Section 8

HUD Publishes FY 2019 FMRs

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

In a notice titled “Fair Market Rents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy, and Other Programs Fiscal Year 2019,” HUD announced the publication of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Fair Market Rents (FMRs). Comments on the FMRs are due by October 1, 2018. The effective date of the FMRs are October 1, 2018.

The methodology used to calculate these FMRs remain the same as it was for the FY 2018 FMRs. The methodology used to calculate these Small Area FMRs remain the same as it was for the FY 2018 Small Area FMRs. The Department is continuing to implement certain changes (which NAHRO commented on) made in calculating FY 2018 Small Area FMRs. Additionally, as mandated by the Small Area FMR rule, HUD is limiting the amount a FMR or Small Area FMR may decrease to no greater than 10 percent.

The notice also discusses the calculation of Renewal Funding Inflation Factors (RFIFs)–the annual inflation factor by which voucher renewal funding is increased. The Department was considering changing how it calculates RFIFs. The Department notes that most comments “directed HUD to continue using FMR surveys in the calculation of RFIFs.” (Read NAHRO’s RFIF comments here.) The Department is still contemplating how best to incorporate research surveys into the calculation of RFIFs.

FY 2019 FMRs can be found here.

FY 2019 Small Area FMRs can be found here.

The notice announcing the publication of the FMRs can be found here.

HUD Creates New Landlord Task Force

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD published a press release announcing that it would create a new Landlord Task Force. The task force is being created as a response to two new studies which found that most landlords do not accept vouchers and, in those instances where landlords do accept vouchers, the landlords are dissatisfied with the administrative burdens associated with the vouchers. The Department will begin a landlord engagement campaign on September 20th in Washington DC, where it will present findings from the two studies. There will also be landlord forums in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Salem, Oregon. After receiving feedback from these forums, the task force will provide policy recommendations to the Secretary to increase landlord participation in the Housing Choice Voucher program.

The two studies which served as the impetus for the creation of the task force are titled “Pilot Study of Landlord Acceptance in the Housing Choice Voucher Program” and “Urban Landlords and the Housing Choice Voucher Program: A Research Report.” The former study will be released in a month and looked at five cities: Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Fort Worth, Newark, and Washington, D.C. It found that many landlords did not accept vouchers, especially in high opportunity areas. The latter study examined three areas: Baltimore, Cleveland, and Dallas. It found that while many landlords appreciated the reliable rent payments of the Housing Choice Voucher program, they were frustrated with inspections and how housing authorities handle tenant disputes.

A summary of Pilot Study of Landlord Acceptance in the Housing Choice Voucher Program can be found here. (The full study will be released next month.)

The Urban Landlords and the Housing Choice Voucher Program: A Research Report can be found here.

The Department’s press release on the new task force can be found here.

HUD to Reopen AFFH Rule

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD published a press release announcing that it published a notice inviting public comment on amendments to its Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation.

[8/16/18 Edit – the notice has been published in the Federal Register. It can be found here. The comment due date is October 15, 2018.]

The Department wishes to receive comments on amending the rule so that it does the following:

  1. minimizes regulatory burden while more effectively aiding program participants to meet their statutory obligations;
  2. creates a process focused primarily on accomplishing positive results, rather than on analysis;
  3. provides for greater local control and innovation;
  4. seeks to encourage actions that increase housing choice, including through greater housing supply; and
  5. more efficiently utilizes HUD resources.

Currently, HUD has suspended the obligation of local governments to file Assessments of Fair Housing (AFHs) using the local government tool. The Department believed that the tool was “confusing, difficult to use, contained errors, and frequently produced unacceptable assessments, and otherwise required an unsustainable level of technical assistance.” There is currently a lawsuit brought by three civil rights groups filed against HUD on its action suspending requirements of the rule.

NAHRO will provide additional information to our members as we continue to read through the notice and as additional information becomes available.

The Department’s press release can be found here.

A pre-publication copy of the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking can be found here.

[8/16/18 Edit – the published copy can be found here.]

RAD Roundup – RAD Supplemental Guidance

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

There has been a lot of activity around the new RAD guidance documents over the past few days. This post is meant to compile a lot of that information in one place.

New RAD Guidance Documents:

Additional HUD Documentation of new RAD Guidance Documents:

Additional non-HUD Posts:

 

HUD Publishes Notice on Voluntary Transfer and Consolidation of HCV Programs

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

HUD has published PIH 2018-12 titled “Process for Public Housing Agency Volunteer Transfers and Consolidations of Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Vouchers.” The notice describes the process by which a PHA may request a voluntary transfer or a consolidation of the agency’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. In a voluntary transfer, one PHA’s identifying number and Consolidated Annual Contributions Contract (CACC) remains intact, while in a consolidation, both or all of the PHA’s names, CACCs, and identifying numbers are terminated and replaced. The notice applies to PHAs that administer the HCV program, including project-based vouchers (PBVs), but excludes the Public Housing Low-Rent program and the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation program.

Click below for additional information.

Continue reading →

HUD Publishes New RAD Guidance

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Tomorrow, HUD will publish new Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) guidance in the form of two new Federal Register notices. The Department has also published a new RAD Public and Indian Housing (PIH) Notice. The three new guidance documents are the following:

  1. Rental Assistance Demonstration: Implementation of Certain Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Appropriations Act Provisions (link is to a pre-publication copy);
    1. [7/3/18 Edit – The final, published document can be found here];
  2. Rental Assistance Demonstration: Supplemental Guidance on Final Notice (link is to a pre-publication copy);
    1. [7/3/18 Edit – The final, published document can be found here]; and
  3. PIH-2018-11 – Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) – Supplemental Guidance.

[7/2/18 11:55 am edit – At the same time this post was published, HUD sent a RADBlast! email with additional information.

  • Modified FY 16 RAD Rents can be found here.
  • HUD will host a webinar on July 9, 2018 at 2 pm ET. Registration can be found here.
  • Finally, a version of the RAD notice revised version 3 as amended with the Supplemental Notice can be found here.]

The first notice announces several things:

  1. HUD will use rent levels based on the FY 18 RAD rent base year for Commitments to enter into a HAP contract (CHAPs), portfolio awards, and multi-phase awards issued on or after January 1, 2019. Those rent levels will be published once the final public housing operating subsidy obligation is made for FY 18.
  2. For awards before Jan. 1, 2019, HUD will modify the FY 16 RAD rent base year by replacing the PHA’s FY 16 Capital Fund Formula Grant  with the PHA’s FY 18 Capital Fund Formula Grant (i.e., in calculating RAD rents before Jan. 1, 2019, HUD will use FY 18 Capital Grant allocations, but FY 16 Operating Fund allocations and tenant rents);
  3. The Department can award RAD authority to certain projects where PHAs have submitted Letters of Interest (LOIs) to reserve their position on the RAD waiting list if they submit a complete RAD application within 60 days of publication of the notice;
  4. For all multi-phase awards issued after March 22, 2018, PHAs will have until September 30, 2024 to submit an application for the final phase of the project covered by the multi-phase award; and
  5. HUD may approve a replacement CHAP without new application materials, when a PHA voluntarily withdraws a project and requests new RAD authority for the same project within one month thereafter.

The second notice summarizes certain aspects of the PIH notice. It expands Rent Bundling such that PHAs may bundle between RAD project-based vouchers and non-RAD project-based vouchers. It allows PHAs to establish a project-specific utility allowances for Covered Projects. It provides alternative developer fee limits when a PHA adopts a waiting list preference for households exiting homelessness. It establishes that HUD will disapprove a proposed conversion where a PHA is disposing units at a proposed project and HUD determines that the use of disposition and RAD undermines the unit replacement requirements of RAD. It creates a streamlined conversion option for PHAs that have a very small public housing portfolio of 50 units or less that will not involve any rehabilitation, new construction, or relocation.

NAHRO members will receive additional coverage on these notices and the RAD program.

HUD Voucher NOFAs extended

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

NAHRO members recently emailed me to let me know that HUD has extended two of their voucher NOFA deadlines. According to information posted on HUD’s Public and Indian Housing website the following voucher Notice of Funding Availability (NOFAs) have extended deadlines:

  • New 2017 Mainstream Voucher Program Deadline – June 20, 2018; and
  • New Family Unification Program NOFA for Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018 Deadline – July 26, 2018.

Additionally, the new deadline for joining ConnectHomeUSA is June 29th, 2018.

HCV Forecasting Tool Updated

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

I have received word from a HUD official that the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Forecasting Tool has been updated. The forecasting tool provides the means to successfully plan and manage a voucher program. The tool has been updated with the final funding numbers for 2018, as well as reconciled 12/31/2017 Restricted Net Position (RNP) numbers for most PHAs.

Additionally, the tool has been updated with several new features:

  • the ability to automatically populate PIC EOP report information;
  • the ability to incorporate different success rates and time from issuance to HAP rates depending on the voucher type;
  • the ability to quickly move information from an old tool to a new tool on the Success Rate Tracker Tab; and
  • a better method for estimating potential offset numbers, based on HUD’s most recent offset-calculating methods.

The tool can be accessed from HUD’s Office of Housing Choice Vouchers webpage.

HUD Publishes New RAD and Section 18 Blend Document

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD’s Office of Recapitalization sent a RADBlast! email announcing the publication of a Frequently-Asked-Questions (FAQ) document about using HUD’s new demolition and disposition notice–PIH 2018-04 (HA)–in conjunction with the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.

Specifically, the document answers questions around the provision in the demolition and disposition notice that allows PHAs to convert at least 75 percent of public housing units in a project under RAD–which meet the requirements of the RAD Final Implementation Notice REV-3, H-2017-3–and to convert through disposition up to 25 percent of public housing units within the project to Section 8 project-based voucher assistance.

For those contemplating completing a RAD transaction, this provision is another tool to help finance the deal.

The RAD-Section 18 Blend document can be found at the RAD Resource Desk or here.