Multifamily Industry Meetings: San Francisco

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
San Francisco Multifamily Hub Industry Meeting
August 21, 2014

Agenda

10:00 AM - 10:05 AM   Welcome and Introduction
                                           Julie White Eklund, Funding Specialist, Operations

10:05 AM - 10:15 AM   1. General Updates about the Multifamily Hub and Performance-Based Contract
                                           Administrator News
                                           Alexa Jeffress, Acting Director of Project Management

10:15 AM - 10:30 AM   2. Data Systems Update and Changing Contact Information in Active Partners
                                           Performance System (APPS)
                                           Bob Dutra, Information Specialist

10:30 AM - 10:40 AM   3. New Multifamily Electronic Submission Option
                                           Robert G. Boden, Supervisor, Asset Management

10:40 AM - 10:50 AM   4. Updated Requirements for Prepayment and Refinance of Section 202
                                           Direct Loans
                                           John Tedesco, Project Manager

10:50 AM - 11:00 AM   5. Change in Annual Financial Statement Submission Requirements for
                                           Some Multifamily Housing Projects
                                           Martha Picasso, Project Manager

11:00 AM - 11:10 AM   6. Housing Notices 2014-07 Funding for Tenant-Protection Vouchers for
                                           Certain At-Risk Households in Low-Vacancy Areas - 2014 Appropriations Act
                                           AND H 2014-04 - Funding for Tenant-Protection Vouchers for Certain At-Risk
                                           Households in Low-Vacancy Areas - Revisions
                                           Monica Baptista, Senior Project Manager

11:10 AM - 11:20 AM   7. Reserve for Replacement Releases-Expedited Processing Method
                                           Robert G. Boden, Supervisor, Asset Management

11:20 AM - 11:30 AM   8. Management Certifications—Open-Ended Method
                                           Robert G. Boden, Supervisor, Asset Management

11:30 AM - 11:45 AM   10. Steps to Consider for Implementing Solar Power in Multifamily Housing
                                           Kevin J. Han, Architectural, Engineering and Cost Analyst

11:45 AM - 11:50 AM  11. Closing Remarks
                                           Sapna Talati, Presidential Management Fellow

Affordable Housing Management Association (AHMA) will be serving lunch at 12:00 p.m. and will then host a roundtable discussion and training at 12:30 p.m. The roundtable discussion will focus on the biggest challenges Industry members are facing and the training will provide information about configuring and implementing a non-smoking policy.

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http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states/california/working/mf/meetings

Quick Updates

On 7/15/2014, Office of General Counsel (OGC) opined that age and income requirements defined in 24 CFR 891.410 (c) are statutory and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) does not have the authority to waive these requirements. Therefore Headquarters will no longer approve requests to waive age and income requirements for Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) projects.

Handbook 4350.3, REV-1, CHG-4 "Occupancy Requirements of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Program" Issued 8/7/2013

  • Updates with information on use of the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system;
  • Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) requirements;
  • Supplemental Information to Application for Federally Assisted Housing; and
  • Rent Refinement of Income and Rent Determination Requirements in Public and Assisted Housing Programs;
  • Final Rule and requirements relating to admission of individuals subject to State lifetime sex offender registration requirements.

1/17/14 HUD Secretary's Letter on Environmental Protection Agency Portfolio Manager

  • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a free, helpful on-line program, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
  • Portfolio Manager enables multifamily operators to track their entire building energy and water consumption and costs over time, and provides feed-back of analytic information that assists in identifying energy inefficient buildings.
  • A 1-100 ENERGY STAR score for multifamily housing (MFH) properties will be available in the Portfolio Manager tool in the fall of 2014. The score will enable owners and managers to compare the energy performance of their multifamily housing properties against comparable properties nationwide, provide valuable information to help prioritize energy efficiency efforts, and track improvements.
  • The ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager website provides more information, including start-up guides, introductory webinars, and strategies for saving energy, at: http://portfoliomanager.energystar.gov/.

NOTICES

Notice 2013-13 Extension of Housing Notice 2012-04: Extension of Housing Notice 2011-05 - Policies and Procedures for the Deferred Repayment of Operating Assistance Flexible Subsidy Loans

  • Notice 2012-04 issued 3/1/2013 is now extended until amended, rescinded or superseded.

Notice 2013-16 Exemption of Annual Financial Statement Submission for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-Assisted Properties with Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Mortgage Financing

  • Notice issued 5/23/2013 to exempt owners with a Section 215 Rural Rental Housing loan from the Department of Agriculture and a Section 515/8 New Construction Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Contract from HUD from submitting annual financial statements (AFS) to HUD.
  • Going forward, owners purchasing a Section 515 Rural Rental Housing property must execute a revised "Assignment, Assumption and Amendment Agreement of Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Contract" which omits the language requiring submission of an AFS upon assumption of the 515/8 HAP Contract.
  • This guidance is an effort to better align federal rental housing policy; to eliminate duplication of policies, procedures and regulations; and to make financial reporting easier and less costly to property owners that benefit from USDA and HUD programs.
  • Owners should continue to submit AFS but only to USDA.
  • Owners of Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Program properties with 515/8 HAP contracts will remain subject to HUD's physical inspection requirements and Management and Occupancy Reviews.
  • Guidance is effective immediately; submission of an AFS for fiscal year ending 2012 or any subsequent year will not be required and HUD's database system will be modified to reflect this change.

Notice 2013-17 Updated Requirements for Prepayment and Refinance of Section 202 Direct Loans

  • Notice issued 5/30/2013 & remains in effect until amended, superseded or rescinded
  • Updates & clarifies Notice 2012-8; supersedes Notices 2002-16, 2004-21, 2010-14, 2012-8 & FAQ's relating to 2012-8
  • Provides new Table 1 in Section IV: Applicability of this Notice by Type of Section 202 Direct Loan Project for type of Section 202, purpose of prepayment, location of guidance & guidance for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured underwriting
  • Provides new and expanded requirements in Section V for all Section 202 Direct Loan prepayments requiring HUD approval (Section 8 rent adjustments, debt service, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) compliance fees, allowable distributions, sale/acquisition transactions, & use of project resources)
  • Section VII. Refinancing Resulting in Reduction of Debt Service has been expanded
  • Provides new and expanded Section VIII. Refinancing to Address Physical Needs of the Project including Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contracts (SPRAC) & Tenant Protection Vouchers
  • Revises and expands Section IX to address underwriting FHA-insured refinances of Section 202 properties with instructions
  • Sections X and XIII have been expanded
  • If Section 202 prepay involves sale of project, the 202 non-profit owner may retain the proceeds from the sale of the project provided the transaction meets the requirements of the Notice
  • More Attachments were added

Notice 2013-21 Implementation and approval of owner-adopted admissions preferences for individuals or families experiencing homelessness

  • Notice issued 7/25/2013 and remains in effect until amended, revoked, or superseded
  • Owners no longer precluded from adopting preference for homeless families

and this Notice provides guidance

  • Owners must consider the following (as defined in Notice) when adopting an admissions preference:

Eligibility & Requirements, Tenant Selection Plan & Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan, Using a Homelessness Definition, Limiting preferences to people referred by a partnering organization, Use of Alternating Selection, Identifying preference-qualified applicants currently on projects waiting list, Verifying preference eligibility, property designations, & ensuring Fair Housing compliance

  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approval required to adopt admission preferences not specified in 24 CFR §5.655(c)(1) - (c)5 & submission of written request to local HUD office
  • Owners must establish standards that prohibit admission of: household members evicted in last three years from federally assisted housing for drug-related criminal activity; members currently engaged in illegal use of drugs; members subject to state sex offender lifetime registration requirement; and member who's behaviorfrom abuse of alcohol may interfere with the health, safety and rights to peaceful enjoyment by other residents.
  • Direct inquiries to Yvette.m.viviani@hud.gov

Notice 2013-23 Change in Annual Financial Statement (AFS) Submission Requirements for Some Multifamily Housing Projects

  • Notice issued 8/8/2013 and remains in effect until amended, superseded, or rescinded;
  • Applies to Owners having a fiscal year end of 12/31/2013 and thereafter;
  • Revises financial reporting requirements for small multifamily housing projects relieving the Owners of the burden and cost of submitting audited financial statements;
  • "Small multifamily housing project" refers to projects that receive less than $500,000 in combined federal financial assistance
  •  Owners will be permitted to submit Owner Certified financial statements;
  • Combined federal financial assistance includes grants, loans, loan guarantees, property, cooperative agreements, interest subsidies, insurance food commodities, direct appropriations and other assistance;
  • Cost savings will free up dollars for maintenance, operating costs, owner distributions; renewal of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract and preservation of affordable housing;
  • Policy change will not adversely affect HUD's oversight responsibilities since Management and Occupancy reviews & Real Estate Assessment Center's (REAC) physical inspections will still be performed; HUD can also request Monthly Accounting Reports from insured & HUD-held properties with a Regulatory Agreements;
  • Most owners will still contract with Certified Public Accounts (CPA) to prepare the statement;
  • Statements will still be submitted electronically via the Real Estate Assessment Center's (REAC) Financial Assessment Subsystem - Multifamily (FASS-MF);
  • Owners will be required to certify that they receive less than $500,000 in combined federal assistance and HUD's system will perform a crosscheck of databases to certify the owner's certification;
  • Statements will still be reviewed by REAC for compliance findings such as unauthorized distributions, failure to make reserve deposits, underfunding security deposits etc. and non-compliant owners will still receive letters for non-compliance findings.

Housing Notices 2014-07 and 2014-04: Title:H 2014-07 Funding for Tenant-Protection Vouchers for Certain At-Risk Households in Low-Vacancy Areas - 2014 Appropriations Act AND H 2014-04 - Funding for Tenant-Protection Vouchers for Certain At-Risk Households in Low-Vacancy Areas - Revisions

The 2014 Appropriations Act provides that up to $5,000,000 will be available to certain at risk residents in multifamily projects. Projects that meet one of the following conditions may be eligible for either project based vouchers or enhanced tenant protection vouchers under this Notice:

  • Projects that have a matured HUD-insured, HUD-held or Section 202 loan that requires the permission of the Secretary prior to loan prepayment; or,
  • An expiring/expired of a rental assistance contract for which the tenants are not eligible for enhanced voucher or tenant protection assistance under existing law; or,
  • An expiring/expired affordability restrictions accompanying a mortgage or preservation program administered by the Secretary may be eligible for either project based vouchers or enhanced tenant protection vouchers under this Notice.

Project owners may submit the applications on a rolling basis to the Field Office per the instructions in Notice H 2014-04. Under these Notices, the funds are administered by Public Housing through the Housing Authorities. The notice allows jurisdictional Housing Authorities to determine if they have the capacity to administer Project Based Vouchers, for this reason, owners are not guaranteed project based vouchers. Project owners who think their projects qualify, are encouraged to review the following Notices to determine if funding is available to their project:

  1. Notice H2014-04 and the cross referenced notices
  2. Public and Indian Housing 2011-46 (HA) Issued August 17, 2011
  3. Public Housing Authority determinations of Rent Reasonableness in the Housing Choice Voucher

Rental Housing Integrity Improvement Project (RHIIP) Postings since April 2013

#301 - FY2013 Department of Homeland Security Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Code 33

  • Issued 6/25/2013
  • New category for immigrants - Code 33 - "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (DACA)
  • 2 year program for people entering the country that have no criminal record, are in school (or graduated from) and under the age of 31.
  • Persons with DACA status are not eligible to receive HUD rental assistance under the Section 214 statute.
  • For further questions visit the SAVE website at www.uscis.gov/SAVE.

#302 - Implementation & Approval of owner-adopted admissions preferences for individuals or families experiencing homelessness - Housing Notice 2013-21 Posted to HUDCLIPS

  • Issued 7/25/2013
  • Provides guidance to HUD, Contract Administrators, property owners on circumstances under which owners of assisted properties may adopt admissions preferences.
  • Clarifies 24 CFR §5.655c(1) - c(5)
  • Questions go to MFH Homeless@hud.gov

#304 - 2014 Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAFS) Published

  • 2014 OCAF's published in the 9/16/2013 Federal Register
  • Factors effective 2/11/2014 and can be found at

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-16/pdf/2013-22458.pdf

#306 - Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2014

  • Monthly Social Security & Supplemental Security Income (SSI) increases 1.5
  • Social Security increase effective 1/2014
  • SSI increase effective 12/31/2013
  • Effective 1/2014, taxable maximum has increased to $117,000 from $113,700
  • Information about Medicare changes for 2014 available at www.Medicare.gov

#308 - Revised Transmittal for HUD Handbook 4350.3, REV-1, Change 4

  • Change 4 requirements implemented 12/15/2013
  • Owner/agents have until March 1, 2014 to implement changes that require modifications to TRACS software
  • Remove these Change 3 appendices: Appendix 7-A, 7-B, 8, 9, 10-A, 10-B, 10-C, 10-D, 11 12, & 13 (old Appendix 14 is now 7)
  • Small clarifications were made in paragraphs 5-13.B.2 & 9-10.A, Appendix 3 now updated

#309 - FY2014 Income Limits Released

  • Published on 12/18/2013 and found at http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il/il14/index.html.

#311 - Revised Section 8 Renewal Policy Guide Posted for Public Comment

  • Posted draft guide on 2/28/2014
  • Draft guide can be found at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/mfh/mfhsec8
  • Comments were due by 4/30/2014, and then extended to 5/14/2014

#312 - 2014 PAC Renewal Instructions Announced for Fiscal Year 2014

  • Provide instructions for renewing Project Assistance Contracts
  • Renewed for one year only
  • See http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/mfh/mfhsec8

#315 - Multifamily Housing Section 8 Renewal Forms

  • HUD is currently working on upgrading fillable forms for everyone's access

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Content Archived: April 28, 2017