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Last year, the United States tallied a record high bill of $306 billion in weather-related disasters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The total amount includes damage from three of the five most expensive hurricanes in U.S. history: Hurricane Harvey cost $125 billion, second only to 2005’s Katrina; while Maria cost $90 billion, ranking third, according to the NOAA. Irma was $50 billion, for the fifth most expensive hurrican...

Sometimes a household will disappear for weeks at a time. Signs may indicate the household may not come back. No one answers the household’s phone, their mail piles up, and their assigned parking space remains empty. When a unit is left unattended, health and safety hazards such as rotting food or frozen pipes can result. Plus, HUD frowns on wasted assistance if an assisted unit isn’t occupied. But often, when you think households are gone for good, they com...

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing recently issued Notice PIH 2017-23, clarifying HUD’s interpretation of the statutory amendment related to flat rents.

When a household member leaves, you need to take into consideration possible changes to the household's subsidy and the possibility of having to move the household to another appropriately sized apartment. For example, after a member moves out, the household could still be getting allowances that reduce its rent, but those allowances are attributable to the member who departed. Or after a household member moves out, the unit the family occupies may now be too big fo...

HUD requires that you verify all information given to you by applicants and residents that affects your assessment of their eligibility for housing and level of assistance. The owner is responsible for determining if a verification documentation is adequate and credible.

At some point in time, you’re likely to need a rent comparability study (RCS) that looks at rents charged at comparable market-rate sites in your area. For example, as a requirement for renewal, most owners with expiring Section 8 project-based contracts must submit a RCS at initial renewal to demonstrate that current rents are at or below comparable “market” rents. Beginning with the date of the initial renewal of the expiring Section 8 project-based ...

Hurricane Harvey, which first came ashore on Aug. 25 as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in 50 years, has displaced more than 1 million people and damaged nearly 200,000 homes in a path of destruction stretching for more than 300 miles. Low-income and vulnerable communities located in the area’s floodplains have been particularly hard hit. The affected region has many subsidized housing complexes and public housing developments within the hurricane’s...

In July 2016, HUD posted a new Resident Rights and Responsibilities brochure on its website. This brochure tells households about their rights and responsibilities as residents of assisted housing. You must give the brochure to the household head whenever a new household signs its first lease with you, and each year at annual recertification.

Federally assisted sites are covered by accessibility requirements for design and construction under either the Fair Housing Act (FHA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. As a site owner or manager, you must make sure that your site complies with these requirements. Because HUD and the Department of Justice (DOJ) treat compliance with these requirements seriously, you need to follow suit. The penalties for violating these requirements are stiff, including ...

If you work for a PHA or own a property that’s required by HUD to undergo physical property inspections with the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC), it’s important to keep your property safe and sanitary. Doing so will maintain and increase federal funds for your site and reduce the frequency of future REAC inspections.