On July 6, PHADA wrote to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees sharing our concerns about tenant accounts receivable (TARs) and asking Congress to fully fund the Public Housing Operating Fund and to provide adequate shortfall funding for HAs. As discussed in the previous edition of the Advocate, HUD recently provided data to PHADA and other industry groups that show continued high TARs levels across the public housing portfolio.
Because TARs are not accounted for in the Public Housing Operating Fund formula, it is crucial that Congress provide maximum funding so that HAs can continue to provide safe and sanitary housing to low-income families.
The letter also asked Congress to request additional data from HUD regarding the number of HAs that are “severely impacted” by TARs – meaning that they have elevated TARs levels and decreasing reserves. The Department previously shared that one in five HAs were severely impacted by TARs, and PHADA believes that many more HAs may now fit this designation. Knowing the number of severely impacted HAs is vital for understanding the extent of TARs across agencies.
Read the full letter here.