HUD PIH Announces Voucher NSPIRE Implementation Delay to February 1, 2027

By Ed Gramlich, NLIHC Senior Advisor 

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) sent an email to public housing agency (PHA) directors announcing a further delay in implementing the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Project-Based Voucher (PBV) programs. NSPIRE for HCV and PBV are designated as NSPIRE-V to distinguish them from the NSPIRE requirements for other HUD programs, such as public housing, Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), and HOME. The previously extended compliance date of October 1, 2025, has now been postponed until February 1, 2027, due to ongoing technical challenges.

The email reminds PHAs that the NSPIRE requirements for carbon monoxide and smoke alarms remain in place, as required by Congress, and that lead-based paint visual assessment standards also remain unchanged. In addition, fuel-burning space heaters were prohibited as of January 1, 2024. The email states that existing approvals for Housing Quality Standards (HQS) variations as well as alternative inspection methods remain in place until NSPIRE-V is implemented.  

The NSPIRE inspection protocol started July 1, 2023, for public housing and October 1, 2023, for HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs, such as PBRA, Section 202 and Section 811. 

Read the PIH email here.  

View HUD’s NSPIRE webpage here.  

More information about NSPIRE is on NLIHC’s Public Housing webpage, and on page 4-120 of NLIHC’s 2025 Advocates’ Guide. 

More information about HCVs is on page 4-1 of NLIHC’s 2025 Advocates’ Guide, including a short summary of NSPIRE for HCVs on page 4-9. 

More information about PBVs is on page 4-11 of NLIHC’s 2025 Advocates’ Guide, including a short summary of NSPIRE for HCVs on page 4-17.