HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs (MFH) issued Notice H 2024-04 on February 28 extending the deadline for owners of Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) properties to update their Tenant Selection Plans (TSPs) to May 31, 2024 (from March 31). Revised TSPs should reflect the “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016” (HOTMA) rules and discretionary policies. The Notice formally revises Section 6.2 of Notice H 2023-10 (see Memo, 2/12), which provides guidance for implementing Sections 102 and 104 of HOTMA.
Owners must develop a Tenant Selection Plan and make it public, providing in writing the owner’s tenant selection policies and procedures that include descriptions of eligibility requirements and income limits for admission to a PBRA property. A TSP must include information regarding whether or not a property is restricted to occupancy by elderly people or whether there are preferences for certain other tenant characteristics. The restriction or preference must cite supporting documentation to ensure nondiscrimination in the selection of tenants. The contents of the TSP also must be consistent with the purpose of improving housing opportunities and be reasonably related to program eligibility and an applicant’s ability to perform the obligations of the lease. More details about TSPs are to be found in Chapter 4 of HUD Handbook 4350.3: Occupancy Requirements of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs.
HOTMA Section 102 addresses tenant income reviews and Section 104 addresses maximum asset limits. Attachment A of Notice 2023-10 (page 17) offers clear and specific guidance regarding the discretion to not enforce the asset limits provision by owners of private properties assisted with Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) and by public housing agencies (PHAs). MFH has stressed that implementation of the HOTMA asset limit – if an owner chooses to enforce it – cannot take place until a number of events occur, one of which being the updating by an owner of their TSP to include the owner’s policy regarding enforcement or non-enforcement of the asset limit (see Memo, 12/4/23).
Read Notice H 2024-04 at: http://tinyurl.com/3wk24szf
More information about Project-Based Rental Assistance (including key HOTMA provisions) is on page 4-86 of NLIHC’s 2024 Advocates’ Guide.
More information about key HOTMA provisions in Public Housing is on page 4-36 of NLIHC’s 2024 Advocates’ Guide.
More information about key HOTMA provisions for Housing Choice Vouchers on page 4-1 of NLIHC’s 2024 Advocates’ Guide.