fund for the payment of damages on December 21, 2017, for all but 23 of the plaintiffs. The reason a payment request was not sent for the other 23 is that the plaintiff’s attorneys did not have the banking information when they originally sent the information for the other plaintiffs to DOJ. The attorneys now have the banking information for 18 of the 23 and will send it to DOJ in the near future. If you are one of the five remaining plaintiffs that have not submitted your banking information, submit your banking information as soon as possible to the plaintiff’s attorneys.

Assuming there aren’t any problems with the information that DOJ sent to the Judgment Fund, the awardee plaintiffs should receive the damages to which you are entitled in a few weeks. Please note that the Judgment Fund will not notify you when it wires your payments to you. Therefore, you will have to monitor the bank account into which you requested that the funds be wired to determine when you receive your payment.

HUD Sends Email on Revocation of Small Area FMR Suspension

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On Friday, December 29, HUD sent an email stating that a Federal Court has set aside the Small Area FMR Suspension. The suspension, citing harm to vulnerable households, would have delayed the implementation of Small Area FMRs until 2020. The email states that “PHAs must immediately take all steps necessary with respect to dedicating monetary and human resources towards the implementation; as well as integrating the new FMR requirements in any planning the PHA conducts. As expeditiously as possible, HUD will issue guidance addressing implementation issues, technical assistance, and potential obstacles to implementation.”

NAHRO is in the process of working with HUD to help implement Small Area FMRs for those members who must now use them.

HUD OIG Releases Semiannual Report to Congress

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

HUD’s Office of Inspector General has published their semiannual report to Congress. These reports are “intended to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the Agency has made and recommendations for improvement.”

The report can be found here.

HUD Sends HCV Funding “Get Ready” Letter

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD’s Financial Management Center sent a letter informing PHAs of potential funding scenarios for Calendar Year (CY) 2018. The letter stated that the federal budget is currently being governed by a Continuing Resolution (CR) until Jan. 19, 2018. At that time, Congress may pass a budget or a year-long CR. The letter uses the amounts allocated for Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) and Administrative Fees in the House and Senate appropriations bills to estimate prorations for 2018. These estimations can be found in the table below.

Senate bill (S. 1655) House bill (H.R. 3353)
Administrative Fee 76.153% 70.233%
Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) 98.810% 95.301%

HUD notes that the proration levels were calculated by “estimating the full HCV program need for 2018 and comparing the program need to the available funding.” HUD recommends that PHAs assess their projected leasing and spending by modeling both scenarios. HUD also recommends using the forecasting tool.

The full letter can be read here (in Word format).

[12/28/17 Edit – HUD FMC sent another letter with an alternative link to the tool (if you were having trouble with the link above).]

HCV Forecasting Tool Now Incorporates Inflation Factor for 2018

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

A HUD official emailed us to let us know that the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Forecasting tool now includes an estimated inflation factor for 2018. A PHA forecasting HAP for next year using the tool can now use both an estimated Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) proration (the default proration set for 2018 is 96%; it can be changed to model different scenarios) and an estimated inflation factor (the inflation factor is estimated to be 2.05% for 56% of PHAs). Setting a proration to 96% and using an inflation factor of 2% is equivalent to a 98% proration using the tool before this revision.

The HCV two-year tool can be accessed from HUD’s Office of Housing Choice Vouchers website.

HUD Announces FY 2017 FSS Awards

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

On Friday, December 15, HUD announced $75 million in awards for the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program for the public housing, housing choice voucher, and project-based rental assistance programs. Concurrently, HUD also marked the 25th anniversary of the FSS program.

“For 25 years, HUD and our local partners have been connecting residents to job training, childcare and other resources that expand their opportunities and lead them towards higher paying jobs and self-sufficiency” said Secretary Carson. From 2007 to 2016, the average household income of a FSS program participant increased from approximately $10,000 to $27,000 at the time of completion.

A list of the FY 2017 FSS grant awards can be found here.

HUD’s press release can be found here.

A document titled “25 Years of Family Self-Sufficiency Program: Families Working, Families Prospering” can be found here.