HUD issued a joint Notice implementing the use of the $5 million set-aside included in the FY18 appropriations for tenant protection vouchers (TPVs) for low-income households who may have to pay more than 30% of their adjusted incomes for rent if they live in certain HUD-assisted multifamily housing in low-vacancy areas. The $5 million is a set-aside from the $85 million FY18 appropriation for all TPVs.
The joint Notice includes Notice H 2019-02 from the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs and PIH 2019-01 from the Office of Public and Indian Housing. The new joint Notice supersedes Notice PIH 2018-02 (see Memo, 2/20/18) which introduced a number of changes from previous years (see Memo, 8/22/16).
To be eligible for TPVs, one of two potential “triggering” events must have taken place in the five years prior to an owner submitting a request for set-aside TPVs or are expected to take place within 180 days. The two potential triggering events are the maturing of mortgages or the expiration of affordability restrictions at various Section 236, 331(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR), or Section 202 Direct Loan properties.
Under the TPV set-aside, tenant protection vouchers may be either enhanced vouchers (EVs) or project-based vouchers (PBVs). Exhibit C of the Notice provides an excellent description of enhanced vouchers and project-based vouchers. In addition, NLIHC’s “Summary of Key Provisions of Notice H 2019-02/PIH 2019-01” has a brief description of EVs. See also pages 4-52 and 4-48 of NLIHC’s 2018 Advocates’ Guide. One of the new provisions in this Notice adds that if an owner refuses a household with an EV the right to remain in their home, the household may exercise any judicial remedy available under state or local law.
The Joint Notice Will Remain in Effect for the Foreseeable Future
The $5 million available from the FY18 appropriation will be used in addition to TPV set-aside funds remaining from the FY17 appropriation – a practice that was newly instituted last year in Notice PIH 2018-02. In addition, the new Notice states that HUD will not issue a new TPV set-aside Notice every year, but instead will continue to use this new joint Notice for future TPV set-aside appropriations. Both features are improvements advocates had long sought. In prior years TPV set-aside funds not awarded were no longer available at the end of the relevant fiscal year. Because HUD had failed to issue Notices in a timely fashion, significant resources were left unused. The Notice for FY16, for example, was issued on August 18, two months before the end of the fiscal year.
Low-Vacancy Areas
A project must be in a HUD-identified low-vacancy area. New with this Notice, HUD will publish an updated list of low-vacancy areas for the period of July 1 to June 30 each year. For applications submitted before this Notice, a property will be in a low-vacancy area if it was on HUD’s FY17 or FY18 low-vacancy lists. Lists will be published at https://bit.ly/2Nederh. This Notice continues last year’s Notice of using an improved methodology for determining low-vacancy. Advocates had long urged HUD to revise the way it determines low-vacancy areas because, prior to last year, many otherwise eligible properties were not allowed to apply for TPV assistance.
At-Risk Tenants
As with previous Notices, only owners may request set-aside TPV assistance. Advocates have urged HUD to allow residents to request TPV assistance if an owner is not responsive. In addition, this Notice does not correct an issue that advocates have raised – it does not require owners of projects approaching expiration-of-use restrictions to provide residents a one-year notice.
This Memo article highlights key provisions that are modified by the new Notice. For a more complete description of other important provisions that were not changed, see NLIHC’s “Summary of Key Provisions of Notice H 2019-02/PIH 2019-01.” It discusses project-eligibility requirements and a detailed description of which HUD-assistance programs can be involved and what events can trigger a property’s eligibility. In addition, there is more discussion about at-risk tenants. It also has a brief overview of EVs.
Joint Notice H 2019-02/PIH 2019-01 is at: https://bit.ly/2BKc7L8
NLIHC’s “Summary of Key Provisions of Notice H 2019-02/PIH 2019-01” is at:
General information about TPVs and EVs is on page 4-52 of NLIHC’s 2018 Advocates’ Guide
General information about PBVs is on page 4-48 of NLIHC’s 2018 Advocates’ Guide