The importance of updating PHA policies
HUD issues new regulations, notices, and guidance on an ongoing basis, and PHAs are expected to stay abreast of these changes to remain in compliance and avoid audit findings. However, making sure your agency’s policy documents are in line with HUD can be a daunting, time-consuming task—not only do you need to know what’s changed and why, but you must also revise your policies accordingly.
PHAs who are out of compliance—depending on the reason—may be subject to monitoring and sanctions, or worse, lose out on program funding. Fair housing complaints can result from a lack of clear and current policies, and in the Housing Choice Voucher program, some incorrect policies can affect SEMAP as well.
Fortunately, there’s a solution. Our model policies and revision services take the guesswork out of keeping your policies up-to-date and in compliance, providing you with expert guidance in a timesaving, user-friendly format.
NMA’s Model Policy Revisions
This July, NMA will be releasing the 2019 revisions of our Model Administrative Plan and Model Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP). For this year’s revisions, these model policy documents contain updates for:
- Notice PIH 2018-01 on the voluntary adoption of the use of Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs)
- Notice PIH 2019-09 on the treatment of ABLE Accounts
- Notice PIH 2019-11, which requires PHAs to publish and update public housing over-income limits in the ACOP
- Notice PIH 2018-18, which updated HUD’s Verification Hierarchy
- Notice PIH 2018-19, which established minimum heating standards in public housing
- Notice PIH 2018-24 on verifying Social Security numbers, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, and the effective use of the EIV Identity Verification Report
- Other clarifications and modifications to make sure the content is user-friendly, current, and in compliance with all HUD regulations and guidance
In other words, when you subscribe to the NMA Model Admin Plan or ACOP, we do the heavy lifting of updating your policies for you—potentially saving your agency hundreds of hours of work.
For each area in which your agency has discretion or flexibility, NMA model policies provide recommended language. Also, the accompanying instruction guide offers important points to consider for each policy and customizable policy choices so that you can choose the best policy to suit your agency’s needs.
All of our model policy documents cite and describe the most up-to-date HUD regulations and other requirements in detail, which presents your agency with a solid foundation in policymaking. Further, when you subscribe to the revision service, you can rest assured that your policies remain current with HUD’s most recent changes every year.
The new NMA revisions website
Remaining up to date with a subscription to the NMA Model Administrative Plan or Model ACOP revision service is now easier than ever. Last year we went completely digital with our model policy revisions, moving access to a new website, and this year we’re making our Master Book revisions available through the site as well.
On the new revisions site, each policy or Master Book revision to which an agency subscribes is available for digital download all in one convenient location. This not only eliminates the need for awkward discs or drives, but also allows subscribers to access their revisions online immediately after they are finalized.
Should you miss a revision, the site provides access to the two previous years’ revisions as well, in addition to providing access to other added features such as our searchable CFRs.
Tools like our model policies and their revision services are designed to ensure that you always have the most accurate and up-to-date information. Through these and our other products and services, we at NMA will always strive to find ways to assist you in the successful administration of your housing programs—both now and through whatever changes may come.
