On March 22, HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Dominique Blom announced that the Department will end its ill-considered efforts to amend the public housing Annual Contributions Contract (ACC). This concludes a years-long departmental effort that would have undercut the contractual relationship between HAs operating public housing and the Department, which first began in 2018. At that time, PHADA members alerted the association of HUD’s attempt to amend the ACC by publishing revisions as an updated form. Members expressed concern that the proposed amended ACC and the process for its implementation were unacceptable and violated terms of the existing contract.
PHADA and other industry groups raised significant concerns with HUD’s approach and with the content of the new form, and after serious discussions of this effort, HUD agreed to change its approach, publish a regulatory proposal to amend the ACC, and accept and respond to public comments. PHADA and other associations successfully advocated that Congress prohibit HUD from taking steps to amend the contract without proper public notice and reasonable opportunities for stakeholders to comment on proposals.
In 2022, after Congress removed its prohibition, HUD initiated a series of discussions with PHADA, other associations, and attorneys with expertise in the ACC that continued until early this year. Those discussions revealed irreconcilable differences between the industry and HUD. As of a result of those disagreements and other factors, HUD has now abandoned its latest initiative to impose an amended ACC on HAs. PHADA appreciates the Department’s decision.