NMA Blog

In a Federal Register notice this week, HUD requested comments on a planned two-year continuation of the Uniform Physical Condition Standards for Vouchers (UPCS-V) demonstration. According to the notice, the extension is necessary in order to meet congressional instructions to implement a single inspection protocol for public housing and voucher units.

HUD’s new physical inspection model will be the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE). NSPIRE is intended to improve upon the current Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS) protocol by prioritizing health, safety, and functional defects. As the notice explains:

HUD is developing a single inspection standard for all units under the public housing, housing choice voucher, and multifamily programs called National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE). NSPIRE will leverage the infrastructure of UPCS–V to demonstrate, test, and validate NSPIRE protocols. HUD envisions NSPIRE being used for all housing inspections.

The UPCS-V demonstration began in 2016 and currently includes more than 200 PHAs. As described in the notice, the UPCS-V demonstration extension is necessary to avoid requiring participating agencies to default to HQS standards, to gather additional data, and to allow increased PHA participation. Comments are due by July 29.

Our technical writers and subject matter experts have just completed a special mid-year revision to both our Model Administrative Plan and Model ACOP. These revisions incorporate extensive policy changes brought about by Notice PIH 2017-08, Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA) guidance  published this past May, along with additional revisions due to January’s Lead-Based Paint Final Rule.

If you are a subscriber to our Model Admin Plan or Model ACOP revision services, you should have received the files. If you are a subscriber and did not receive an email with the revision files, please send your current information via email to Marné Cales including:

1. Your agency name and mailing address.
2. Name, phone number, and email address of the contact person for the revision service. If your agency has multiple revisions and would like different people to receive revisions, please identify which person should receive each revision.

NMA Model Administrative Plan and Guide 

2017: The bulk of the changes for the second revision for 2017 of the NMA Model Administrative Plan and Guide are due to the issuance of Notice PIH 2017-08, which provided guidance on the implementation of the VAWA 2013 final rule. This affected multiple chapters and required extensive revisions throughout the plan. In addition, the Model Administrative Plan has also been brought current with all recent HUD requirements and guidance, including the following:

• Changes with respect to the alternative requirements set forth in FR Notice 12/29/14, which prohibited denial of assistance or termination for failure to comply with the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) contract of participation
• Additional changes with respect to the Lead-Based Paint final rule, particularly as it relates to housing quality standards (HQS)
• Updates to the policies and procedures regarding hearings and rehearings to clarify and more closely match regulations
• Other clarifications and corrections to bring the content current with HUD regulations and guidance

NMA Model Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP) and Guide 

2017: The bulk of the changes for the second revision for 2017 of the NMA Model Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP) and Guide are due to the issuance of Notice PIH 2017-08, which provided guidance on the implementation of the VAWA 2013 final rule. This affected multiple chapters and required extensive revisions throughout the plan. In addition, the Model ACOP also contains multiple clarifications and corrections to bring the content current with HUD regulations and guidance.

Questions about your revision services subscriptions? Contact Laurie Durrett in our accounting department and she'll be happy to assist you.

NMA revision services provide a yearly update to your NMA Master Books and model policies with explanations and guidance regarding the most current HUD rules and regulations. To stay updated on the latest program information, try a free 30-day trial subscription to the PIH Alert. Email sales@nanmckay.com to get started.

On Friday in the Federal Register, HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) published several technical corrections and clarifications to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) provisions of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) it had issued on January 18. These changes are in part based on public comments from the first notice. In brief, the corrections and clarifications are as follows:

• The original notice used the phrase ‘‘50 percent or more’’ to define a level of control that constitutes a controlling interest and would thus indicate PHA ownership. The threshold for control should be ‘‘more than 50 percent’’ rather than ‘‘50 percent or more.’’
• The original notice inadvertently excluded from the list of excepted units those units that have received assistance under Section 201 of the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978. Today’s notice adds the Flexible Subsidy program in both lists.
• The original document inadvertently referred to the ‘‘site of the original public housing development’’ instead of ‘‘site of the original development.’’ To avoid any indication that this requirement is only applicable to former public housing units as opposed to all the covered forms of HUD assistance, ‘‘public housing’’ is removed from this part.
• The original guidance states that ‘‘if the FSS family fails to successfully complete the FSS contract of participation or supportive services objective and consequently is no longer eligible for the supportive services, the family must vacate the unit…and the PHA shall cease paying housing assistance payments on behalf of the ineligible family.’’ To avoid misinterpretation that could imply that a PHA could, under HOTMA, establish a supportive services exception based exclusively on participation in FSS, rather than in combination with another supportive services option where participation is voluntary, and to avoid being misconstrued that this conflicts with current FSS requirements, which do not allow termination from the housing assistance program for failure to complete the FSS contract of participation, HUD has amended this language to eliminate the ambiguities.
• The definition of new construction units was previously inconsistent in the January 18 guidance, and has been updated to be both correct and consistent in sections referring to project-based voucher (PBV) assistance.
• HUD stated in the original document that in order to avail itself of the exemption of the competitive award of PBVs, the PHA must “be planning rehabilitation or construction on the project with a minimum of $25,000 per unit in hard costs.” However, because this would not be applicable in a situation where the PHA is replacing a public housing site or property, or a site with PHA-owned or controlled existing housing, several corrections to Section H of the notice have been made.
• Other typographical errors have also been corrected, as specified in today’s notice.

In a separate correction entry for the January 18 notice, PIH also noted that the original document had been published in the Proposed Rules section of the Federal Register, when it should have appeared in the Rules section. The effective date for the original notice—April 18, 2017—remains unchanged.

Got questions about HOTMA? All of NMA's HCV classes have been updated for the new payment standard rules. Register at least 45 days in advance for most seminars and you’ll receive a 10 percent discount. (The discount does not apply to seminars hosted by housing authorities or associations.)

Signups for Q&A sessions at The Housing Conference are now open!

We’re thrilled to be taking our fifth annual national housing conference to Boston this August. Included with every conference registration is the opportunity to reserve a free, one-hour Q&A session with one of our NMA experts, including Nan herself!

If you’re registered for the conference and want to sign up for a session, click here and reserve your time now. The Q&A sessions are limited to registered attendees and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The tentative agenda has just been updated, and when you register now you'll receive early bird pricing!

Join us August 21-22, 2017, for two fantastic days of networking, learning, and exploring the beautiful and historic city of Boston, Massachusetts. Industry experts will present sessions and panels on the latest topics in affordable housing, including:

• An update on UPCS-V, the proposed inspections protocol to replace HQS
• How to deal with generational differences in the workplace
• What you need to know if you're a new executive director
• Nan McKay's annual legislative update, including new rules and notices
• Best practices in PBV and RAD PBV
• Public/private partnerships and grant funds
• What you need to know before applying for MTW
• Understanding tax credits and RAD finance
• Best practices in managing FSS, plus how to start a new FSS program in PBRA
• What's new in capital fund finance
• Best practices in PBRA and RAD PBRA
• Effective waitlist management
• What's new in fair housing
• Best practices in SEMAP
• CDBG-DR and resilience
• Roundtable panel session with NMA Housing Awards winners
• And more!

Visit our website to register!

The tentative agenda for our fifth annual national housing conference is now available, and when you register now you'll receive early bird pricing!

Join us August 21-22, 2017, for two fantastic days of networking, learning,
and exploring the beautiful and historic city of Boston, Massachusetts. Industry experts will present sessions and panels on the latest topics in affordable housing, including:

• An update on UPCS-V, the proposed inspections protocol to replace HQS (panel session)
• Best practices in managing FSS, plus how to start a new FSS program in PBRA (panel session)
• Best practices in PBRA and RAD PBRA (panel session)
• Best practices in PBV and RAD PBV
• Best practices in SEMAP (hands-on session)
• CDBG-DR and resilience
• Effective waitlist management
• How to deal with generational differences in the workplace
• Nan McKay's annual legislative update, including new rules and notices
• Public/private partnerships and grant funds (panel session)
• Quality control
• Rent reasonableness
• Roundtable panel session with NMA Housing Awards winners
• Succession planning
• Understanding tax credits and RAD finance
• What you need to know before applying for MTW
• What you need to know if you're a new executive director
• What's new in capital fund finance
• What's new in fair housing

Visit our website to register!