HUD to Publish Technical Corrections to Certain HOTMA Voucher Provisions

Tomorrow, June 14, HUD will publish in the Federal Register a notice titled “Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act of 2016: Implementation of Various Section 8 Voucher Provisions; Corrections.” This notice makes technical corrections to the prior notice published by HUD implementing certain HOTMA voucher provisions. The effective date for the original notice and the corrections remains April 18, 2017.

Corrections in this notice include the following:

  • Clarifies that in the “Units Owned by a PHA” section, the threshold for control should be “more than 50 percent” rather than “50 percent or more”;
  • Units receiving assistance under section 201 of the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 (the Flexible Subsidy program) are now excepted (i.e., not counted towards the limitation) from the Project-based voucher (PBV) general cap and income-mixing cap;
  • For PBV new construction units that qualify as replacement housing for covered units and are exempt from the general cap, one of the requirements should read “site of the original development” instead of “site of the original public housing development”;
  • Clarifies that PHAs may not rely solely on a supportive services program that would require a family to engage in the supportive services once the family enrolls (e.g., Family Self-Sufficiency), for the unit to meet the supportive services exception (which excepts families eligible for supportive services, instead of receiving supportive services from the PBV income-mixing cap);
  • Clarifies that projects in a census tract with a poverty rate of 20 percent or less are subject to a alternative income mixing requirement of the greater of 25 units or 40 percent of the units (the original notice implied that these projects were completely excluded from the income-mixing cap);
  • Corrects an incorrect definition of new construction units that qualify for the exception as replacement housing for the income-mixing PBV cap–the definition in C.3.D(2)(b) (describing projects not subject to the income-mixing cap) is supposed to match the definition in section C.2.C(2)(b);
  • Clarifies that in those instances where a PHA is engaged in an initiative to improve, develop, or replace a public housing property or site to attach PBVs to projects that a PHA has an ownership or controlling interest without following a competitive process, the requirement that rehabilitation or construction on the project must have a minimum of $25,000 per unit in hard costs is not applicable in a situation where the PHA is replacing a public housing property or site with existing housing owned or controlled by the PHA; and
  • Makes numerous typographical corrections.

The pre-publication notice making corrections can be found here.

The original notice implementing certain HOTMA voucher provisions can be found here.

NAHRO’s prior blog post on the effective date of these certain HOTMA voucher provisions can be found here.

HUD Releases Smoke-Free Guidebook

On July 13, HUD released a new guidebook on implementing HUD’s Smoke-Free Policy in Public Housing relating to the “Instituting Smoke-Free Public Housing” Final Rule. The guidebook includes reasons to adopt a smoke-free policy, policy dates and deadlines, how to implement a smoke-free policy, and a recommended 18-month timeline.

PHAs have until July 30, 2018 to implement smoke-free policies for their public housing properties. Policies must prohibit smoking within all public housing units and common spaces. Smoking must also be prohibited within 25 feet of all public housing buildings, including administration buildings.

HUD released additional guidance on instituting and enforcing smoke-free public housing policies in February.

HUD’s guidebook can be found on NAHRO’s Public Housing Resource Page (members only).

HUD Seeks Comment on New Housing Rehabilitation and Modification Program for Disabled and Low-Income Veterans

On July 12, the HUD Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing HUD’s intention to develop a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Disabled and Low-Income Veterans Housing Rehabilitation and Modification Pilot Program (Program), which was authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Pub. L. 113–291, approved December 19, 2014), as amended. HUD is also seeking input from interested parties and stakeholders to inform the development of the NOFA so that the funds are “used efficiently and fulfill the statutory purpose.”  Continue reading

House Appropriations Releases FY 2018 THUD Bill, Makes Numerous Small Cuts

The House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) Subcommittee released the text of its FY 2018 bill late last night. Overall, the bill makes numerous small cuts to many HUD programs, continuing a trend of disinvestment in already chronically underfunded programs. However, considering the low top-line level for non-defense programs proposed by the House Budget Committee, the cuts could have been significantly worse.

The full T-HUD bill received $56.5 billion, which is $1.1 billion less than the current fiscal year, but a whopping $8.6 billion above the President’s request. The cuts are evenly split between DOT and HUD.

Housing and Community Development Highlights

  • Public Housing Capital Fund – $1.85 billion, $92 million less than FY 2017
    • Competitive Lead-Based Paint Grants – $0, $25 million less than FY 2017
    • Jobs Plus – $15 million, level funded
  • Public Housing Operating Fund – $4.4 billion, level funded
  • Choice Neighborhoods Initiative – $20 million, $118 less than FY 2017
  • Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment Renewals – $18.71 billion, $355 million higher than FY 2017
    • Administrative Fees – $1.55 billion, $100 million less than FY 2017
  • Family Self-Sufficiency – $75 million, level funded
  • Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance – $11.082 billion, $266 million higher than FY 2017
  • Community Development Block Grant – $2.9 billion, $100 million less than FY 2017
  • HOME Investment Partnerships – $850 million, $100 million less than FY 2017
  • Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS – $356 million, level funded
  • Homeless Assistance Grants – $2.383 billion, level funded

The subcommittee will mark up the bill tonight at 7:00 pm EDT (sadly, that time is not a typo). You can watch what is likely to be a very quick voice vote here. The bill will move to full committee next week (where amendments will be considered), but it is unlikely to be brought to the floor of the House. The Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee could move on its THUD spending bill as early as next week.

Your advocacy efforts have worked to oppose the President’s devastating budget proposal, but your members of Congress need to continue hear from you about the impact that budget cuts have had in your community and the impact further cuts will have. August recess is just around the corner and is a perfect opportunity for you to voice those concerns- watch for NAHRO’s August Advocacy agenda coming soon.

PHA Notice on SPEARS Reporting Due Dates

On July 11, HUD’s Economic Opportunity Division of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity sent out a notice regarding Section 3 reporting due dates for PHAs. Reporting due dates for PHAs are now based on the PHA fiscal year end (FYE), and are due 60 days after the PHA FYE. Non-PHAs that are recipients of Section 3 funding will continue to submit annual reports as they have done so in the past.

Free Smoking Cessation Webinar – July 20 at 1pm ET

The Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC), in collaboration with the CDC Tips From Former Smokers™ Campaign, the National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH), and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) are pleased to invite you to this free webinar, “Comprehensive Tobacco Cessation in Public Housing Community Health Centers : Beyond Policy Adoption and Implementationon Thursday, July 20, 2017, at 1:00pm EDT (90 minutes).

We are honored to have the following speakers presenting on this topic for us:

  • Bill Blatt, MPH, National Director of Tobacco Programs, American Lung Association
  • Elizabeth A. Davis, MD, Chief of Adult Medicine, Medical Director of Addiction Medicine, South End Community Health Center
  • John Kane, Senior Project Coordinator, Boston Housing Authority
  • Jose Leon, MD, Chief Medical Officer, National Center for Health in Public Housing

Webinar Objectives:

  1. Review tobacco use disorders data in public housing primary care
  2. Discuss key components of successful implementation of the non-smoking policy in public housing
  3. Describe the smoking cessation interventions provided by South End Community Health Center
  4. Learn how to talk to multi-unit housing residents about quitting smoking, including why they should quit, and learn about locally available programs and resources to help them

REGISTER HERE:

https://cc.readytalk.com/r/7ombg8t9bo76&eom

HUD Publishes FY 2017 HCV Funding Implementation Notice

HUD has published a notice (PIH Notice 2017-07) titled “Implementation of the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2017 Funding Provisions for the Housing Choice Voucher Program.”

The notice lists the funding that the appropriations bill has allocated for tenant-based rental assistance:

  • HAP Renewal Funding – $18.355 billion;
  • Tenant Protection Vouchers – $110 million;
  • Administrative Fees – $1.650 billion;
  • Mainstream 5 Year Program – $120 million;
  • Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing – $40 million; and
  • Family Unification Program – $10 million.

The notice also notes how Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) are rebenchmarked using validated leasing and cost data for calendar year (CY) 2016. HUD states that that it will perform a “small offset” to prevent termination of rental assistance for families as the result of insufficient funding. Additionally, the $75 million set-aside in HAP funding provided by the budget, which is used to perform PHA allocation adjustments, will most likely be used only for shortfall funding. If there are any funds remaining after the set-aside, they will be distributed on a prorated basis to all agencies.

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RAD Seminar in Washington, DC – August 16-18, 2017

NAHRO Professional Development with MARC-NAHRO are offering a special training opportunity – Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Seminar with Proficiency Test.

The seminar will be held in conjunction with MARC-NAHRO’s Annual Conference, August 16-18, 2017, in Washington, DC. See details below.

For additional information and to register, go to www.marcnahro.orgRAD Flyer

 

 

REAC adds Industry Days on the West Coast in late July

Following earlier industry days in Phoenix and Jacksonville, HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) is adding  two additional events in Los Angeles (July 25 and 26) and Portland (July 27 and 28). At these events, HUD would like to discuss the technical details of PIC-NG, VMS, and UPCS-V, while receiving technical feedback. Updated materials from previous industry days in Phoenix and Jacksonville will be presented.

At this time, the topics include the following:

  • PIC-NG;
    • Updated Schedule (vendors will be able to test sooner);
    • Demonstration of future FRS tool (current VASH portal);
    • Updated API;
  • UPCS-V;
    • Release of data collection software version 2.5 to fix bugs, improve reliability, enhance user experience, and incorporate protocol revisions;
    • Soliciting feedback for revision 3;
    • Incorporating PHAs to the Agile Development Teams; and
    • HUD web services Agile Development Team formed and soliciting PHA suggestions to guide the UPCS-V program.

Registration for either the Los Angeles session (July 25 and 26) or the Portland session (July 27 and 28) can be done here.

HUD Releases 2017 Capital Fund Processing Information

On June 30, HUD posted Capital Fund Program (CFP) grant awards for formula grants and, where applicable, Replacement Housing Factor grant(s) (RHF) for FY 2017. The obligation start date for FY 2017 Capital Funds will be August 16, 2017 with an obligation end date of August 16, 2019 and a disbursement end date of August 16, 2021.

PHAs can access information on their specific agencies on the HUD PIH website for the Capital Fund Program. PHAs have until August 2, 2017 to submit three original signed and dated ACC Amendments for each 2017 formula & RHF grant, along with the corresponding CF Annual Statement form HUD 50075.1 (Parts I & II) to their Regional and Field HUD office. HUD notes, “to ensure that your PHA has access to its Capital Funds as soon as possible, please adhere to the timeline that has been established.” Regional and Field HUD offices will execute ACC for Amendments for FY 2017 Capital Fund grants on August 16, 2017. The final submission date for all pending ACC Amendments is September 1, 2017. PHAs that miss that deadline will have their grants rescinded and de-reserved.

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