HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) posted “Revised List of Eligible Coronavirus-Related Activities,” adding six eligible uses that public housing agencies (PHAs) may carry out with the $850 million Congress provided through the CARES Act for Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) administration (see Memo 5/4,4/10). PIH posted the revised list dated July 31 on August 24. The prior list was dated April 30 (see Memo, 5/11). The six new eligible activities were already listed in Notice PIH-2020-18, posted on July 31 (see Memo, 4/10).
The six new eligible uses of a PHA’s CARES Act administrative funds are:
- Purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) for PHA staff and for residents visiting the PHA’s offices or premises for program-related reasons.
- Covering expenses incurred due to coronavirus restrictions impacting PHA operations (e.g., paying for transportation expenses for PHA staff who rely on public transit that is no longer available).
- Testing PHA staff and HCV families for COVID-19.
- Creating or updating an infectious disease outbreak plan.
- Making physical improvements to PHA office space, including expanding or remodeling, or renting additional space.
- Covering costs to coordinate with local schools and local governments receiving funds from the U.S. Department of Education for educating students in the HCV program. This can include covering costs for technological needs of HCV households with school-aged children who are homeschooled as a result of the pandemic.
“Revised List of Eligible Coronavirus-Related Activities” is at: https://bit.ly/2QHEukB
More information about the Housing Choice Voucher program is on page 4-1 of NLIHC’s 2020 Advocates’ Guide.