Latest MTW Expansion Includes Washington County and Brings MTW Share of ALL US Vouchers to 16% and 10% of All Public Housing Units.

HUD has announced the latest 10 PHA's approved as Moving to Work agencies, bringing the MTW total to 80 PHA's. The latest limited scope MTW approvals test various rent variations as explained in the HUD PR HERE.  The HUD MTW landing page is HERE.

The Housing Authority of Washington County [HAWC] was one of the agencies approved for MTW participation; Home Forward is the only other MTW agency in Oregon. 

HAWC's approval for a tiered rent structure will extend regular income reviews to 3 years and band tenant rents by $2,500 income increments to simplify the rent setting process. The HAWC application, with many more details, is HERE. 

I compiled a count of public housing and HUD voucher units within the 80 MTW agencies and put together a summary by HUD region in a PDF file HERE and embedded below. [The unit count data source was the 2020 HUD picture of subsidized housing data found HERE].

Observations:

• Region 10 [which includes Oregon and Washington] has the highest regional percentage of both public housing (57.2%) and voucher units (46.7%) in MTW agencies. 
• In contrast Region 2 (think NYC), with 223,167 public housing units has only 394 of those units in MTW agencies. 
• There are now 98,525 public housing units in MTW agencies and 425,079 voucher units. 
• The latest 10 MTW agencies just added have a total of 59,556 units; 11,325 public housing units and 48,231 voucher units. 
• The two MTW 2021 expansions this year to date have added a total of 75,596 units; 15,875 public housing units and 59,721 voucher units 
• I count a total of 2,861 public housing agencies. The 80 MTW agencies are only 3.7% of total agencies, but have a substantially higher 10.3% of all public housing units and 16.2% of all voucher units.

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CBPP Has Mothers Day Reminder of Importance of HUD Vouchers to Women; Estimates 16K Oregon Mothers Benefit Out of 42k Eligible.

I love the timing of this release, A Million Things That Housing Vouchers Are Doing for Mothers on Their Day,  HERE.

Their data estimate is that 16,168 Oregon mothers use housing vouchers out of total eligible universe of  42,427 mothers. (38%).  Mothers would represent 1/2 of the 32k voucher holders in Oregon, using prior CBBP voucher state estimates.

Readers may recall my prior August 2012 post on the topic of women heads of household, HERE. (I estimated higher percentages of voucher holders for women heads of household and will try to connect with CBPP to find out why their percentages differ). I SUSPECT it is because this CPBB release focuses on "mothers" and NOT all "women heads of households". 

For now, I'm just pleased that someone nationally is finally focused on how HUD assisted programs benefit women.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Projected Sequestration Impact on HUD Vouchers: Oregon Could Lose Between 2,400 and 2,900 Vouchers, Largest Loss of Subsidized Housing Ever?

CBPP has published a new report HERE showing projected impact of sequestration on the number of vouchers in use as of December 2012.   

The projected national impact is a loss from a low of 125,000 to a high of 185,000 vouchers; the Oregon projected loss is from a low of 2,440 to a high of 2,997 vouchers. That would be a cut of 7.5% to 9.2%.

Based on my past knowledge and experience I believe this would represent the greatest loss of HUD subsidized housing in Oregon EVER. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Big Data Preview: December 2012 Ranking of States by Share of HAP Voucher Funds Spent by Moving to Work Agencies.

There is a June 26 hearing scheduled on Moving to Work before a subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee; the hearing page is HERE. 

As part of a BIG data project I am working on, I constructed the 2 page PDF HERE and embedded below that shows the share of Housing Assistance Payment funds within a state that were spent by Moving to Work agencies in each state in December of 2012.  

To my knowledge this is the only public data on MTW agency HAP spending by state that has ever been published.

Observations: 

1. Nationally 14% of HAP in December 2012 was spent by 34  MTW agencies. 
2. There were 4 states where MTW agencies represented more than 50% of HAP spent in the state. 
3. Oregon's 30% of HAP spending for our only Moving to Work agency (Home Forward) was about double the national average. 
4. Washington state, with 4 MTW agencies, saw 54% of HAP spent by those agencies. 
5. (Data for 4 MTW agencies authorized in December of 2012 was not included in these totals).
6. Look for a BIG data post with more data soon.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Oregonian Locked Out Fair/Affordable Housing Series: A 1 Year Update.

It's been a year since the June 2012 Oregonian Locked Out series on affordable and fair housing.  I thought an update on my understanding of progress to date to address issues related to the series might be timely.

LIHTC and QAP (My prior post is HERE).

1. The QAP has a provision for a basis boost for low poverty neighborhoods. 
2. The QAP has  a provision permitting affirmatively furthering fair housing waivers.
3. The QAP has a commitment to facilitate over the next six months a work group to research and recommend Fair Housing policies for program adoption that will be incorporated into Permanent Rules.
4. I successfully merged HUD LIHTC data with ACS poverty data for Oregon projects and recommended that HUD do the same for their national database (Prior post is HERE). I anticipate that OHCS staff will add 2010 Census Track/BG ID's to their LIHTC database to make merging with ACS and other GEO data easier.

Voucher Mobility Agreement with Home Forward and Clackamas County (My prior post is HERE). 

1. Clackamas county has requested from the local HUD Field Office a 120% FMR exception payment standard rents for large bedroom sizes, but I am not sure of the outcome of their request. (My post HERE explains how ANY housing authority may research and, if appropriate, file a request for HUD approval of exception payment standards from 110-120% of FMR).
2. Both Clackamas County and Multnomah County have selectively adopted higher payment standards (up to 110% of the FMR) for different areas.  Home Forward payment standards, which also show Clackamas County zip codes are HERE. I don't have any current information on how many fewer vouchers were issued because of the use of these higher payment standards.
3. I don't have any information on how many Home Forward vouchers are in use in Clackamas County and vice versa. I expect a full update on program outcomes some time after the July 1st anniversary of the agreement.

City of Portland
Has published an annual update to their Fair Housing Plan

Lake Oswego

1. Has repealed the Foothills Urban Renewal plan and $6 million in affordable housing funding. 
2. Is in the process of removing several improvements in their draft comprehensive plan related to housing.
3. Is considering $5 million in fee waivers and other concessions for a 240 unit apartment project in an existing downtown urban renewal area that would have starting monthly rents of $1,500. 

West Linn
Nada; an update to their existing comp plan is delayed indefinitely.

Clackamas County
Published a new Analysis of Impediments.


Washington County

1. For unincorporated areas the County Commission adopted an ordinance that provides, for the first time, property tax exemptions for affordable housing projects. (Staff analysis of the proposed ordinance is HERE. Ordinance 761, adopted March 26, 2013 is HERE).

Metro 

1. Has a lengthy equity planning process, and has recently received applications for an equity working group. 
2. Participated in the development of a national Housing /Transportation affordability portal. (Prior post HERE).
3. An updated Equity Atlas is scheduled to be released in June. 
4. Has funded a mobility pilot program for voucher holders (I don't know current status). 
5. MPAC has affordable housing on the agenda for a June 26th meeting.  
6. Has taken no action to incorporate affordable housing in the evaluation of local applications for the use of Construction Excise funds. (My prior post is HERE).

Did I Miss Something? 
IF I have missed any relevant Fair Housing related actions in the Portland metro area in the last year, feel free to add a comment, with links to relevant documents. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Oregon Gets 240 More VASH Vouchers, Increasing Oregon VASH Vouchers by 26%.

HUD Region 10 PR with details by state and housing authority is HERE. 

The Excel file HERE and embedded below shows my count of VASH vouchers by Oregon Housing Authority; my calculation is that the latest allocation will boost VASH vouchers in Oregon by 26%.



Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Studies: Chicago Public Housing Residents and the Plan for Transformation.

Five different new Urban Institute reports are HERE.  (CHA should be releasing update to their Plan for Transformation soon, hopefully incorporating some of the lessons learned over the last decade). 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Update: Audio and Exhibits from First House Hearing on Voucher Source of Income Bill.

Update: Proposed amendments are HERE. Text below has been edited to remove reference to other other bill search website. 
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Exhibits/testimony from the Wednesday/today initial hearing on HB 2639 before the House Human Services and Housing Committee are HERE.

Speaker Kotek was the first speaker and spoke to an amended version of the bill.which should appear soon on the Oregon legislative bill searching website HERE. (Look for a "Dash 5 amendment").

Portland City Council Member Nick Fish testified in person for the bill and Metro Chair Hughes offered written support. 
   
I have posted audio of the 1 hour 40 minute hearing on the Internet Archive HERE. (Advance apologies: because it was recorded from a stream it cuts out in few places and there are a few seconds of clear air at the start).

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Audio and Exhibits from First House Hearing on Voucher Source of Income Bill.

Exhibits/testimony from the Wednesday/today initial hearing on HB 2639 before the House Human Services and Housing Committee are HERE.

Speaker Kotek was the first speaker and spoke to an amended version of the bill, which should appear soon on the Oregon legislative bill searching website HERE. (Look for a "Dash 5 amendment").

Portland City Council Member Nick Fish testified in person for the bill and Metro Chair Hughes offered written support. 
   
I have posted audio of the 1 hour 40 minute hearing on the Internet Archive HERE. (Advance apologies: because it was recorded from a stream it cuts out in few places and there are a few seconds of clear air at the start).

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Metro Councilman Chase Pushes Council to Add Affordable Housing to Their State Legislative Agenda at Thursday Meeting.

Story from in house Metro reporter HERE; story says that Metro to consider legislative agenda at Thursday Jan 17th meeting.[Thanks to heads up from Oregon ON].

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Update: Baltimore Regional AI Demonstration Notice Coming Tomorrow, Using FHA Multfamily Financing Incentives as Carrot.

Update: 
Have added link to Court Settlement item in NLIHC Memo to Members that provides more context for regional AI demonstration
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Notice will be in Federal Register on Wednesday, I have posted advance notice HERE. 

Notice indicates FHA financing incentives will be offered for projects that either project base vouchers or offer below market rents for 2 or more bedroom non elderly units. Projects participating in the demonstration will also be required to accept voucher holders (appears similar to the requirement for LIHTC projects, but all units in these projects may not have rents affordable to voucher holders).

Eligible projects will also be limited to "areas of opportunity" that are part of a prior court settlement. NLIHC Memo to Members court settlement update is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog. 

New HUD Study on What Happens After Year 15 of LIHTC Projects.

HUD PR is HERE; Study is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Update: Portland Metro Housing Choice Gets Big Boost with HACC and Home Forward Voucher Mobility Pilot.

Update: Home Forward has PR on their website HERE. 

====
Home Forward and the Housing Authority of Clackamas County have taken a substantial step to improve housing choice for the 7,500+ HUD housing choice tenant based rental voucher holders in Clackamas and Multnomah counties. 

On June 21st Clackamas County Commissioners authorized the Housing Authority of Clackamas County to enter into a housing voucher mobility pilot MOU with HOME Forward that will begin on July 1. The Board for Home Forward had approved a similar resolution on May 15th.

More background and a version of that MOU can be found in Home Forward YTD Board Packages link HERE in the right pane. (Be patient, the file will take a few moments to view; the MOU is from the May 15th meeting and begins at [current] pdf page 163).   

I would check the Clackamas County Housing Authority and Home Forward websites frequently for updated and complete information about this new cross county effort to improve housing choice. 

My understanding is that, effective for new vouchers issued after July 1 (and for vouchers renewing after Sept 1):

1. Voucher holders in each county will be able to freely use their vouchers in either county. 
2. Each county will keep full funding authority for their vouchers, whether used in their county or in the neighboring county. 
3. The two housing authorities have developed a standardized set of understandings about how inspections, rent determinations, and utility allowances will be determined and who does what. 
4. The housing authorities will conduct expanded outreach to landlords and tenants to explain how the changes will work.

Clackamas County Payment Standards Moving to Zip Code Level to Better Capture Local Market Conditions. 
As part of this pilot Clackamas County is also adopting changes in their payment standards to move them to the zip code level for the first time (Home Forward already uses zip code level payment standards).

Use of more localized payment standards can make vouchers more attractive to landlords as rents will better reflect local market conditions and can also lead to expanded housing choice and opportunity for voucher holders. 

Lake Oswego and West Linn Receive Biggest Boosts to Housing Payment Standards
Readers will recall the recent Oregonian LOCKED OUT story HERE that detailed very little use of HUD housing vouchers in Lake Oswego and West Linn. 

Zip codes in Lake Oswego and West Linn (97034, 97035, and 97068) will move to 110% of the HUD published Portland Metro area Fair Market Rent, the maximum level the housing authority can approve. The 2 bedroom voucher payment standard in these three zip codes will increase by 10% to $980 from the prior $891 payment standard. 

Payment standards are also increasing from their current level in other Clackamas County zip codes; I do not have details so you will need to check with Housing Authority of CC for details in these other zip codes.

Note that voucher rents for individual units in both counties will continue to be subject to housing authority rent reasonableness determinations; this means that a voucher rent for a specific unit will not automatically be at the new payment standard for that zip code, but will also reflect the competitive features and condition of the unit.

Editorial Comment: This is the most concerted and coordinated effort I have seen to date to improve housing choice for HUD voucher holders in Oregon. 

I applaud the staff and leadership in both housing authorities for doing the detailed grunt work required to think through the coordination of work flow and the standardization of procedures and also to the HA Boards for having the confidence to move beyond "turf issues". 

I hope that robust outreach to landlords and tenants will address some of the concerns that landlords have historically had about the use of vouchers and will expand voucher holder willingness to consider opportunity areas outside of their normal comfort zone. 

While there are likely to be hiccups along the way that require program tweaks, this effort will test:

1. How willing voucher tenants are to USE the more robust housing choice offered by this pilot.
2. How willing suburban landlords, especially in Lake Oswego and West Linn, are to USE the largest HUD rental program in Oregon. [The absence of LIHTC projects (who are required to accept voucher holders) may impact this metric].

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Home Forward Board Packet Has Annual Moving to Work Report, New Payment Standards at Higher Cost.

Right pane link to Home Forward YTD Board Packages has been updated with material for June 19th meeting. 

• The MTW annual report starts on page 30.
• June 1st payment standard changes are reported starting on page 78, with a map on page 85. Projected  3 year cost of this second round of higher payment standards totals $751,284 vs. $1.3 million for previously approved higher payment standards--an increase of 58% because of this second round of payment standard increases. Total increased 3 year costs because of payment standard increases appears to be $2.051 million.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog. 

NLIHC Memo to Members Weekly Report Has Lots of Goodies.

Including GAO report on Moving to Work Program and new policy paper on housing preservation vs mobility.

M2M for this week is HERE.

Originally create and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Updated: Proposed Voucher Rule, Including Project Based Vouchers, Open for Comment Until July 16th.

Update: 
Added link to NLIHC summary of proposed rule.
------
Docket for this proposed rule is HERE; The Federal Register publication of the proposed rule can be found HERE. 

NLIHC summary of proposed rule is HERE. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Updated: HUD New Comp Plan Tool Resources; Maps Include Census Tract Level Voucher Counts and Share of Housing Units.

Update: 
Link to PDF of HUD slide show/webinar [w/o audio] from Monday is HERE. 
------------
Related to today's HUD webinar on their new consolidated planning tools, you will find several related resources on the HUD consolidated planning website HERE. (I would bookmark this site as it will be no doubt updated in the future).

One of resources is new CPD Notice HERE that describes timetable for using new planning tool.

The webinar from today is not yet posted but should appear shortly at the bottom of the page; look for "Introductory Webinar". 

CT Level Voucher Maps
I have started to look at content from mapping site and was surprised to see census tract level voucher data, although it appears it may be from HUD 2009 Picture of Subsidized Housing. Some CT level voucher counts are not shown as they are below the threshold of vouchers reported for privacy purposes and it is not clear whether total housing units used to calculate concentrations in the current voucher maps are from 2000 or 2010 Census data.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Federal District Court Finds Westchester Did Breach Fair Housing Agreement.

Thanks for heads up from NLIHC M2M story HERE; includes link to opinion HERE. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

One Homeforward Amendment to FY 2013 Moving to Work Plan Would Provide One Time Incentive to Landlords Leasing Voucher Units in Low Poverty Census Tracts.

All Homeforward proposed amendments can be found HERE.

Among the proposed amendments is this one which eliminates some restrictions and changes the area of focus from zip codes to census tracts: 

 

Home Forward will implement a landlord incentive program to attract new landlords and units in low poverty areas to the Housing Choice Voucher program. In its initial year of testing, the program will offer a one time, $100 incentive payment for each eligible unit a landlord leases to a Housing Choice Voucher participant. A landlord will be eligible to receive up to ten incentive payments per multifamily complex. Eligible units must be located in zip codes census tracts considered low-poverty areas and not have had a Housing Choice
Voucher tenant in the prior 24 months.

• There will be a public hearing on the proposed amendment on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at 6:15 p.m. at Humboldt Gardens, 5033 N Vancouver Ave, Portland, OR.
• You may send written comments before May 15, to Melissa.Sonsalla@homeforward.org or by mail to Home Forward, 135 SW Ash St., Portland, OR 97204, Attn: Melissa Sonsalla.

The full FY 2013 plan being amended can be found HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

New GAO Report on Housing Vouchers.

Report is HERE; date indicates March but first time I have found any reference to it.

Would welcome any PHA comments or guest post on the report.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.