Section 8

NAHRO Submits Regulatory Reform Comments to HUD

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

On June 14, NAHRO submitted its comment letter to HUD’s request for comment on Reducing Regulatory Burden; Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda Under Executive Order 13777.

NAHRO identified many regulations that would make good candidates for streamlining. Each of the regulations met at least one of the following reasons for streamlining:

(a) The regulation results “in the elimination of jobs, or inhibits job creation”;

(b) The regulation is “outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective”;

(c) The regulation imposes “costs that exceed benefits”; or

(d) The regulation creates a “serious inconsistency or otherwise interferes with regulatory reform initiatives and policies.”

The regulations listed are non-exhaustive. NAHRO’s comment letter is a start of a conversation between the Department and NAHRO. Given the limited time to compile this list, NAHRO expects to identify additional avenues for further regulatory streamlining, which we will share with the HUD.

NAHRO’s comment letter is organized into three sections: Public Housing and Section 8 recommendations; Community Planning and Development; and recommendations on cross-cutting programs and initiatives. Within each major section are topic headers with NAHRO’s recommendation on each topic.

Deadline Today for HUD’s VAWA 2013 Emergency Transfer Plan Requirements

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

As NAHRO previously reported, HUD published a final rule last year that provides expanded housing protections for survivors of violence and fully codifies the provisions of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2013 into HUD regulations. Most of the final rule’s requirements became effective on December 16, 2016, but covered housing provider are also required to comply with rule’s emergency transfer plan provisions (and be able to begin making transfers) no later than today – June 14, 2017.

Last month, NAHRO policy staff conducted a webinar that discusses compliance with HUD’s final rule and the requirements for completing an emergency transfer plan and providing emergency transfers. This recording is available for purchase online at NAHRO’s Digital Store.

HUD Extends Deadline to Apply for Higher Administrative Fee Rates

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, HUD sent an email extending the deadline to apply for higher administrative fee rates to Friday, June 23, 2017 at 5 pm ET. Earlier, HUD had extended the deadline for applying for Blended Administrative Fee Rates to the same date. The application method remains the same as noted in Notice PIH 2017-07 titled “Guidance related to (1) Eligibility for Potential Shortfall Funding Under the Calendar Year (CY) 2017 Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) Renewal Set-Aside for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and (2) CY 2017 Administrative Fees.”

Click below for additional details on how to apply.

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Deadline for Applying for Blended Administrative Fee Rates for the HCV Program Extended

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD emailed information stating that the deadline for applying for a blended administrative fee rate for the Housing Choice Voucher Program has been extended to Friday, June 23, 2017 at 5 pm Eastern Time. As noted in Notice PIH 2017-07 titled “Guidance related to (1) Eligibility for Potential Shortfall Funding Under the Calendar Year (CY) 2017 Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) Renewal Set-Aside for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and (2) CY 2017 Administrative Fees,” PHAs that serve multiple administrative fee areas may request a blended rate based on the locations of their assisted units. The blended rate will be used for CY 2017.

PHAs may submit the blended administrative fee request at PIHFinancialManagementDivision@hud.gov using the subject line “[PHA Number – i.e., PHA xxx], 2017 Request for Blended Rate Administrative Fees.” Alternatively, PHAs may submit a request to the following physical mailing address:

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Housing Voucher Programs, Attn: Miguel Fontanez, Director, HV Financial Management Division, Room 4222, 451 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20410.

Either submit electronically or by physical mail–not both.

NAHRO, CAP Offer Free Webinar on PHA-CAA Partnerships

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

Does your Public Housing Authority (PHA) want to provide necessary non-housing services to your residents, such as access to case management, transportation services, food security, or the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)? Is your Community Action Agency (CAA) looking for better ways to partner with your local PHA to help your clients find safe, secure, affordable housing? If so, please join the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) and the Community Action Partnership (CAP) for a free webinar to learn about how PHAs and CAAs work hand-in-hand to help address poverty in communities across the nation.

On June 20, from 1:30-3:00 p.m. EDT, NAHRO Senior Director of Congressional Relations John Bohm, CAP CEO Denise Harlow, and NAHRO and CAP staff will discuss the results of a recent survey conducted by NAHRO and CAP, provide examples of established working relationships between PHAs and CAAs, and examine the results achieved by these partnerships.

Nationally, PHAs help over 4.8 million families and individuals by providing safe, decent, affordable housing for families in need. Community Action Agencies provide critical programs to more than 15 million people with low incomes every year. Collaboration increases the capacity of both PHAs and CAAs, and making the CAA programs and services available to public housing residents puts communities are in a far better position to combat poverty. Join us for this free webinar to learn how to build and strengthen these collaborations.

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HUD REAC Publishes UPCS-V Version 2.5

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

HUD REAC’s Oversight and Evaluation Division (OED) has published Version 2.5 of the UPCS-V protocol. The UPCS-V protocol is an inspections protocol that HUD is developing as a successor to the current Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspections protocol currently in use for the Housing Choice Voucher Program. HUD is developing the protocol in a Demonstration program with nearly 250 PHAs participating.

OED has posted both the protocol itself and a document listing all the changes from version 2.0 of the UPCS-V protocol. At this time, it looks like the majority of changes are language related for clarity or grammar, with a few technical changes.

The UPCS-V 2.5 protocol can be found here.

The document listing changes from the UPCS-V 2.0 protocol to the UPCS-V 2.5 protocol can be found here.

HUD Calculates Renewal Funding Inflation Factors for HCV Program

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Tomorrow, June 8, HUD will publish a notice in the Federal Register titled “Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program-Fiscal year (FY) 2017 Inflation Factors for Public Housing Agency (PHA) Renewal Funding.” The notice outlines the methodology for calculating Renewal Funding Inflation Factors (RFIFs). These factors are applied to leasing and cost data to determine current year Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program eligibility (i.e., these factors determine how much additional money PHAs need to maintain the same number and quality of vouchers as the previous year). Tables showing RFIFs will be available from HUD here (when posted after this notice is published in the Federal Register). The pre-publication notice can be found here.

HUD calculates RFIFs with a three-step process. First, HUD forecasts a national inflation factor. Second, HUD calculates individual area inflation factors (using annual changes in the two-bedroom Fair Market Rent [FMR] for the area). Third, HUD scales the individual area inflation factors so that the weighted average equals the national average, but ensures that each area has an inflation factor of no less than one. This year, 2017, HUD has changed its methodology so that the first step uses forecasts to calculate per unit costs (PUCs) instead of relying on backward-looking historical data.

[6/8/17 Edit – The published notice can be found here.]

Click the link below to read a more detailed description of the methodology.

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HUD to Investigate Perception of Small Area FMRs

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Tomorrow, HUD will publish a notice in the Federal Register titled “30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collections: Small Area Fair Market Rent Demonstration Evaluation.” The notice announces an information collection to determine perception of the shift from regular Fair Market Rents (FMRs) to Small Area FMRs among voucher holders and landlords.

For voucher holders, HUD will investigate whether new and current voucher holders understood how shifting to Small Area FMRs changed their housing options, whether voucher holders who moved searched in new neighborhoods, and whether voucher holders moved at a different rate.[1]

For landlords, HUD will investigate whether landlords were aware of the shift to Small Area FMRs, whether this affected their willingness to rent to voucher holders, and the level at which they set their rents.[1]

To investigate, HUD will interview 70 tenants and 35 landlords. Both groups will be interviewed in the areas served by the PHAs in the Small Area FMR Demonstration. Incentive payments of $20 for tenants and $40 for landlords will be made.

HUD seeks comments on the following: 1) Is the information collection necessary and does it have practical utility; 2) the accuracy of the information collection burden; 3) ways to enhance the quality of the information collected; and 4) ways to minimize the burden of the information collected. Comments will be due 30 days after the notice is published. The pre-publication notice can be found here.

[6/2/17 Edit – The notice has been published in the Federal Register, and comments are due on July 3, 2017. The notice can be found here.]

[1] – NAHRO notes that this information would have been useful to know before HUD mandatorily directed PHAs to implement Small Area FMRs in certain areas.

ConnectHome to Expand to Over 100 Communities

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Last week, EveryoneOn, in partnership with HUD, announced the expansion of the ConnectHome pilot. First unveiled in 2015 by the Obama Administration, ConnectHome was a White House initiative aimed at narrowing the digital divide within 28 pilot communities (which included participation from 23 NAHRO member agencies). ConnectHome tested the impact of cross-sector collaborators using non-government resources in order to accelerate the adoption and utilization of broadband technology by families living in HUD-assisted housing

Beginning this summer, the expansion of ConnectHome – which has been rebranded as “ConnectHOME Nation” – will launch a new cohort of communities with the goal of reaching over 100 communities and connecting 350,000 people living in public housing by 2020.

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