The Office of Multifamily Housing at HUD is an active player in Opening Doors (http://usich.gov/opening_doors/), the Federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, developed in 2010 and amended in 2015. The Plan provides a framework for Federal agencies and state and local partners to work together to meet specific goals to end homelessness.

In July 2013, HUD issued Notice H 2013-21 Implementation and approval of owner-adopted admissions preferences for individuals or families experiencing homelessness. The Department has now created a step-by-step toolkit to facilitate community involvement and successful implementation of the homeless preference.

View Opening Doors Through Multifamily Housing: Toolkit for Implementing a Homeless Preference (https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/4810/opening-doors-through-multifamily-housing-toolkit-for-implementing-a-homeless-preference/).

The toolkit draws on the experiences of 10 communities that HUD funded to pilot its 2012 initiative called Dedicating Opportunities to End Homelessness (DOEH) part of HUDs Opening Doors initiative.

This guide provides detailed discussion and direction through the following parts of an effective process:

• Creating a multifamily planning and implementation team
• Examining and understanding the community needs and available multifamily housing resource
• Identifying and engaging service providers
• Engaging multifamily property owner
• Formalizing agreements between service Providers and owners
• Supporting owners' implementation of the homeless preferenc
• Refining the process 

Opening Doors relies upon building and maintaining a community-wide effort to appropriately address and end homelessness. Owners and their management companies will work with local partners to both implement their property's homeless preference and contribute towards ending homelessness in their communities.

Multifamily property owners may contact their HUD field office Account Executive with any questions about implementing a preference at their properties.

The Department has prepared responses to a number of recently asked questions on the Section 8 Renewal Policy Guide. The questions and answers are attached. As our office formulates additional responses to questions submitted, the Department will issue updates to this document. For additional information on how the policies impact a particular project, please contact your Account Executive in your regional office. General policy questions can still be sent to Section8renewalguide@hud.gov.

The Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAF) for 2016 were published in the October 13, 2015 Federal Register. These factors are used for adjusting or establishing Section 8 rents under the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (MAHRA), as amended, for projects assisted with Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments. The factors are effective February 11, 2016 and can be found at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-10-13/pdf/2015-26016.pdf.

Once the 2016 Factors are updated in iREMS, please delete any Amend Rents record effective February 11, 2016 and beyond that was created either automatically or manually with the old 2015 Factor. A new record will automatically generate with the new 2016 Factor.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Training opportunities are being offered to Public Housing Authorities and Multifamily complexes by StopPests. Through an Inter-Agency Agreement with USDA, Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH)/HUD has been funding IPM training for housing providers, particularly Public Housing Authorities (PHA) and Section 8 properties. To apply fill out the IPM consultation & training request form at www.stoppests.org/Request.

Their program consists of:

• IPM resources for multifamily housing—the well-vetted resources on StopPests.org are available to everyone. The intended audience is affordable housing. Public health and pest management professionals who work in housing use them too.
• IPM consultation and training—the Northeast IPM Center is funded to speak at conferences, lead webinars, and run trainings across the country. Their popular consultation and training program consists of a StopPests Consultant coaching a pilot site through the steps it takes to implement IPM. Part of that process is an on-site training at the pilot property.

The program is free to any housing authority or property manager/owner working with HUD funds.

On August 7, 2015, the Department issued the new Section 8 Renewal Policy Guide. The transmittal cover sheet provides a summary of the changes with links to the changes in the document. The new Guide is posted under "SECTION 8 RENEWAL POLICY GUIDE (August 2015)" at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/mfhsec8.cfm.

The policy changes will be effective for all renewal or amend rent packages received by the Department after November 5, 2015. Please send any questions you may have on the new Guide to Section8RenewalGuide@hud.gov.

The Strategic Research Group may be contacting owners of affordable housing regarding a survey as part of a research project. Related to the survey efforts, HUD is launching a website with renewable energy resources aimed at public housing and multifamily owners and managers, as well as direct technical assistance to HUD-assisted property owners who commit to installing renewables onsite by 2020. 

Attached is a letter that explains more and the website is: https://www.hudexchange.info/renewable-energy/.

Housing Notice H-2015-06, Program Eligibility in Multifamily Assisted and Insured Housing Programs in Accordance with HUD's Equal Access Rule, was issued on July 13, 2015. Multifamily Housing has published a notice on HUD's Equal Access rule. On February 3, 2012, HUD published a final rule entitled Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (77 FR 5662). The rule ensures that housing across HUD programs is open to all eligible individuals and families regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. This notice provides guidance on how the Equal Access Rule applies to Multifamily insured and assisted housing.

The notice is posted on HUDClips, under Notice 15-06 http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=15-06hsgn.pdf.

HUD has released its FY2015 Median Family Income estimates and FY2015 Income Limits. The FY2015 Income Limits were published on March 6, 2015, and are effective immediately. The income limits can be found at http://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html.

On February 9, 2015, a Notice of the Revised Contract Rent Annual Adjustment Factors (AAFs) for 2015 was published. The AAFs are used to adjust the contract rents on the anniversary date of the assistance contract for some multifamily projects. The AAFs are effective February 9, 2015.  A copy of the Federal Register containing the revised AAFs (www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-02-09/pdf/2015-02622.pdf). The HUDUSER website has been updated to include the revised AAFs (www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/aaf.html).

Housing Notice 2014-15 Passbook Savings Rate Effective February 1, 2015 and Establishing Future Passbook Savings Rates has been posted to HUDCLIPS. As the title suggests, this notice establishes a new Passbook Savings Rate of 0.06% effective February 1, 2015 which supersedes the rate published in paragraph 5-7.F of HUD Handbook 4350.3, REV-1. The notice also provides explanation for how future Passbook Savings Rates will be adjusted.

To comply with the requirements of the notice, owners are required to use the new Passbook Savings Rate of 0.06% for all certifications effective February 1, 2015 and later. If owners have already completed a certification to be effective on February 1, 2015 or later, the certification will need to be corrected using the 0.06% rate. Additionally, HUD Handbook 4350.3, REV-1 and the HUD model lease permit tenants to request an interim recertification if their income changes before the next recertification. Because a reduction in the Passbook Savings Rate could reduce household income, tenants are permitted to request an interim recertification using the new 0.06% rate beginning February 1, 2015.

Housing Notice 2014-16 Waiting List Administration has been posted to HUDCLIPS. This notice provides additional options for owners in their waiting list administration to further ensure fair housing compliance and provides guidance on the administration of waiting lists for Multifamily Housing properties. Topics include opening the waiting list, placing applicants on the waiting list, and outreach.

Join the New HUD Multifamily Housing Preservation Mailing List. Subscribe to receive emails with news and information on events and training about how to maintain your property's affordability. To SIGN UP:

1. Log onto https://www.hudexchange.info/mailinglist/.
2. Select the "Subscribe" button.
3. Complete profile information.
4. Under "I'd like to receive email updates about," select Multifamily Housing Preservation.

Owners are urged to contact HUD by emailing the property name, property address, mortgage maturity date, and primary contact person/contact information to the applicable email address, as follows:

• For Section 202 financed properties, email Section202@hud.gov.
• For Section 236 properties, email 236Preservation@hud.gov.

New Educational Materials - These will be posted on the HUD Exchange and announced through the Multifamily Housing Preservation mailing list. (See above for how to SIGN UP.) The materials will include:

• Basic fact sheets on Section 236 and Section 202 preservation options
• Technical information describing how to structure Section 236 and Section 202 preservation deals
• Mark-to-Market fact sheet and technical guidance

HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) has published a Smoke-Free Action Guide entitled "Change is in the Air - An Action Guide for Establishing Smoke-Free Public Housing and Multifamily Properties". The purpose of the guide is to further educate PHAs and owners and management agents of subsidized or market rate multifamily housing about the benefits of smoke-free policies and recommended best practices to follow for implementing smoke-free policies. The guide is available for download from the Healthy Homes website at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/healthy_homes or directly at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=SMOKEFREEACTIONGUIDE.pdf. Hard copies of the guide can be requested via email to Smokefreehousing@hud.gov.

The 8bb Housing Notice was posted to HUDClips on the Department's policies and procedures for transferring all or a portion of any remaining budget authority of a project-based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) Contract to one or more contracts under Section 8(bb)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (the Act) where the existing HAP contract is terminated by mutual agreement. We will also post the notice and all of the attachments to the HUD.gov website (Multifamily Homepage).

HUDClips http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/administration/hudclips/notices/hsg or http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=14-14hsgn.pdf

Homepage http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/mfh

*Dual administration State. In these States, Social Security administers some categories of State supplement payments, while the State administers other categories of supplemental payments.

**Source data from the Social Security Administration website seems to conflict. Please check with your area Mississippi SSA office.

• CCR no longer exists
• SAM (System for Award Management) has replaced CCR

SAM went live on July 29, 2012. If you had an account in CCR, all your information is now in SAM -- but your CCR login info will not work in SAM. Unless you opted out of the public search, you should be able to see your record by logging into SAM (http://sam.gov) and doing a public search on your DUNS.

Unless a change in your business circumstances requires a change in order for you to be paid, or to be awarded a contract or a grant, you should not have to update your records right away (check your expiration date). If you need to update/renew/change your record, start by going to sam.gov, click on Create an Account, and follow the prompts to create an individual account and migrate your records/roles from CCR. The attached migration roles document will tell you how to do so. Then, log in, click on Register/Update Entity, find your record in the Complete Registrations section and begin your update. The attached updating or renewing document provides instructions. This document and other help options are available on the Help tab of sam.gov.

Should you encounter any issues in the process, please submit a ticket via the SAM help desk, which is called the Federal Service Desk (FSD (http://fsd.gov)). It is recommended you do so online, rather than wait on the phone on hold. If you don't have an account with FSD already, you'll need to create one on the "Your Account" page in order to submit a ticket.

Please note that SAM is completely free of charge, both to register and to use.

• The comprehensive Green Academy Training Program is to build the capacity of organizations to promote and facilitate energy efficiency and green practices across the spectrum of HUD's affordable housing programs. These trainings are being rolled out in up to 19 locations between October 2012 and February 2013. Courses, include 1) Introduction to Green Building for Affordable Housing; 2) Executive Decision Making; 3) Best Practices for Green Building Operations; 4) Financing Green Building; and 5) Energy Performance Contracting for Small PHAs. Registration is now open for various locations. Please find the locations currently being offered in the attached flyer. Registration for the courses is online (www.sustainable-performance.org/HUDGreenAcad).

• The Green Organizational Accreditation pilot program supports HUD grantees and affordable housing organizations in achieving portfolio-wide improvements. The vision of this initiative is to enable organizations to institutionalize sustainability and achieve higher levels of performance of the management of their housing portfolios.
• Accreditation will differentiate organizations that seek to implement green building and operational best practices, build capacity of staff, track and measure building performance effectively over time, realize significant improvements in health and energy efficiency, and achieve exemplary cost savings. Registration for accreditation will open on November 8, 2012 (http://spi.force.com/hud).

• HUD has established a Green Affordable Housing Technical Assistance (TA) Corps of experts on energy efficiency and green building to deliver direct technical assistance to HUD stakeholders to incorporate green building and energy efficiency practices in their daily operations and maintenance, new construction, rehabilitation, and retrofit projects.
• Green Technical Assistance Services will be offered in the following general categories: Diagnostic Assessments/Measurement & Verification; Green Design, Specifications/Construction Review; Green Operations and Management (O&M); Energy Performance Contracting for PHAs and Multifamily Property Owners; Financing; and Renewable Energy. The Technical Assistance Online request form will be available online (http://spi.force.com/hud) from October 29 - November 16, 2012. All technical assistance for approved applicants must be completed by March 2013.

• Applicants for admission into applicable HUD-assisted housing programs must provide a complete list of all states in which any household member has resided. Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and O/As must ask whether the applicant, or any member of the applicant's household, is subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement in any state. PHAs and O/As are reminded of their obligations with respect to Limited English Proficiency when processing applications of families for admission and also at the time of recertification.
• If an PHA or O/A discovers that a household member was erroneously admitted (the household member was subject to a lifetime registration requirement at admission and was admitted after June 25, 2001), the PHA or O/A must immediately pursue eviction or termination of assistance for the household member.

Clarification Concerning Effective Date of Recent Section 8 Page Changes

On May 18, 2012, the Department issued page changes to the Section 8 Renewal Policy Guide. Two of those changes have an impact on budget-based rent adjustment requests in Option Four. The first requires the use of current debt service in an Owner's budget-based rent increase request and the other permits a budget-based rent increase at the annual anniversary date only if the proposed rents do not exceed comparable market rents.

The effective date of these page changes is May 18, 2012. Any budget-based rent increase request postmarked prior to May 18, 2012 can be processed under the previous guidance. Any budget-based rent increase postmarked May 18, 2012 or thereafter must abide by the new guidance. This new requirement applies to all Option Four contracts, even multiyear contracts signed prior to May 18, 2012.