Certain HOTMA Voucher Provisions Become Effective Today

Today, April 18, 2017, some of The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016‘s (HOTMA’s) voucher provisions take effect.[1] Here is a list of the HOTMA provisions–and a very brief summary of each provision–that you can use, as of today.[2] [3] Implementing some of these provisions may require changes to your administrative plan or HUD notification.

• HOTMA: Implementation of Various Section 8 Provisions (Effective Date: April 18, 2017);
  • Inspections of Dwelling Units;
    • Occupancy Prior to Meeting HQS – PHAs may approve a unit and commence HAP, even if the unit fails a HQS inspection (with only non-life-threatening HQS deficiencies);
    • Alternative Initial Inspections – PHAs may authorize occupancy of a unit before a PHA’s HQS inspection, if in the previous 2 years, the unit passed a LIHTC, HOME, or other qualified alternative inspection;
  • Units Owned by a PHA;
    • Units Owned by a PHA – a unit is owned by a PHA if it is (1) owned by a PHA; (2) owned by an entity wholly controlled by the PHA; or (3) owned by a LLC or limited partnership in which the PHA holds a controlling interest in the managing member or general partner; and the PHA has a ownership interest in the building itself;
  • Project-based Vouchers (PBVs);
    • PBV General Cap;
      • The PBV general cap of 20 percent may be calculated by unit allocation or funding allocation;
      • The PBV general cap limit is increased by an additional 10 percent for units serving homeless families; families with veterans; supportive housing for the elderly or people with disabilities; or in areas where vouchers are hard to use;
      • Certain other projects are excluded from this cap;
    • PBV Income-Mixing Cap;
      • The income-mixing cap is now the greater of 25 units in a project or 25 percent of the units in a project;
      • Certain other projects are exempted from this cap;
    • Contract Terms – PBV contracts may now extend to 20 years and be extended for an additional 20 years;
    • Selection Preferences – PHAs may establish a selection preference for families who qualify for voluntary services offered in conjunction with assisted units, provided that the preference is consistent with the PHA plan;
    • Attaching Assistance – PHAs may attach assistance to structures in which the PHA has an ownership interest without following a competitive process; Ownership interest is more loosely defined than “units owned by a PHA” for the purposes of this provision;
    • HUD-VASH and FUP Vouchers – PHAs may project-base HUD-VASH and FUP vouchers;
  • Vouchers in Manufactured Housing;
    • Manufactured Home Owner Rent Definition Expanded – the definition of rent for PHAs making voucher assistance available to manufactured home owners has been expanded; The definition of rent now includes, among other things, monthly payments made by a household to amortize the cost of purchasing the manufactured home.

Additionally, you may want to read our previous post on HOTMA’s self-implementing provisions.

[1] – There was speculation that the effective date would be delayed by HUD, but HUD has not published any notices in the Federal Register indicating a delayed effective date, therefore NAHRO believes that the initial April 18, 2017 effective date remains in place.

[2] – Please keep in mind that these are short summaries of the HOTMA voucher provisions. Provisions may have additional requirements as a precondition for their use.

[3] – Although these provisions are effective today, they are still subject to change by HUD.

[4/25/17 edit – removed the word “Standards” after HQS in the “Inspections of Dwelling Units” section.]