HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) posted a seventh update to its frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program created by the “American Rescue Plan Act” (ARPA). Public housing agencies (PHAs) were eligible to apply for 70,000 EHVs (see Memo, 5/10), and PIH announced the EHV allocations available to 696 PHAs (see Memo, 5/17). NLIHC has a summary of the key FAQs from the first three sets of FAQs, as well as those from the fourth (see Memo, 7/26), fifth (see Memo, 10/4) and sixth updates (see Memo, 11/1). The seventh version adds 13 new FAQs and updates one; the FAQs most relevant to residents and advocates are highlighted here.
Under the category “Eligibility,” FAQ 21 (page 7) updates FAQ 16 from the previous version, clarifying that a minor child who is a victim of human trafficking enables their family to be eligible for EHV. As stated in PIH Notice 2021-15, human trafficking includes both sex and labor trafficking as outlined in the “Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.”
Under the category “Voucher Administration,” new FAQ 44 (page 14) states that a PHA can establish admission preferences for EHVs that are different than the PHA’s regular Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) admission preferences. FAQ 44 warns, however, that a PHA cannot refuse to admit a referred family not on an EHV preference list in order to set aside an EHV for a future, unknown applicant who belongs to a group given preference for EHV. FAQ 46 repeats the prohibition on delaying the issuance of an available EHV to hold it for a future referral for a household that might meet one of a PHA’s preferences.
New FAQ 47 (page 15) states that a PHA cannot have a standalone Administrative Plan for its EHV program. The EHV program must be included in a PHA’s HCV Administrative Plan, though it can be an addendum or appendix to its regular HCV Administrative Plan that is specific to EHV policies.
Seven new FAQs pertain to the mechanics of dealing with a household with an EHV choosing to move from one PHA to another PHA (“portability”): FAQ 84 (page 24) and FAQs 106-111 (pages 30-32). These are likely to be of interest to PHAs.
“Emergency Housing Vouchers, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) v.7” is at: https://bit.ly/3prPVOi
The Emergency Housing Voucher website is at: https://bit.ly/3wdoeuG