HUD Releases Updated Section 8 Renewal Policy Guide

HUD recently released an updated Section 8 Renewal Policy Guide that is effective July 28, 2017. The Section 8 Renewal Guide assists those handling the renewal of expiring Section 8 HAP contracts. The guide replaces the last version, which was published in August of 2015.

There are 27 revisions in the updated guide, as well as a reorganized and updated chapter on rent comparability studies. The more significant changes are listed below:

• Clarifies that an owner can renew under Option 3 for the lesser of 20 years or the remaining term of the use agreement (Section 2-4. B.3.e.);
• Clarifies that an owner can terminate an existing Option 4 contract and renew the contract under Option Four (Section 2-4. B.4);
• Clarifies that if an owner of a project with an existing preservation exhibit wishes to terminate the contract and renew early, the new preservation exhibit will replace the existing one and include only the number of years remaining on the contract being terminated (Section 2-4. D);
• Clarifies that nonprofits meeting one of the three discretionary criteria can participate in Option 1B (Note after Section 3-6. A.);
• Clarifies that projects currently renewed under Option 4, in addition to those currently renewed under Option 2, can reduce rents to market to qualify for renewal under Option 2 (Note after Section 4-1);
• Clarifies that for-profit owners can renew under Option One or Option Two (Section 15-1); and
• Directs users to Handbook 4350.1 for instructions on combining contracts but clarifies that contracts can be combined only if located in the same FMR area (Section 2-10).