HUD Issues Residual Receipts Notice for Section 8 Project Based Assisted Projects.

Thanks to NLIHC M2M, explanation is HERE; Notice HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog. 

Revised DRAFT Project Based Unit Counts by State , Section 8 Contract Admnistration Awards.

It's now more than a week after bidders for the Section 8 project based contracts were advised whether they were awarded contracts starting Oct 1, and yet no further information has been published by HUD.

I had published my state estimates of unit counts and projects on July 4rd showing an estimated total unit count of 1,364,338 units.  

I subsequently went back and looked at the listing of active projects list found in an Excel file on a HUD web page HERE and was able to identify only 1,063,671 units associated with a state identifier (This included adding in Alaska and the Virgin Islands units from my original estimate that were missing from this database). The state distribution of those 1,063,671 units I found with state identifiers are shown in a revised DRAFT listing that I have prepared HERE. 

I then went back to read the FAQ's about the contract found HERE and on page 4 the Q and A reads as follows: 

Q: As of Feb. 28, 2011 (date of Invitation release), the Portfolio of All Active Project-Based Section 8 Contacts database, which was last updated on 12/10/10, identifies the total number of active units as 1,234,135. For purposes of this application submission, we are proceeding using the unit count from the 12/10/10 update. If this is not acceptable, please provide the most recent database numbers.

 A: All applicants should be utilizing the information posted on Portfolio of All Active Project-Based Section 8 Contacts database dated 12/10/10.

So, in the absence of any state specific information from HUD it is not precisely clear what the PBCA unit counts per state [or contractor] are.  

I believe that my revised DRAFT numbers are likely the most accurate state level numbers, but given that they add up to less than the Q and A provided unit count, I readily concede that my revised DRAFT unit counts could be on the low side. (The discrepancy may that that some projects did not have a clear state identifier?).

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

HUD Section 8 Project Based Contract Administration Out for Applications; OHCS Will Respond by April 28th Deadline.

HUD has issued a Invitation for Application for contract administrators for the Project Based Section 8 program.  Deadline for responses is April 28th. 

I note that in reading the Invitation for Application that there will be ONE contract administrator for each state , except for California. This addresses one of the significant prior concerns of OHCS that these contracts would be bid on a multistate basis. 

Even with this change I have no reason to think that a contract administrator from another state could NOT bid to become the sole administrator for Oregon, replacing OHCS. 

HUD's Section 8 Contract Administration web page is HERE; the final Invitation for Applications is HERE. 

OHCS Plans Not Yet Public or Clear.

While I have NOT seen any public materials from OHCS, as this is a significant revenue source for them, they will clearly be responding to this Invitation for Applications.   

I will be checking with OHCS to find out more about their plans, including partnering with other organizations in Oregon, and whether there is ANY plan to use their captive non profit, OHSI, as any part of their proposal. 

[A prior January blog post on this topic, with additional links, is HERE].

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Correction: HAP Planning Switch of 1,200+ Public Housing Units to Project Based Section 8 VOUCHERS.

Correction: 
I have confirmed with HAP that the plan conversion is to project based Section 8 vouchers, NOT traditional project based Section 8 funding. Title and text below has been corrected to reflect the conversion to project based vouchers.

In a proposed amendment to their FY 2012 Moving to Work Plan posted HERE, the Housing Authority of Portland has announced that it is seeking to covert 1,232 public housing units to HUD Section 8 project based VOUCHERS.   

HAP says making the switch in subsidy source would allow it "to increase services to residents and to finance large-scale capital improvements throughout the portfolio." and adds  that "residents would continue to have the same public housing protections under the Admissions and Grievance process as are presently in place at these properties."

A hearing will be held and public comments will be accepted until March 15th according to this HAP posted information: 

A public hearing to inform and seek input on the amendment will be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2011, at 6:15 p.m. at the Multnomah County building, 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, Oregon. The proposed amendment is available for review below. HAP will be accepting written comments regarding the proposed amendment from February 28 - March 15, 2011. Please submit written comments to the following address: Housing Authority of Portland, Attn: Betty Dominguez, 135 SW Ash Street, Portland, OR 97204. Comments can also be emailed to bettyd@hapdx.org

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

OCAF's Coming Out Monday; Oregon's is Down to 2.6%

Operating Cost Adjustment Factors, used to adjust certain project based Section 8 rents will be in the Federal Register on Monday.  (Draft of that notice is HERE) .

A quick review shows that the Oregon FY 2011 OCAF will be 2.6% , a reduction from the 3.2% FY 2010 Oregon OCAF. 

The quick table I prepared below shows historical OCAF data by Fiscal Year for Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

FY	Oregon OCAF	Washington OCAF	Idaho OCAF
FY 2011	2.60%	2.70%	3.00%
FY 2010	3.20%	3.90%	4.50%
FY 2009	7.90%	2.30%	4.70%
FY 2008	3.30%	6.00%	6.10%
FY 2007	3.10%	3.10%	3.10%
FY 2006	3.50%	3.50%	3.80%
FY 2005	2.20%	2.40%	1.90%
FY 2004	6.20%	5.50%	5.60%
FY 2003	2.00%	2.80%	2.50%
FY 2002	3.70%	3.60%	3.60%
FY 2001	3.10%	3.30%	3.20%
FY 2000	2.70%	2.40%	2.50%
FY 1999	2.30%	2.60%	2.30%

I will likely do an additional post once I get a chance to look more closely at the notice and data. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Updated: HUD to Offer 30 Day Opportunity to Comment on Changes in Section 8 Project Based Renewal Guide.

Update: Official Federal Register notice is HERE.
Renewal Guide for comment is found on web page HERE. Direct URL to Guide is HERE.
==============

Advance notice is HERE, look in Thursday Oct 14 Federal Register for official publication.   

Looks like there will be a 30 day window to comment, and link within FR publication will take you to the official draft renewal guide. Comments are to be emailed to Section8RenewalGuide@hud.gov

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Update 1: 35th Anniversary of HUD Project Based and Voucher Section 8 Rent Assistance, and CDBG.

Update 1: Added link to House hearing report that contains 1973 HUD massive 500 page report, Housing in the Seventies.
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In my continuing "HUD Anniversary Series" let me add another biggie.

Saturday August 22th marks the 35th anniversary of THREE major HUD programs:

1. Section 8 Housing Vouchers.
2. Section 8 Project Based Rental Assistance.
3. Community Development Block Grants.

These three landmark HUD programs were a creation of the Nixon administration. However, the actual legislation was signed by President Ford on August 22, 1974, just two weeks after Nixon announced his resignation. (Date was 13 months after I started working for HUD in my home town of Detroit).

Some resources:

1. President Ford's signing statement is HERE.
   
2. Public Law 93-383 summary and legislative history is HERE.
   
3. Comprehensive history of Housing certificate/voucher program evolution is HERE (I excerpted from a recent HUD draft Statement of Work for an upcoming study of Administrative Fee costs).
4. GAO report HERE from Spring 1974 INCLUDES 900 unit Experimental Housing Allowance program in Salem (this was precursor to Housing Certificate and Voucher programs).
5. From Internet Archive , House hearing record containing HUD report, Housing in the Seventies (close to 500 pages).
   

I ENCOURAGE others who have experience with the start of these programs and/or who know of links to other relevant documents to add your experience and links with the comment tool below this post. It might be particularly useful if anyone can share their experience with the Salem Experimental Housing Allowance Program or the start of the project based Section 8 or CDBG programs.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.