HUD Issues Three-Year Certification Interim Rule
On Dec. 12, 2017, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register amending March 8, 2016 regulatory language for public housing, vouchers, and HUD Multifamily rental housing assistance programs. The rule also aligns current regulatory flexibilities with those found in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.
The FAST Act provisions being implemented allow public housing agencies (PHAs) and owners of multifamily housing (Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), Section 202, and Section 811) to conduct full income recertifications for households whose fixed income (such as Social Security) comprises 90 percent or more of their total income every three years instead of annually.
In addition to other changes, the interim final rule also allows owners to:
- Make utility reimbursements of $45 or less per quarter ($15 a month) on a quarterly basis.
- Accept family declaration of assets under $5,000. Third-party verification of all family assets will be required every three years.
The effective date for these changes is March 12, 2018, which will allow participants in multifamily housing programs and interested parties to submit comments on the interim rule. Comments must be submitted to HUD by Jan. 11, 2018 in order to be considered before publication of the final rule.
Members are encouraged to review the interim rule and respond with feedback to be added to the comments that LeadingAge plans to submit on behalf of members. These comments, and any questions you may have about the interim rule, should be directed to Colleen Bloom by Jan. 5th. Directions on the submission of comments to HUD may be found here, and they may also be provided directly to HUD at regulations.gov.
Further information about the interim rule may be found here, and LeadingAge will be releasing more information about the interim rule in the near future. In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact Colleen Bloom with any questions you may have.
Contact: Sara Neitzel, sneitzel@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8835