Rental Housing Integrity Improvement Project (RHIIP) Posting #262

October 17, 2011

HUD Announces the New Tenant Resource Network Program (TRN) for Section 8 Preservation

Dear Multifamily Owner:

In the next week, The Department plans to publish a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Tenant Resource Network Program (TRN), a new program to facilitate the preservation of projects with Section 8 Project Based Rental Assistance at-risk of loss. TRN considers projects at-risk upon occurrence of one of the following events: an Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured or Direct mortgage maturity date within 24 months of the publication of the NOFA; an owner election to Opt-Out filed no more than 12 months prior to publication of the NOFA; a notice of prepayment filed no more than 12 months prior to publication of the NOFA; or the receipt of two consecutive Below 60 Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) scores (not yet under abatement), with the most recent score issued no more than 12 months prior to the publication of the NOFA.

TRN is designed to inform, educate and engage tenants regarding their rights, responsibilities and options in the event their housing is impacted by one of these events. The program is intended to be one more tool to assist both owners and the Department in identifying potential preservation strategies or, in the event preservation is not feasible, to ensure that tenants are fully informed regarding available protections such as the provision of tenant protection Housing Choice Vouchers. The program will enhance the Department's partnership with owners by providing an additional perspective on how preservation may be achieved, and will allow owners to make more fully informed decisions regarding continued participation in Multifamily programs.

The NOFA will announce the availability of approximately $10 million made available under the authority of Section 514 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (MAHRA) for tenant outreach at projects defined by HUD as TRN-eligible. Eligible applicants are non-profits with a minimum of five years of tenant outreach and organizing activities. TRN is specifically targeting Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with the largest numbers of TRN-eligible units, and may provide additional award funds to applicants working in these communities that are disproportionately impacted by the potential loss of assisted housing. Eligible projects qualified for TRN grantees to perform eligible activities will be published with the NOFA. Although projects will be selected by HUD as eligible under the program, they will not necessarily be selected by TRN grantees to perform eligible activities. HUD will monitor grantees over the award period to ensure they are in compliance with the program, following a HUD approved work plan, administering funds properly and achieving performance goals.

The NOFA will be published on www.grants.gov . A webcast training session will be held the week following publication and can be found on online.

Please contact Claire Trivedi (Claire.m.trivedi@hud.gov) at (202) 708-3000, Margaret Salazar (margaret.s.salazar@hud.gov) at (202) 402-2423 or Stan Houle (stanley.r.houle@hud.gov) (202) 402-2572 with questions.

Sign up for the Mailing List to receive current RHIIP related information from HUD online.

###