The HUD Exchange sent an email of links to new material from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for Homeless Assistance Providers. The new materials include the following:
HUD has sent letters to PHAs announcing their 2020 Capital Fund Grant awards. In order to receive their grant awards, PHAs are required to submit an ACC Amendment to HUD. Accepting this amendment does not make any changes to a PHA’s existing ACC. The 2020 ACC Amendment for the Capital Fund Grant awards doesnot incorporate any changes and is the same version of the amendment PHAs signed in 2017.
In a key victory that NAHRO fought more than a year to achieve, the FY 2020 Appropriations Act included an industry-drafted legislative pause to HUD’s attempt to change the ACC contract. The Act prohibited HUD from requiring or enforcing any changes to the terms and conditions of the ACC as a requisite for PHAs to receive funding unless the changes are mutually agreed upon by HUD and the PHA.
On February 28, HUD published Notice PIH-2020-03 titled “Public Housing Operating Fund (OpFund) Grant Eligibility Calculations and Processing for Calendar Year (CY) 2020.” The Notice provides PHAs with instructions for calculating OpFund grants for CY 2020 and establishes submission deadlines.
There are a few changes and additions included in the notice compared to CY 2019. This includes mixed finance modernization, EnVision Center participation, MTW alternative operating subsidy agencies’ submission of form HUD-52723 for CY2020 OpFund grant eligibility, and the General Depository Agreement (GDA) (form HUD-51999).
The Notice explains in detail how OpFund eligibility is calculated, the submission process, and data HUD requires to calculate OpFund grants.
Tomorrow, HUD will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the creation of a HUD guidance portal. In the process of complying with a presidential executive order, the Department conducted a review of all of its guidance and ensured that those documents that remain in effect were linked to a single website that could be searched. The single searchable database containing all of HUD’s guidance can be found at:http://www.hud.gov/guidance.
The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials applauds HUD for creating this searchable index and looks forward to further refinements.
The pre-publication copy of the notice announcing this portal can be found here.
The Department has released a new Infectious Disease Toolkit for Continuums of Care (CoCs). The toolkits provide “structure and specific examples for planning and responding to influenza, coronavirus, and other infectious diseases.” The toolkit is composed of three documents for CoC leadership, homeless service providers, and other partners to use in responding to infectious diseases. The documents include the following:
Additionally, one of our members wanted to share these coronavirus anti-stigma resources. They mostly apply to the local King County / Seattle area, but others may also find them useful.
Earlier today, HUD sent an email with links to fact sheets from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about COVID-19 (popularly known as the coronavirus). The Department encourages PHAs to make the fact sheets available to their program participants. The fact sheets are listed below:
Last week, HUD published a notice in the Federal Register titled “Administrative Guidelines: Subsidy Layering Review for Project-Based Vouchers.” Subsidy layering reviews (SLRs) ensure that excessive public assistance is not used when combining Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) from project-based vouchers with other forms of public assistance from federal, state, or local agencies including through tax assistance or credits. Subsidy layering reviews are not required when a project is already subject to a project-based voucher (PBV) contract (even if it is recapitalized with outside funding) or when PBVs are the only assistance provided to a development. Subsidy layering requirements are required when a PBV project includes other governmental assistance. The Department and, in certain cases, the local Housing Credit Agency are the entities that conduct the review. This notice provides information about subsidy layering reviews with appendices on PHA submissions required, a sample notice of intent to participate in subsidy layering reviews by housing credit agencies, and a sample housing credit agency certification.
Tomorrow HUD will publish in the Federal Register “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act: Initial Guidance on Property Inspections and Environmental Reviews.” The act referred to in the notice is commonly call by its Senate bill number, S. 2155 and S. 2155 will be used in this post to refer to the act. NAHRO worked very closely with Congress to ensure S. 2155 provided statutory and regulatory relief to small PHAs across the country. Additionally, NAHRO also submitted comments to help guide HUD in the implementation of the provisions, many of which HUD incorporated into this notice. NAHRO is thrilled to see the critical provisions of S. 2155 being implemented!
The notice also resolves a key sticking point in the implementation of S. 2155 – what is a small rural PHA? HUD defines “small rural PHA” as a PHA that operates 550 or fewer combined Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher units and predominantly operates in a rural area. The notice takes NAHRO’s suggestions to exclude Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) units in determining unit count. The notice also draws heavily on NAHRO’s comments on how to define “predominantly operates,” taking two out of three of NAHRO’s suggestions on the definition. “Predominantly operates in a rural area” is defined as having a primary administrative building with a physical address in a rural area OR more than 50 percent of its combined Public Housing units and voucher units under Section 8(o) are in a rural area. Rural area is defined by a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulation. Currently there are 1,519 PHAs that qualify as a “small rural PHA” under this definitions and HUD has published a list of small rural PHAs (scroll to bottom on HUD link page).
Map of Small Rural PHAs
The notice also implements potions of the property inspection and environmental review provisions of S. 2155.
Small rural PHAs that operate the Housing Choice Voucher programs can now inspect their tenant-based and project-based vouchers units every three (3) years. This new inspection schedule will begin for the small rural PHA after its next currently schedule inspection. Small rural PHAs must continue to conduct any lead safety inspection that are required under the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act.
Small rural PHAs will now be exempt from Environmental Reviews with respect to development or modernization projects that cost no more than $100,000. This exemption applies to any section 9(d) Capital Fund, section 9(e) Operating Fund, or section 8(o)(13) Project Based Voucher (PBV) eligible work activity by a small rural PHA at a project site with a project cost of $100,000 or less. For project with a cost of more the $100,000, the small rural PHA must complete the appropriate Environmental Review but HUD will use the rulemaking process to proposed streamlined Environmental Reviews.
NAHRO will continue to work with HUD to ensure full implementation of S. 2155, Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.
Earlier today, HUD sent a letter to PHA Executive Directors in which HUD states that the Inventory Management System-Public Housing Information Center (IMS/PIC) will not process 50058 submissions from March 13, 2020 to March 23, 2020. During this time, the system will be upgraded to fix a security flaw. Housing agencies are asked to not use the system during this window.
This upgrade is being done to patch a security-related exploit in the system. Current web browsers will soon receive a patch that will make them unable to use the current system because of the exploit. The upgrade will also result in reduced functionality in certain system modules like PIC inventory removal and changes to existing building and unit information. The Department is developing a plan for additional support during this time.
The Department is encouraging PHAs with programs with fiscal years that end December 31 to complete submission of their SEMAP certification prior to the system entering the shutdown (i.e., testing) phase.
The system will resume operation on March 24, 2020. At that time, the Department will publish step by step instructions for PHAs and Field Offices to address potential problems.
The NAHRO Blog: Legislative & Policy Updates from Washington, DC 