HUD has created Microsoft Word files for the four model forms included in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) final rule that was published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2016.

These forms are now available on HUDCLIPS. The forms are as follows:

• VAWA Appendix A: Notice of Occupancy Rights Under the Violence Against Women Act, form HUD-5380
• VAWA Appendix B: Model Emergency Transfer Plan for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking, form HUD-5381
• VAWA Appendix C: Certification of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking and Alternate Documentation, form HUD-5382and 
• VAWA Appendix D: Emergency Transfer Request for Certain Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking, form HUD-5383

Please note:

• These Departmental forms are model forms and owners/agents can customize them for their company and properties, as long as they contain the same information and language.
• During the 12-month period following the effective date of the VAWA regulation, owners/agents must give each household the notice of occupancy rights and the certification form either during the annual recertification or lease renewal process, or, if there will be no recertification or lease renewal for a household during the first year after the rule takes effect, through other means.  The 12-month period is December 16, 2016 through December 15, 2017.
• Beginning on December 16, 2016, owners/agents must provide the Notification of Occupancy Rights and Certification form with any notice of eviction or termination of assistance.
• Beginning on December 16, 2016, owners/agents must provide the Notification of Occupancy Rights and Certification forms to applicants when assistance is being denied or at the time the new household moves into the property.  The forms do not have to be provided to every applicant on a property’s waiting list.
• The Office of Multifamily Housing will be updating our current VAWA certification form, HUD-91066.  In the meantime, owners/agents should use the Departmental form.
• Owners/agents are required to develop and implement an Emergency Transfer Plan by June 14, 2017, and should use the Departmental Emergency Transfer Plan form as a guide.
• Owners/agents may require tenants seeking an emergency transfer to provide a written  Emergency transfer request.  To facilitate this, owners/agents can provide the Departmental Request form to their tenants. 
• At this time the Office of Multifamily Housing does not plan to create our own Emergency Transfer Plan and Emergency Transfer Request forms, so owners/agents should use the Departmental forms.
• Multifamily Housing will be updating our Lease Addendum form, HUD-91067 in the coming months.  In the meantime, owners/agents may continue to use this form.
  • We will have further written guidance available early next year and will plan to include a sample lease addendum that can be used prior to the update of form 91067.

For your reference, please see the attached RHIIP announcement sent on November 18, 2016, about the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA) Final Rule.

HOMELESS PREFERENCE:  Resources for Multifamily Property Owners and Agents

HUD Multifamily Housing is a key mainstream resource that can help local communities address homelessness.  HUD has issued guidance on adopting a homeless admissions preference in multifamily properties that receive HUD project-based subsidies.  To encourage property owners to adopt the preference, new resources are now available online that explain the benefits of the homeless preference, and answer questions about the simple steps to adopt the preference. 

The short video Multifamily Homeless Preference: Owners and Agents Share their Experience (run time 4:37) features owners and agents of HUD-assisted multifamily properties who have successfully adopted the homeless preference at their properties.  They explain how productive relationships with service providers and HUD partners have facilitated their adoption of the homeless preference, and share the positive impact they have seen the preference have on families and communities. 

The webinar Adopting a Multifamily Homeless Preference: An Overview for Property Owners and Agents (run time 5:30) describes the benefits of adopting the preference, walks through the simple steps for property owners to adopt the preference, and provides answers to common questions about property owner flexibility and the option for owners to partner with local service providers to support families and individuals transitioning from homelessness. 

The webinar Implementing a Homeless Preference in Multifamily Housing: An Overview for Continuums of Care and Service Providers (run time 10:34) gives an overview of how the homeless preference works in privately owned, HUD-subsidized multifamily properties, and explains the key role of Continuums of Care and local service providers — both in recruiting property owners to adopt the preference, and sustaining the homeless preference once implemented.  The webinar offers best practices for creating an effective referral and services package to pair with the preference once it has been adopted, and provides a planning roadmap for local communities wishing to promote the preference.

Learn more about new special and add-on management fees now available for HUD assisted properties implementing a homeless preference.  Find homelessness assistance resources for Multifamily Housing owners and managers on HUD Exchange.  Sign up for the Office of Multifamily Housing Homeless Preference Mailing List. 
 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s final rule regarding the implementation of housing protections authorized in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA) was published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2016. This final rule is a critical step in protecting housing of survivors of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

The rule affects all owners/agents of properties under Multifamily’s rental assistance programs and becomes effective 30 days after publication, on December 16, 2016. Please note covered housing providers will have 180 days from the effective date to develop emergency transfer plans. Emergency transfer provisions will become effective June 14, 2017.

HUD Secretary Julián Castro stated, “Nobody should have to choose between an unsafe home and no home at all.  Today we take a necessary step toward ensuring domestic violence survivors are protected from being twice victimized when it comes to finding and keeping a home they can feel safe in.”

Some of the critical components of the final rule include:

• Continuation of the core protections - The rule codifies the core protection across HUD’s covered programs ensuring survivors are not denied assistance as an applicant, or evicted or have assistance terminated due to having been a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, or for being affiliated with a victim.
• Emergency transfers - One of the key elements of VAWA’s housing protections are emergency transfers which allows for survivors to move to another safe and available unit if they fear for their life and safety. The final rule includes a model emergency transfer plan, which was required in VAWA 2013, and an emergency transfer request form.
• Protections against the adverse effects of abuse - Domestic violence can often have negative economic and criminal consequences on a survivor. The perpetrator may take out credit cards in a survivor’s name, ruining their credit history, or causing damage to survivor’s property causing eviction and poor rental history. The perpetrator may force a survivor to participate in criminal activity or a survivor may be arrested as part of policies that require arresting of both parties in a domestic disturbance. The final rule ensures that covered housing providers do not deny tenancy or occupancy rights based solely on these adverse factors that are a direct result of being a survivor.
• Low-barrier certification process - The final rule makes it clear that under most circumstances, a survivor need only to self-certify in order to exercise their rights under VAWA, ensuring third-party documentation does not cause a barrier in a survivor expressing their rights and receiving the protections needed to keep themselves safe. The rule includes a certification form that may be used by covered housing providers.

Dear Affordable Housing Colleagues,

On October 4, 2016, HUD announced a proposed reporting requirement which will require all Public Housing Authorities and owners of HUD-assisted multifamily housing to benchmark their portfolios’ utility usage.  The notices can be found at  https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-10-04/pdf/2016-23979.pdf and https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-10-04/pdf/2016-23978.pdf; the 60-day public comment period that ends on December 5, 2016.  Benchmarking will give affordable housing owners and operators a better understanding of the overall utility consumption and costs associated with their properties and enable them to more efficiently and effectively manage their portfolios. 

To help owners with the greatest need for technical assistance in complying with the benchmarking requirement, HUD is partnering with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and TDA Consulting to bring you the Climate Corps for Affordable Housing Summer Fellowship program.  The program will embed 12 fellows with affordable housing organizations across the country for the summer of 2017 and will be offered at no cost to host institutions, which will be chosen on the basis of need.  This free, full-time technical assistance will allow affordable housing organizations to get ahead of the curve on this upcoming HUD requirement.

Please join us for a webinar to further explain the details of this exciting new opportunity on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 @ 2 PM ET.  To register, please click here: https://tdaevent.webex.com/tdaevent/onstage/g.php?MTID=ee1e7c1c34c6f83e93812f0e277ae12c4

For more information, please contact Josh Geyer (Joshua.M.Geyer@hud.gov).

Multifamily Housing is pleased to announce the release of five draft chapters of Multifamily Asset Management and Project Servicing – HUD Handbook 4350.1 on the Multifamily Policy Drafting Table.  This long awaited release is an important milestone in a larger effort to bring this major Handbook up- to-date. HUD will accept feedback on these chapters for a one-month period, closing on December 2, 2016.

The handbook is being revised to incorporate current Housing Notices and Policy updates, Mortgagee Letters and regulatory and statutory directives. One noticeable difference in the look and style of the handbook is the reorganized unit and chapter structure, which follows the life cycle of an asset. Our plan is to release individual chapters to the Drafting Table as they become available and eventually publish each as either an individual stand-alone chapter or as units of interrelated material. We will send subsequent email notifications as more chapters are posted to the Drafting Table for review. Comments may be submitted by completing the corresponding worksheet (available on the Drafting Table) and emailing the file to MFHDraftingTable@hud.gov within the 30-day feedback period. We look forward to your input.  

Chapters now posted to the Drafting Table include:

• Chapter 2.02- Physical Conditions
• Chapter 2.06- Budget Based Rent Adjustments
• Chapter 4.11- Releases and Satisfactions
• Chapter 5.02- Civil Rights Enforcement
• Chapter 7.02- Section 8 Pass-Through Leases  

/program_offices/housing/mfh/MFH_policy_drafts/4350-1

The Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAF) for 2017 were published today in the Federal Register. These factors are used for adjusting or establishing Section 8 rents under the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (MAHRA), as amended, for projects assisted with Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments. The factors are effective February 11, 2017 and can be found at:  https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-10-05/pdf/2016-24070.pdf. 

Reminder for HUD and PBCA offices processing rent increases using Auto OCAF: Once the 2017 Factors are updated in iREMS, please delete any Amend Rents record effective 02/11/2017 and beyond that was created either automatically or manually with the old 2016 Factor. A new record will automatically generate with the new 2017 Factor.  

On Friday, August 26, 2016, Housing Notice H-2016-08, was published.  /sites/documents/16-08hsgn.pdf. This establishes a Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) program in multifamily housing. FSS is a HUD program that provides incentives and supports to help families living in multifamily assisted housing to increase their earned income and reduce their dependence on public assistance programs. FSS promotes the development of local strategies to coordinate the use of HUD rental assistance programs with public and private resources, to enable eligible families to make progress toward economic independence and self-sufficiency.

Owners of privately-owned HUD assisted multifamily housing can voluntarily establish and operate an FSS program at their housing sites. Participation in the FSS program is voluntary for families living in these properties. Families entering the FSS program work to develop goals that will help the families make progress toward self-sufficiency within a 5-year period. When the family meets its goals and completes its FSS contract, the family becomes eligible to receive funds deposited in an escrow account.

Visit HUD’s new Homeless Assistance Resources webpage, the new home of “Opening Doors Through Multifamily Housing: Toolkit for Implementing a Homeless Preference”.

Reading this webpage will provide you with information on the following topics:

• Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness
• Multifamily Housing Homeless Preference Notice, H 2013-21
• Homeless Preference Tool Kit for owners, management agents, homeless service providers, and government officials
• Finding your local Continuum of Care (CoC) for referrals of homeless households
• Homeless Preference Overview for assisted housing owners and managers, including how to create and implement the preference
• Housing Choice Voucher program for Market-Rate housing owners and management agents
• Homeless populations, such as veterans, LGBT persons, youth, and people experiencing domestic violence

HUD encourages all multifamily housing owners and management agents to help end homelessness.  You can make this happen by using these resources and working with local homeless service providers.  For questions, be sure to include your city and state in your message.  Please email us at mfhp@hud.gov. 

HUD has released its FY2016 Median Family Income estimates and FY2016 Income Limits. The FY2016 Income Limits have been published and became effective on March 28, 2016. The income limits can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html

We have been advised by HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) that the regularly scheduled computer matching with Health and Human Services (HHS) for March 2016 will not occur as scheduled.  This means the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system will not be updated with new hire, wage, or unemployment benefit information.  Our last monthly match and the quarterly match both occurred on February 29, 2016.  There will be a gap regarding the March 2016 match.  Owners and Agents (O/As) should perform third party verifications as done previous to the implementation of EIV for these income sources until notice is sent advising the computer matching with HHS has resumed. Social Security income information will not be affected.  Please document the tenant files that have been affected by this outage.  An example of acceptable documentation would be to include a copy of this Rental Housing Integrity Improvement Project (RHIIP) message in the tenant file. We apologize for this inconvenience.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will host a national joint listening session to address the intersection of trafficking and the need for housing and social-services for survivors. In response to the Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking, HHS and HUD have been working to coordinate efforts to address the needs of human trafficking survivors, recognizing that housing and supportive services are critical in serving survivors.

The listening session will continue HHS and HUD’s efforts by bringing together social-service and housing providers serving adult survivors of human trafficking in order to:

1.    Understand the challenges facing housing and social-service providers in meeting the needs of adult (18+) survivors of humantraffickingand those at risk of traffickingfor safe and appropriate housing and support services,
2.    Recognize best practices in housing and support services for trafficking survivors, and
3.    Help identify potential changes in policy, technical assistance, outreach, or other areas to better assist housing and social-service providers effectively meet the needs of this population.

The three main questions we will be discussing are:

1.    What are the major challenges you face in helping survivors access housing and supportive services in your community?
2.    Are you involved in or aware of any promising practices on the ground in this area?
3.    What are the top 3 things you believe HUD and HHS could do to help the work you are doing on the ground? 

The national listening session will be conducted through a phone call on Wednesday, February 24 from 3:00-4:30PM EST. Please register to receive the call information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hhs-and-hud-national-joint-listening-session-on-the-intersection-of-human-trafficking-and-housing-registration-21356542995

In August 2015, the Department issued a new Section 8 Renewal Policy Guide. Section 9-23 of the new Guide provided instructions for comparing the median rents as derived by the appraiser in a rent comparability study (RCS) with Census Bureau estimates of the median rents in the project’s zip code.  Should the rents in the owner’s study exceed 140 percent of the median zip code rent threshold, then HUD would secure a third party to create a RCS for comparison purposes.  When the Department issued the Guide, our office also published the list of median zip code rents as of December 2014.

HUD has recently published the new median zip code rents and the 140 percent thresholds.  Users can find these new numbers under “What’s New” on /program_offices/housing/mfh/mfhsec8. The file has two worksheets, one listing the numbers and a second one providing instructions should there not be a number in the cell for that zip code.  Staff and appraisers can find the instructions for comparing the numbers and determining the final rent, should a HUD study be required in Section 9-23. These numbers will be effective for any RCS signed by the owner’s appraiser on or after February 11, 2016. 

HUD has just released the instructions for renewing Project Assistance Contracts (PACs) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016.  The instructions provide guidance to the field for processing PAC renewals for FY2016. The expiring PACs may be renewed for a period of one year only. Headquarters sent the instructions to the field offices on February 4, 2016. The memorandum and the FY 2016 contract are available on the HUD website at 
/program_offices/housing/mfh/mfhsec8.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will host a national joint listening session to address the intersection of trafficking and the need for housing and social-services for survivors. In response to the Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking, HHS and HUD have been working to coordinate efforts to address the needs of human trafficking survivors, recognizing that housing and supportive services are critical in serving survivors.

The listening session will continue HHS and HUD’s efforts by bringing together social-service and housing providers serving adult survivors of human trafficking in order to:

1. Understand the challenges facing housing and social-service providers in meeting the needs of adult (18+) survivors of human trafficking and those at risk of trafficking for safe and appropriate housing and support services. 
2. Recognize best practices in housing and support services for trafficking survivors, and
3. Help identify potential changes in policy, technical assistance, outreach, or other areas to better assist housing and social-service providers effectively meet the needs of this population.

The national listening session will be conducted through a phone call on Wednesday, February 24 from 3:00-4:30PM EST.  Please save the date and look for more information on registering for the call in the weeks to come.

This notice advises a rate of 0.06% which is unchanged from the rate used last year. The passbook savings rate is based on the national average provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Passbook Savings Rate Effective February 1, 2016 has been posted to HUDCLIPS: Housing Notice 2016-01

The Supportive Services Demonstration for Elderly Households in HUD-Assisted Multifamily Housing (Demonstration) NOFA (Notice of Funds Available) is now available at grants.gov. The demonstration this NOFA will fund has been many years in the making and represents an exciting opportunity to prove the case that a well-designed supportive services program combined with affordable housing can make a dramatic difference in the lives of older Americans. Along with my colleagues in PD&R, we are hopeful this research will help us make the case for expanded availability of affordable supportive housing for the elderly.  Join us for a webinar to introduce the NOFA on February 2, 2016 at 1:00 pm EST. Applicants must submit a completed electronic application by April 18, 2016 through www.grants.gov.

On December 11th, Multifamily Housing published a joint Housing Notice with PIH to HUDClips regarding a revision to the definition for tuition as it relates to determining income for some of our programs. The published notice expands upon FY 2012 appropriations language which requires, for Section 8 programs, the amount of any financial assistance an individual receives in excess of amounts received for tuition and other required fees and charges be considered when determining an applicant's or participant's annual income. When reading HUD Handbook 4350.3, REV-1 paragraph 5-6.E, the exclusion for a student over the age of 23 with dependent children or a student living with his or her parents who are receiving Section 8 assistance remains applicable.

The 2016 COLA (Cost-of-Living Adjustments) will see no increase as the inflation measure used by the Social Security Administration showed a negative inflation rate. However, benefits cannot be decreased despite a negative inflation measurement. COLA impacts benefits to about 59 social security recipients, 1.96 million military retirees and 4 million disabled veterans. The 2015 COLA (Cost-of-Living Adjustments) was 1.7% which was slightly higher than the previous year's increase of 1.5%.

• Retired military veterans, VA rates for compensation and pension for disabled veterans and surviving families will be effective December 1, 2015 and will be reflected on the first check to be paid on December 31, 2015.
• Social Security benefits will increase beginning with the December 2015 benefits, which are payable in January 2016.
• Federal SSI payment levels will increase effective for payments made for January 2016.

The FY2016 Fair Market Rents (FMRs) became effective December 11, 2015 and were posted on HUDUSER the same day.