HUD Publishes Coordinated Entry Requirements for Homeless Assistance Programs

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, HUD published long-awaited guidance (Notice CPD-17-01) establishing the additional requirements for the development and implementation of a “centralized or coordinated assessment system” (i.e., “coordinated entry” or “coordinated entry process”) for recipients and subrecipients of the Continuum of Care (CoC) and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) programs.

The coordinated entry processes are intended to help communities prioritize people who are most in need of homeless assistance and help grantees and stakeholders strategically allocate their resources by providing information about local service needs and gaps. Each CoC must establish or update its coordinated entry process in accordance with the 2012 CoC interim final rule and this notice by January 23, 2018.

Once the coordinated entry process is established, updated and/or operationalized by CoC program recipients and subrecipients, HUD will expect the coordinated entry process to be used for all ESG programs and projects within the CoC’s geographic area. However, HUD does not require victim service providers under ESG to use the CoC’s coordinated entry process.

Additional analysis of this HUD guidance will be provided to members in a forthcoming edition of the NAHRO Monitor.

Ben Carson Clears Senate Committee

~ Eric Oberdorfer ~ Leave a comment

The Senate Committee of Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs voted unanimously to send HUD Secretary-Designate Ben Carson to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote this morning. No word yet on when the full Senate will vote, but check back to the NAHRO Blog for more information once it’s announced.

Regulatory Freeze Memo Issued

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

On January 20, the Trump Administration issued a “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” memo that applies to all Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This memo is similar to memos issued by previous administrations as they come into office, and NAHRO had expected this regulatory freeze.

Generally, the regulatory freeze requires agencies to withdraw any regulations that have not yet been published in the Federal Register and to extend the effective date by 60 days of any regulations that have not become effective as of January 20, 2017. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) can issue exceptions to the regulatory freeze in emergency situations and to address urgent health, safety, financial, or national security issues.

The regulatory review not only applies to regulations but also any “guidance document.” A “guidance document” is any substantive action or an agency statement that states a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or technical issue that is normally published in the Federal Register.

NAHRO will continue to monitor the effects of the regulatory freeze and has reached out to HUD staff on how this regulatory freeze will affect specific regulations. As more information becomes, available NAHRO will share it with our members through The NAHRO Blog and the Monitor.

For any specific questions or concerns, please contact Georgi Banna, NAHRO’s Director of Policy and Program Development, at gbanna@nahro.org. As always for the most up-to-date information of the affordable housing and community development regulations and legislation, follow The NAHRO Blog and check the NAHRO website.

Court Rules in Favor of Plaintiffs in Operating Reserves Litigation

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

PHADA and NAHRO are pleased to announce that on January 18th the U.S. Court of Federal Claims found in favor of nearly 350 public housing authorities that brought a lawsuit against the federal government challenging HUD’s reduction of their FY 2012 operating fund subsidies based on the amount of Plaintiffs’ so-called “excess” operating reserves. The President’s FY 2012 budget proposal included an Operating Fund request of just $3,961,850 which was $1 billion short of the amount needed to pay the aggregate estimated operating subsidy eligibility amount. HUD devised an “allocation adjustment” based on the level of savings agencies had accumulated in their operating fund reserves. As proposed, this allocation adjustment would have offset the aggregate amount of operating fund subsidies to which PHAs were entitled in 2012 by the amount of the PHAs’ “excess” operating reserves up to $1 billion. At the Department’s behest, Congress approved the plan, changing the aggregate amount of reserves that could be used as an offset to $750 million.

With PHADA and NAHRO as the lead Plaintiffs, a lawsuit was filed on January 3, 2013. Collaborating with PHADA and NAHRO, Coan & Lyons, a Washington, DC law firm, prepared the case based on the claim that HUD’s offset breached the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC of the PHA Plaintiffs in 2012 when “rather than reducing their subsidy payments by a uniform percentage (pro-rata basis), it first offset each PHA’s payment by a figure that varied from one PHA to another – the amount of its excess operating reserves.”

Judge Elaine D. Kaplan stated in her decision that HUD “breached its [contractual] obligations under the ACCs when it applied the [excess] operating [reserves] offset in response to the 2012 Appropriations Act, rather than the pro rata reduction prescribed by” HUD’s regulations. As noted by Judge Kaplan, the plaintiffs requested compensatory damages of almost $136 million.

The Court has ordered the attorneys to file a status report by February 17, suggesting how the Court should proceed. Carl Coan, III, Plaintiffs’ lead attorney, believes that the next logical step will be to calculate the exact damages to which the Plaintiffs are entitled and submit them to the Court for approval. Assuming the parties can agree on the amount of damages, the Court will enter a final judgment and order awarding Plaintiffs their damages.

Tim Kaiser, PHADA Executive Director said, “We appreciate the Court’s decision. We tried to dissuade HUD from implementing this unfair and damaging plan as soon as we heard about it. HUD decided to go ahead and it left us with no alternative but to organize a legal action to enforce the existing contract between HUD and its many PHA partners.”

John Bohm, Acting Chief Executive Officer of NAHRO stated “NAHRO applauds the Court’s ruling on this matter. This responsible decision addresses the critical concerns raised by housing authorities across the country, and we hope that it will serve as a benchmark for future decision-making on these matters.”

The Court’s ruling may be accessed here.

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For any specific questions or concerns, please contact Georgi Banna, NAHRO’s Director of Policy and Program Development, at gbanna@nahro.org. As always for the most up-to-date information of the affordable housing and community development regulations and legislation, follow The NAHRO Blog and check the NAHRO website.

PIH Notice on VAWA Self-Petitioner Verification Procedures

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Today, HUD’s Office of Pubic and Indian Housing (PIH) published a notice (PIH 2017-02 (HA)) titled, “Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Self-Petitioner Verification Procedures.” This notice explains the procedures that public housing agencies (PHAs) must follow when an applicant or resident/tenant requests admission or continued residency as a result of being a VAWA self-petitioner, defined as those who claim to be victims of “battery or extreme cruelty” (i.e., domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking). This notice applies to HUD’s public housing, housing choice voucher assistance (including project-based vouchers), and Section 8 Mod Rehab programs.

HUD Publishes Interim Guidance on AFFH

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier this January, HUD published Interim Guidance on the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) tools. The Interim Guidance gives the status of the Assessment of Fair Housing tools (AFHs) (reproduced below) and gives general guidance for program participants.

  • Local and Government and Joint / Regional Tool – Final tool available.
  • PHA and PHA-only collaboration – Final tool available. HUD will issue another Notice specifying PHAs’ new submission date.
  • Qualified PHA (QPHA) – Tool still under development. Not publicly available.
  • State and Insular Area Tool – Tool still under development. Still going through the notice-and-comment process.

The guidance also provides a table to help choose tools and understand appropriate AFH deadline dates.

The full AFFH Interim Guidance can be read here.

HUD Publishes MTW Expansion Application

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

HUD has posted pre-publication versions of the Moving To Work (MTW) Expansion Application and the MTW Expansion Operations Document. There will be multiple cohorts to the expansion with each cohort testing a different policy to be researched. The first cohort will test the overall impact of MTW flexibility. The cohorts will test the following (in no particular order, except for the first, which will test the overall impact of MTW flexibility):

  • Overall Impact of MTW Flexibility – the overall effects of the MTW “bundle” will be tested.
  • Rent Reform – PHAs will test different rent reform models, including “flat rents, tiered rents, and stepped-up rents.” PHAs “may also evaluate the interaction of these rent reform models with or without work requirements or time limits.”
  • Work Requirements – this will be a work requirements only cohort (i.e., additional rent reforms or time limits will not be evaluated). PHAs will provide supportive services.
  • Landlord Incentives – this cohort will investigate various landlord incentives (e.g., participation payments, vacancy payments, alternate inspection schedules and other methods).

The first cohort will include 30 PHAs with “1,000 or fewer aggregate public housing and HCV units.” To select applicants HUD will make sure each applicant meets eligibility requirements and certain geographic diversity requirements. Each potential cohort participant will then be selected via a lottery. These PHAs will then be randomly assigned to a treatment group (receiving MTW designation) or a control group (not receiving MTW designation). HUD will research the cost effectiveness, ability to create self-sufficiency, and ability to provide housing choice for this first cohort.

The application due date will be revealed, when the notice is formally posted in the Federal Register. NAHRO will continue to have more detailed coverage on both of these documents and the perspectives of the new administration in the coming days and weeks.

The pre-publication MTW Expansion Application can be found here.

The pre-publication MTW Expansion Operations document can be found here.

HUD Releases Data-Sharing Road Map for PHAs and School Districts

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

In an effort to improve the educational outcomes of students living in public housing agencies and local redevelopment agencies, HUD has release a “Data-Sharing Road Map.” This Road Map will provide PHAs practical guidance, such as starting the data-sharing conversation and negotiating the data-sharing agreement, to establish partnerships with their local school districts. The Data-Sharing Road Map is based on the experience of PHAs that have successfully developed data-sharing agreements with their local school district.

NAHRO continues to partner with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and HUD on promoting and improving the education outcomes of children living in HUD-assisted properties.

HUD Releases Triennial Recertifications Interim Final Rule

~ Eric Oberdorfer ~ Leave a comment

On January 19, HUD published in the HUD Portal website the “Streamlining Administrative Regulations for Multifamily Housing Programs and Implementing Family Income Reviews under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act” Interim Final Rule. Due to a backlog at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Interim Final Rule has not yet been published in the Federal Register. There will be a 30-day comment period and a 90-day effective date once published in the Federal Register. NAHRO will be tracking the Federal Register closely to inform members when the Interim Final Rule is published.  

Under this interim final rule, families with fixed-incomes are only required to undertake a full recertification every 3 years. However, if less than 90 percent of the family’s unadjusted income comes from a fixed-income, PHAs and owners must still verify and adjust non-fixed income sources annually. PHAs are not required to do this if 90 percent or more of their income comes from a fixed-source. PHAs may determine a family’s fixed income by applying a verified cost of living adjustment (COLA) to the individual sources of fixed income. In the case of a family with at least 90 percent of the family’s unadjusted income from fixed income, a PHA or owner using streamlined income verification may, but is not required to, adjust the non-fixed income.

This interim final rule also explicitly allows owners to make utility reimbursements of $45 or less (per quarter) on a quarterly basis, in order to eliminate the burdensome process of processing and mailing monthly reimbursement checks.

This interim final rule also allows PHAs to accept a family’s declaration of assets if they have net assets equal to or less than $5,000 without third-party verification. However, PHAs will be required to use third-party verification of all family assets every 3 years.

HUD is encouraging as many agencies as possible to adopt triennial recertifications. HUD will also put out guidance before the effective date on the rule and specifically defining “fixed-income” and COLA adjustments.

This interim final rule has not yet been published in the Federal Register. However, once published, it will go into effect 90-days after being published – continue checking the NAHRO blog for updates on its publication date.

 

HUD to Publish HOTMA Section 8 Voucher Provision Implementation Notice

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Tomorrow, January 18, 2017, HUD will publish in the Federal Register a notice implementing certain Section 8 provisions of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA) titled “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016: Implementation of Various Section 8 Voucher Provisions.” These provisions include the following:

  • “certain inspection requirements for both HCV tenant-based and PBV assistance [including provisions regarding occupancy prior to meeting HQS and alternative inspections],”
  • “changes to the PBV program [including changes to calculating the PBV cap, raises to the cap in certain scenarios, and changes to the PBV income-mixing cap among other things],” and
  • “guidance . . . [for] the statutory change to the HCV housing assistance payment (HAP) calculation for families who own manufactured housing and are renting the manufactured home space.”

HUD is also soliciting information regarding the implementation of many of the provisions. NAHRO is still reading through the notice, but will provide more detailed coverage in the coming days to our members.

The provisions in the notice will take effect 90 days after tomorrow’s publication. [1/18/17 Edit – April 18, 2017.]

The comment deadline for the provisions will occur 60 days after tomorrow’s publication. [1/18/17 Edit – March 20, 2017.]

The pre-publication notice can be found here.

[1/18/17 Edit – The published notice can be found here.]