Management Assessment Subsystem - Public Housing Program

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are all Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) required to submit a Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) Management Certification to the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC)?

All PHAs that operate the Public Housing Program are required to submit a PHAS management operations certification to REAC, with the exception of some of the PHAs that are under the Moving-to-Work Program.

2. Are PHAs required to submit the management operations certifications to REAC electronically?

Yes. PHAs are required to electronically submit certification on performance under each of the management operations sub-indicators.

If a PHA does not have the capability in-house to electronically submit the certification, the PHA should consider utilizing local resources, such as the library or another local government entity that has Internet access. In the event local resources are not available, a PHA may go to the nearest HUD Public Housing (PH) program office and assistance will be given to the PHA to transmit the PHAS management certification.

3. Given HUD's new electronic submission requirements, will PHAs be required to maintain a hard copy of the certification in their files and for how long?

It is recommended that each PHA keep a paper record of their MASS submission for use with their Board of Director's resolution approving the MASS certification. Each Board resolution is given a resolution number and date, and those will be required to make the electronic MASS submission. Downloading and printing the PHAS certification form will given you a ready-made certification document, and since it is identical to the electronic pages in MASS, it will also give you a chance to put everything down on paper before entering the system, thereby making the submission process a lot faster and easier.

In addition, the Department is placing extra emphasis on the importance of a PHA's maintenance of documentation to support its PHAS certification (especially documentation related to Management Operations Certification Form HUD-50072). Without documentation, an independent auditor review is impossible and a PHA is subject to scoring a zero for PHAS indicators requiring PHA self-certification. Therefore, a PHA is required to maintain documentation related to its PHAS score for a period of three years.

4. When are PHAs expected to begin submitting the required management operations certifications electronically to REAC?

The PHAS becomes effective for all PHAs with fiscal years ending on and after September 30, 1999. PHAs with fiscal years ending September 30, 1999, are the first to submit electronic management operations certifications. Certifications are to be submitted within two months after the end of the PHA's fiscal year.

5. Will HUD/REAC provide any guidance or training on MASS and the new electronic submission requirements?

A Quick Reference User Guide and an Instruction Guidebook for Completing Public Housing Assessment System Management Operations Certification, Form HUD-50072, are available on REAC's website.

6. We corrected two findings from a previous Corps of Engineers review of physical work and all three physical work findings from the last Corps review, but it won't accept these in CF12400. Why?

This question relates to MASS Sub-indicator #2 (Capital Fund), Component #4 (Quality of the physical work), Element #CF12400 (The number of findings related to the quality of physical work that has been corrected by the PHA). According to Element #CF12300, the number of findings to the quality of physical work, the PHA will enter the number of findings generated by the last on-site inspection and/or audit related to the quality of the physical work that was provided to the PHA by HUD 75 days prior to the assessed fiscal year end. Element #CF12400 can not exceed the number of findings found in Element #CF12300 because this component relates to the most recent on-site inspection and the finding generated out of that inspection. Previous inspections do not apply to this component. Any repeat findings should have been included in the most recent inspection audit report.

7. Can someone other than the Executive Director enter the certification data in the Management Assessment Subsystem (MASS)?

The certification shall be approved by PHA Board resolution, and signed and attested to by the Executive Director. The PHA may designate an individual to perform the data entry. The PHA will be responsible for electronic submission of the certification to REAC through HUD's Secure Systems. Instructions to apply for a coordinator or "User ID" in HUD's Secure Systems can be found at REAC's website http://www.hud.gov/reac/tools/reasyst_regis.cfm.

8. What does the terminology "Capital Fund" mean?

Capital Fund is Sub-indicator #2 under the PHAS Management Operations Indicator #3. Capital Fund replaces the PHMAP Indicator #2, Modernization. The Capital Fund sub-indicator examines the amount and percentage of funds provided to the PHA from the Capital Fund under section 9(d) of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.

9. If comments are entered on the Comment Page, will they effect the PHA's overall score?

Comments entered in the text box of the Comment Page will not effect a PHA's overall score. Comments are for advisory purposes only and are not required as part of the MASS submission.