Compliance

RSS

HUD is in the process of overhauling its Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) physical inspection protocol. Last year, HUD drastically reduced the notice it would give managers of public and subsidized rental housing before REAC inspections to 14 calendar days. And HUD will eventually replace REAC inspections with a new physical inspection protocol known as the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE), which will feature new standards, prot...

Applicant and tenant file records are important pieces of source documentation that’s used as evidence to support determinations and conclusions in all areas of occupancy. It’s important for a manager to ensure that all tenant application and occupancy files are maintained in accordance HUD rules and with an owner’s standard operating procedures. These files are subject to inspection by HUD to assure compliance with funding requirements and fair housin...

In 2016, President Obama signed into law the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). HOTMA touched upon a broad range of topics. The housing law was enacted to expand housing providers’ ability to develop housing for extremely low-income households and streamline operational functions for housing providers.

Recently, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that he’s “extremely grateful” that Tropical Depression Barry didn’t cause the devastating floods that had been projected. According to the National Weather Service, Barry was briefly a Category 1 hurricane, but the system weakened to a tropical storm and eventually became a tropical depression as a result of weakening winds. Still, after reaching land, the National Weather Service warned of ongoing ...

In November 2018, HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) sent a letter to public housing agency (PHA) executive directors notifying them of their intent to reduce HUD’s public housing stock. Because Congress had failed to provide adequate funding for the public housing capital fund for many years, there was an approximate $50 billion backlog at that time in capital improvement needs. HUD cited that backlog as the need to provide PHAs with “add...

HUD recently issued joint notice PIH 2019-06, H 2019-05, OLHCHH 2019-01, regarding the installation of carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in HUD-assisted housing. Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of fuel-fired combustion appliances such as furnaces and water heaters. If not properly vented, this undetectable gas can be dangerous and even deadly.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for HUD’s multifamily housing programs recently issued a memorandum entitled “Approving the Delay of a Physical Inspection Beyond the New Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) Inspection Notification Timelines.” It provides guidance on when a field office may approve an owner’s request to delay an inspection outside the new inspection notification timelines provided in Notice PIH-2019(HA) H-2019-04.

If your site has a housing assistance payments (HAP) contract, you may have gotten a late payment from HUD at one time or another. Late assistance payments can cause serious problems at your site. For example, if your site doesn’t have large reserves, it may not be able to make mortgage payments or cover other operating and maintenance costs.

HUD occupancy regulations require all households living at Section 8 sites to pay a monthly rent of at least $25, unless the household qualifies for an exemption [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 5-26(D)]. This minimum rent doesn’t apply to Section 202 PAC, Section 202 PRAC, Section 811 PRAC, RAP, Rent Supplement, Section 221(d)(3) BMIR, or Section 236 programs.

Here are four tips to keep in mind when applying HUD’s minimum rent requirements to households at ...

HUD recently posted the Utility Allowance Adjustment Factors (UAFs) for 2019. HUD permits owners to use the UAFs to adjust baseline utility allowances prepared in accordance with Housing Notice 2015-04. The factors are effective for any site with an anniversary date on or after Feb. 11, 2019. The UAFs can be found at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-11-23/pdf/2018-25440.pdf.