The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be extending the comment period on its proposed rule to affirmatively further fair housing. The new comment deadline is April 24, 2023. The Department states that the “extension will allow interested persons additional time to analyze the proposal and prepare their comments.”
A pre-publication copy of the extension can be found here.
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.
| Scenario | SLR Reviewer | No 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. | HUD | Yes. |
The full notice can be found here.
In mid-March, HUD published a notice titled “Foster Youth to Independence Initiative” (PIH 2023-04). The notice does several things:
The full notice can be found here.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently published a Housing Mobility Toolkit. The toolkit provides “examples and sample materials for Public Housing [Agencies] and their partners to adapt and implement a Housing Mobility Program in their community.” Mobility programs allow voucher program participants greater ability to move into areas of opportunity, if they choose. Research shows that moving to areas of opportunity can have positive impacts on physical health, mental health, and the lifetime earnings for children under the age of 13.
The Housing Mobility Toolkit includes a variety of documents:
Webinar on the Toolkit
The Department will be hosting a webinar on the toolkit on April 26 at 1 pm ET. You can register for the webinar here. The webinar will be recorded and will eventually be posted here.
The full toolkit can be found here.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has finalized a rule titled “Reinstatement of HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Standard.” The Department has posted a pre-publication copy of the final rule on its website. The rule will go into effect 30 days after it has been published in the Federal Register.
The current final rule would recodify a 2013 rule on disparate impact. The 2013 rule is titled “Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Discriminatory Effects Standard.” The 2013 rule was altered by a rule published in 2020 titled “HUD’s Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard.” The 2020 rule would have made significant changes to, among other things, a three-part burden-shifting test that determined whether a particular practice had an “unjustified discriminatory effect.”
A federal court stayed the implementation and enforcement of the 2020 rule, so the 2013 rule remained in effect, and will continue to remain in effect with this final rule which “reinstates and maintains the 2013 rule.”
The pre-publication copy of the final rule can be found here.
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).
In late Jan. HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) published a notice titled “Notice to Public Regarding FHEO Enforcement Authority and Procedures: Violence Against Women Act 2022 (VAWA)” (FHEO 2023-01). The 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) included new requirements for HUD to implement and enforce. The notice implements those requirements related to the filing and processing of individual VAWA complaints and notifies the public of HUD’s authority to investigate VAWA violations.
The notice states that FHEO will “implement and enforce the housing provisions of VAWA with, and in a manner that provides, the same rights and remedies as those provided for in the Fair Housing Act.” Additionally, the notice announces that HUD will engage in rulemaking to fully implement the compliance review provisions of the 2022 reauthorization of VAWA.
People who believe their VAWA rights have been violated may file a complaint here.
The full notice may be found here.
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.
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 readingOn 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:
The NAHRO Blog: Legislative & Policy Updates from Washington, DC 