NMA Blog

While serving as executive director of a Minnesota housing authority, Nan McKay started one of the nation’s first Section 8 programs. She has previously written for the NMA blog on the topic of executive management and high performance as well as stories from her fifty years in the housing industry.

With three decades of experience in welfare and public housing, Annie Stevenson shares her expertise in many ways at NMA, serving as a trainer to thousands of housing authority staff every year; as a technical researcher who analyzes and deciphers new HUD regulations; and as a technical writer, contributing to NMA Master Books, seminars, and model policies as well as writing the popular daily PIH Alert. Nan and Annie will be presenting the following session at The Housing Conference.

Regulatory Knowledge for Smart Management

Legislative Update with Nan McKay

Presenters:
Nan McKay, President, NMA
Annie Stevenson, Senior Trainer and Technical Writer, NMA

Learn “the latest and greatest” from technical expert Annie Stevenson and get the overall legislative perspective from Nan McKay. This is always one of our most popular sessions; don’t miss it! Nan and Annie will fill us in on the most important changes of 2017, plus a forecast of what’s ahead for 2018.

Nan, Annie, and many other incredible presenters will be available for limited free one-hour Q&A sessions at the The Housing Conference this month in Boston, MA. Registered participants can sign up on a first-come, first-served basis now. Register online or email sales@nanmckay.com for more information.

Today in the Federal Register, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a final rule amending HUD’s civil monetary penalty (CMP) regulations.

The rule makes final an interim rule published in June of last year, which included a new methodology for calculating civil money penalties, starting with a “catch up” adjustment correcting previous inaccuracies.

HUD has posted Notice PIH 2017-08, Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 Guidance. The 52-page notice is dated May 19. While the guidance does not contain any major changes from the VAWA 2013 final rule, it includes a number of useful examples and scenarios to assist PHAs in implementation of the rule. The notice is applicable to the public housing and HCV programs, including the project-based voucher (PBV) and moderate rehabilitation programs.

Here are a few examples of guidance from the notice:

• A list of adverse screening factors which might be the direct result of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking
• A detailed description of the certification and documentation process
• A summary of policy requirements and a 5-page appendix detailing necessary PHA policies and procedures
• Instructions for customizing the notice of occupancy rights
• A ten-page section on requirements for emergency transfer plans
• A clarification of the VAWA 2013 provision for establishing eligibility following bifurcation of a lease. This provision applies only to mixed families in which the victim has not contended eligible immigration status
• A six-page model owner notification. Use of an owner notification letter is optional, as PHAs may instead rely on VAWA information included in the HAP contract.

In a related development, HUD has released translated versions of the four forms and model notices published in December 2016 for VAWA 2013 implementation. Each of the forms has been translated into 11 languages (Armenian, Cambodian, Creole, Japanese, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese).

The translated documents include (links to English versions):

• HUD-5380, Notice of Occupancy Rights under the Violence Against Women Act
• HUD-5381, Model Emergency Transfer Plan for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking
• HUD-5382, Certification of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking, and Alternate Documentation (replaces form HUD-50066)
• HUD-5383, Emergency Transfer Request for Certain Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking

You’ll find links to all of the translated documents on this page at HUDCLIPS.

Late yesterday HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) issued Notice PIH 2017-03, “HUD Guidance on Instituting and Enforcing Smoke-Free Public Housing Policies.” The notice follows December’s publication of the smoke-free final rule.

Subjects discussed in the guidance notice include implementation, PHA flexibility, and PHA policy options concerning use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and designated smoking areas (DSAs). The notice also includes instructions for revisions to public housing leases and PHA plans.

The notice also encourages PHAs to adopt graduated enforcement mechanisms for violations of smoke-free policies. PHAs may not evict for a single incident of smoking.

On the subject of reasonable accommodations, the notice includes suggestions for smoke-free policies for residents with disabilities. Such measures could include offering the resident a transfer to a unit near an exit, to a unit on the ground floor, or to a unit in another development where DSAs are provided. However, a PHA may not permit continued smoking in restricted areas.

The notice concludes by encouraging PHAs to engage residents early in the development of smoke-free policies. Best practices have indicated that resident engagement in policy development, implementation, and enforcement are less likely to result in evictions.

Got questions about the smoke-free rule? Don’t miss Nan’s legislative update at the The Housing Conference this August in Boston, where she’ll discuss acts of Congress, regulation changes, and what’s ahead for 2017. Register now for the best rates!

Last week in the Federal Register, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a final rule amending the lead-based paint regulations to reduce the blood lead levels in children under the age of six who reside in federally assisted housing.

In addition to revising the definition of elevated blood lead level to conform with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, the rule also establishes more comprehensive testing and evaluation procedures and addresses other aspects of CDC guidance regarding assisted housing. Other highlights of the rule include:

• Definitions for the terms certified, environmental investigation, evaluation, and expected to reside have been added to the regulations
• Posting notices of environmental investigation in centrally located common areas is prohibited to protect the family’s privacy, although the PHA must notify residents if conducting lead hazard evaluations or reduction activities
• When a child under six has an elevated blood lead level, the housing provider must conduct an environmental investigation within 15 calendar days of receiving notification
• The housing provider must complete the lead-hazard reduction within 30 calendar days of receiving the environmental investigation report
• If lead hazards are identified at the property, the housing provider must conduct risk assessments for the rest of the property within 30 calendar days from receiving the environmental investigation report when there are fewer than 20 units on the property, and within 60 days if there are more than 20
• If the risk assessment for the rest of the property identifies further lead hazards, the housing provider has 30 calendar days to complete the lead hazard reduction, or 90 days if there are more than 20 units identified with lead-based paint hazards where the control work would disturb more than the de minimis threshold
• The housing provider is required to report cases to HUD and provide documentation that it has completed requirements within the specified timeframes within 10 days of the deadline for each activity

Further information can be found in the notice, and in this press release announcing the publication of the rule. It becomes effective February 13, 2017.

Keep up with final rules like this one with a subscription to NMA’s PIH Alert. You’ll receive a daily email filled with up-to-the-minute program changes, requirements, and assistance. Email sales@nanmckay.com for more information.