On April 21st, from 2 pm to 3 pm ET, HUD will host a webinar on how PHAs can expand their project-based voucher (PBV) portfolio. According to HUD, “[t]his webinar will review the PBV program requirement, highlight PBV resources, and provide case studies for how PHAs have used PBVs to improve HCV program utilization.”
Registration for the webinar can be found here.
On April 11th, HUD published a notice extending the time in which certain Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waivers could be applied for in an expedited manner. The notice is titled “Streamlined Regulatory Waivers for the Housing Choice Voucher (including Mainstream and Mod Rehab) Program” (PIH 2022-09).
The notice extends the deadline–until September 30, 2022–to apply for three specific waivers that apply to the Housing Choice Voucher program. These waivers were previously available through prior notices, but the deadline to apply through the expedited process had ended.
The three waivers that are still available for the HCV program are the following:
In requesting a waiver, the PHA must articulate a good cause justification. The good cause justification must include three elements: 1) why the PHA needs the waiver; 2) the impact on PHA operations or applicants if the waiver is not provided; and 3) the proposed waiver duration. The waiver may not extend past Dec. 31, 2022. The notice provides examples of good cause.
To request a waiver, PHAs should email PIH_Expedited_Waivers@hud.gov. The notice provides instructions on the information required and the proper formatting of the email request.
The full notice can be found here.
In April, HUD released a notice providing an opportunity for PHAs to access additional Mainstream vouchers. The notice is titled “Mainstream Vouchers – Non-Competitive Opportunity for Additional Vouchers Authorized by the CARES Act and Extraordinary Administrative Funding” (Notice PIH 2022-07). The notice provides an opportunity for PHAs to receive new Mainstream vouchers and extraordinary administrative fees. The Department will make up to $35 million available for these vouchers. The deadline to apply for these vouchers and additional administrative fees is no later than May 6, 2022 at 11:59 pm ET.
Housing agencies that are eligible for these vouchers must meet certain requirements. Those PHAs that have previously received Mainstream vouchers from certain notices and that have a Mainstream voucher utilization rate of 80% or higher as of Nov. 2021 are eligible.
To receive an allocation of new Mainstream vouchers, a PHA, through its Executive Director (or equivalent position), must submit a form HUD-52515, according to instructions in the notice, via email to MainstreamFunding@hud.gov. The subject line of the email must include the PHA’s unique identifying number and the words “Request for Mainstream Award for COVID-19 Response.” Outstanding civil rights matters must be resolved before the Department will award additional Mainstream vouchers under this notice.
The Department will award vouchers by granting either the number of vouchers the PHA requests or number of vouchers determined by the PHA’s size, if the number the PHA requests is larger than the number allocated by size. HUD may, at its discretion, grant fewer vouchers. The maximum number of vouchers HUD will grant according to PHA size is detailed below:
The deadline for to apply for these vouchers is no later than May 6, 2022 at 11:59 pm ET.
Additionally, extraordinary administrative fees will also be made available. The Department will make available $500 dollars per voucher awarded in certain prior Mainstream voucher notices and this notice. Applications for these administrative fees must be received no later than May 6, 2022 at 11:59 pm ET. To apply for the funds a PHA’s Executive Director, or equivalent position, must send an email to MainstreamFunding@hud.gov, with a subject line that includes the PHA’s unique identifying code and the words “EAF Mainstream Application” and includes a statement printed in the notice. The notice also contains certain other details about what should be included in the application email.
The full notice can be found here.
On March 30, HUD sent an email to Executive Directors of PHAs noting that calendar year (CY) 2022 administrative fee rates have been posted to HUD’s website. Administrative fees are used by agencies to cover the costs of operating the Housing Choice Voucher program. Advanced administrative fee prorations for the months of April through May 2022 were at 88% proration. Final national prorations will be provided via email.
The following files may be found on HUD’s website:
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted many PHAs’ voucher operations. In recognition of this, HUD has afforded PHAs that meet certain criteria the opportunity to waive their Section 8 Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) scores in recognition of the pandemic environment. There are also certain other instances when PHAs may not receive a SEMAP score. This blog post illustrates three instances where a PHA may not receive a SEMAP score.
Instances Where a Prior SEMAP Score Is Carried Forward
PHAs with a fiscal year end (FYE) on Dec. 31, 2021 will have their most recent SEMAP score on record carried forward. See pages 39 and 40 of Notice PIH 2021-14 (HA). (Note: For these PHAs, they will not qualify for the expedited waiver described below for their FYE on Dec. 31, 2022.)
PHAs that Receive an Expedited SEMAP Waiver
PHAs with a FYE of 3/31/22, 6/30/22 or 9/30/22 may request to waive the application of SEMAP in its entirety, but only if the PHA has SEMAP indicators that were–directly or indirectly–affected because of a disruption to PHA operations caused by the PHA’s adoption of CARES Act waivers. See page 4 of Notice PIH 2021-34. Additional information on applying for the SEMAP waiver or other expedited waivers can be found in Notice PIH 2021-34. The deadline to apply for expedited waivers has been extended to April 1, 2022. After April 1, PHAs may still apply for a regulatory waiver, but the expedited waiver process will no longer be available. See Notice PIH 2022-04.
Certain Small PHAs (Fewer than 250 Assisted Units)
HUD’s regulations state that HUD will assess and score SEMAP for PHAs with fewer than 250 assisted units every other PHA fiscal year unless the PHA elects to have itself scored annually or the PHA is troubled. 24 CFR 982.105(a)(2). Clarifying HUD guidance states that non-troubled PHAs with fewer than than 250 assisted units and FYEs of 3/31/2022 or 6/30/2022 do not have to have submit a SEMAP certification. See chart and accompanying text on page 3 of the IMS-PIC SEMAP Sub Module PHA Certification and PHA Appeal Submission Instructions, March 2019.
PHAs that fall into one of these categories may not receive an SEMAP score from HUD.
HUD has published a guide for using Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs). The purpose of the guide is to provide an overview of EHVs, highlight program best practices, and reduce inequities. Topics covered by the guide include the following :
The full guide can be found here.
HUD has published their CARES Act Waiver Reporting Tool (CAWRT; pronounced “cart”) dashboard. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This act gave HUD the authority to offer PHAs the option to waive certain statutory and regulatory requirements. In late 2021, HUD requested that all PHAs fill out a survey on which, if any, waivers they used. The Department took that information and created a publicly accessible dashboard on which PHAs used waivers and which waivers they used.
The CAWRT dashboard can be found here.
As previously reported by NAHRO, HUD has now officially extended the deadline to April 1st for submitting a request for an expedited waiver. The new notice, Notice PIH 2022-04, states the following:
“This notice amends PIH-2021-34 solely by extending the submission deadline in Section 5 of the notice from March 1, 2022 to April 1, 2022. No additional submission extensions will be issued.”
From NAHRO’s discussions with HUD staff, NAHRO was able to learn that even after the deadline, PHAs will be able to apply for these waivers, but post-deadline requests will not go through the expedited waiver process. In addition, the simplified payment standard waiver process in the expedited waiver notice will remain in place after the deadline. Additional details on that process remaining in place will be explained in a future notice.
The full notice extending the deadline to April 1st can be found here.
On Feb. 28th, HUD sent an email to PHA Executive Directors informing them that the Voucher Management System (VMS) will be revised on March 25th (though the updates should be visible to end users on April 4th). The envisioned changes include revising “existing fields, add[ing] new fields, and delet[ing] fields that are not necessary.” Some of the fields will not be used immediately, but will gain functionality in the future as the appropriate funding has been awarded.
The Department has updated the VMS Quick Reference Guide to reflect these changes. It can be found here.
Charts of the revisions, additions, and deletions of VMS fields can be found below.
Continue readingOn Feb. 18, HUD issued a notice titled “Guidance on Unit Designation Categories and Accessible Designation Categories in IMS/PIC” (Notice PIH-2022-03 (HA)). This notice instructs PHAs to properly classify their units in IMS/PIC. In particular, units that may have been set aside as “Designated Housing,” for elderly families, disabled families, or units for both elderly and disabled families after approved by HUD through a Designated Housing Plan (DHP), should be properly classified. Additionally, units that are classified with an “Accessible Designation,” for people with a mobility or sensory impairment or to contain some accessible features, should also be properly classified. PHAs should review their portfolios and make changes within 30 days of the publication of this notice.
Designated Housing
The Sept. 2010 IMS/PIC system release implemented three significant changes to the unit designation categories. First, units titled “Family Unit, Elderly Unit, Family and Disabled, and Elderly and Disabled” were placed in the “General Occupancy” category. Second, “Mixed Elderly and Disabled Not HUD Officially Designated” was created as a new unit designation category. Third, “Merged Units” were reported in the unit designation detail.
Housing agencies must review their portfolios and make changes within 30 days of the publication of the notice. Any issues or corrections must be worked out by March 31, 2022. The Department will publish data highlighting discrepancies between counts of designated units in IMS/PIC and those approved in Designated Housing Plans. That information will be available here.
Accessible Designation
The Sept. 2010 IMS/PIC system release implemented the accessible designation categories. Housing agencies must ensure that units are properly categorized according to the definitions in the notice. The notice provides definitions for the following units: mobility impairment; hearing/visual impairment; partially accessible; and not accessible.
Housing agencies must review their portfolios and make changes within 30 days of the publication of the notice. Any issues or corrections must be worked out by March 31, 2022. Additionally, accessible designations require the PHA to obtain HUD user approval to a change in IMS/PIC. Finally, PHAs must continue to maintain the accuracy of accessible designation categories moving forward.
The notice provides instructions for making the necessary changes to both “Designated Housing” units and units with an “Accessible Designation” in IMS/PIC.
The full notice can be found here.
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