Recently, HUD published two new guidance documents expanding opportunities and resources available to increase utilization of HCV and Mainstream vouchers.
PIH Notice 2022-19: Mainstream Vouchers – Non-Competitive Opportunity for Additional Vouchers Authorized by the CARES Act and Extraordinary Administrative Funding, Correction
CLPHA previously reported an opportunity for PHAs to receive new Mainstream vouchers and extraordinary administrative fees to help PHAs lease their Mainstream vouchers given the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this notice is to make changes to PIH Notice 2022-07, which provides information on new funding opportunities for Mainstream vouchers. This revised notice makes the following changes:
- Lowers the utilization threshold to qualify for additional Mainstream vouchers from 80% to 75%
- Increases funding for new Mainstream vouchers from $35 million to $40 million
- Provides additional guidance to applicants that may have unresolved civil rights matters
- Extends the application deadline to July 14, 2022
PIH Notice 2022-18: Use of Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Mainstream Voucher Administrative Fees for Other Expenses to Assist Families to Lease Units
The purpose of this notice is to provide guidance on the use of HCV and Mainstream voucher ongoing administrative fees for expenses related to assisting HCV and Mainstream Voucher families to lease units. This notice supersedes PIH Notice 2015-17 with respect to the description of the restricted use of administrative fees. Given the number of tight and competitive rental markets around the country, HUD has decided to expand the eligible use of HCV and Mainstream voucher administrative fees for other eligible expenses related to the leasing of units and recruitment/retention of voucher owners. PHAs may now use HCV and Mainstream voucher administrative fees for:
- Owner incentive and/or retention payments
- Security deposit assistance
- Utility deposit assistance/utility arrears
- Application fees/non-refundable administrative or processing fees /refundable application deposit assistance/broker fees
- Holding fees
- Renter’s insurance if required by the lease
Administrative fee reserves may also be used for any of the above activities. Mainstream administrative fees may only be used for Mainstream vouchers.
On Friday, HUD will publish a request for public comment on the latest revision to proposed National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) and associated protocols. In late 2019, HUD REAC began the NSPIRE demonstration, a two-year, voluntary demonstration to better identify potential adjustments to standards, protocols, and processes prior to nationwide implementation. In April 2021, HUD REAC published on its website NSPIRE Standards Version 2.1 that are currently being testing at PHAs nationwide. Using inspection data from the NSPIRE demo, HUD anticipates that these latest NSPIRE standards to be published in the Federal Register (or NSPIRE Version 2.2) will consolidate and align housing quality requirements and associated inspection standards across programs. HUD is now seeking public comment on these proposed physical inspection standards.
Currently, there are two inspection models used for a majority of HUD’s programs. The Housing Quality Standards (HQS) is applicable to the HCV and PBV programs, and the Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS), which governs several other HUD programs.
The proposed NSPIRE standards incorporate and modify a List of Life-Threatening Conditions under the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). This “HOTMA LT List” defines the conditions that would preclude families participating in HCV and PBV programs from moving into their unit prior to the unit passing inspection. Standards which are considered life-threatening for purposes of the HCV and PBV programs must be resolved within a 24-hours. The HOTMA LT list will apply for all PHAs.
HUD’s proposed NSPIRE standards contain several major changes from the UPCS and HQS, including but not limited to:
- Smoke Alarms – would introduce new requirements for smoke alarms by requiring installation on each level and inside each sleeping area.
- Carbon Monoxide Alarms – would establish deficiency criteria for installation of carbon monoxide alarms.
- Fire-Labeled Doors – would include deficiency criteria specific to these types of doors where present. The deficiencies would include function and operability criteria critical to these fire safety components where present in buildings.
- Potential Lead-based Paint Hazards – would include a deficiency that incorporates the HQS requirements for an enhanced visual assessment for deteriorated paint where there is a child under 6 years of age residing in the unit.
HUD REAC recently announced to CLPHA and other industry partners that it anticipates that the federal rulemaking process to implement the new NSPIRE standards will be concluded by April 2023 for public housing and HCV programs. HUD also anticipates providing additional guidance on NSPIRE later this summer. Because of the broad implications of these proposed changes across HUD programs, CLPHA encourages its members to review the latest proposed NSPIRE standards and share feedback on its potential impact to CLPHA’s Policy and Research Analyst, Malcolm Guy at [email protected]. Comments on the proposed NSPIRE standards are due within 45 days of the publication date of the Federal Register notice.
From the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)'s press release:
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Pennrose, and RiseBoro Community Partnership today celebrated the grand opening of 50 Penn, a 218-unit 100% affordable housing development at 50 Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn. The mixed-use, mixed-income community was designed to address key priorities identified in the East New York Neighborhood Plan, including affordable housing, greater access to fresh food choices, and include community-wide benefits.
The nine-story building includes 56 studios, 96 one-, 48 two-, and 18 three-bedroom units. The apartments are available for residents at a range of incomes, including extremely low-income households earning up to 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) to low-income households earning up to 80% of AMI, that’s $36,060 to $96,080 for a family of three. Of the total units, 42 are set-aside for formerly homeless and frail elderly with operating subsidy provided by the New York State Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI) program. In addition, 102 units will be permanently affordable, with 44 made possible through the City’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program (MIH).
In addition to the affordable housing, the ground floor is anchored by a 18,500 square foot grocery store as part of the NYC Department of City Planning FRESH program, which supports convenient, accessible grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods. The two remaining street front retail spaces will be leased as one of the first developments to pilot the East New York Retail Preservation Program, which is intended to preserve opportunities for longstanding East New York businesses to operate within the boundaries of the rezoned neighborhood at rents that facilitate the ability to source their workforce from within the community and provide job training and benefits.