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In HUD multifamily sites where the residents pay either all or a portion of their own utility expenses, HUD provides a utility allowance in addition to the subsidy for each unit. This utility allowance is based on an estimate of the average monthly utility costs for each unit size.
HUD recently released Housing Notice 2015-04 entitled Methodology for Completing a Multifamily Housing Utility Analysis. It provides instructions to owners and management agents for completing the utility analysis required with annual rent adjustments.
Nearly 4 million American families live in rental housing that is owned, insured, or subsidized by HUD. To ensure that these families have housing that’s decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair, HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) conducts approximately 20,000 physical inspections on sites each year.
On Dec. 29, HUD issued a memo, “Use of Marijuana in Multifamily Properties,” on the use of medical marijuana at assisted housing sites. The memo was issued due to questions concerning the use of marijuana at sites in states that allow the use of medical marijuana.
On Jan. 6, HUD published proposed rules to codify statutory changes made by the fiscal year (FY) 2014 Appropriations Act relating to certain elements of the public housing and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs. HUD also proposes changes to streamline some regulatory requirements in order to reduce burdens on public housing agencies (PHAs). You can submit comments to HUD by March 9, 2015.
Eight proposed changes pertain to both public housing and HCV programs. An additional five changes are proposed just for public housing, and another six would affect the HCV program.
HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs recently issued Notice H 2014-16, which covers topics such as opening waiting lists, placing applicants on waiting lists, and outreach to potential applicants. The notice doesn’t mandate any new practices for owners, but rather provides additional options to further ensure fair housing compliance.
You may want to charge households extra fees for certain items or services, especially ones that cost you money. For instance, you may want to charge households a fee for paying rent late or for transferring to another unit.
But HUD doesn’t let you charge households fees over and above their share of the rent whenever you want. You can only charge extra fees that HUD specifically permits or that your local HUD office has approved [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 6-21]. HUD makes clear that you can’t charge certain types of fees at assisted sites.
On Aug. 12, HUD issued a new Real Estate Assessment Center Compilation Bulletin that supersedes all previous editions and any preceding separate guidance. The bulletin provides updated guidance to Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) inspectors, answers some of the most common questions received from inspectors in the field, and clarifies certain areas of the inspection protocol to further ensure that physical inspections are objective and conducted in accordance with the Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS) and HUD’s inspection protocol.
The departure of a household member can bring about changes that affect a household’s subsidy as well as other aspects of its placement at your site. HUD expects you to stay on top of such changes so that your households are paying the correct amount of rent and your assisted units are fully and appropriately occupied.
Dealing with the death of a resident is an understandably difficult task for any site manager. The manager must be sensitive to the fact that the family is grieving the loss of a loved one, busy with funeral arrangements, and handling the financial affairs of the deceased.
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