On July 27, HUD issued Notice H 2023-08/PIH 2023-19, “Rental Assistance Demonstration – Supplemental Notice 4B,” which supplements and amends the Department’s previous guidance for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). Provisions in the notice are subject to a 30-day comment period, and interested parties may submit comments to: rad@hud.gov.
Key changes proposed include:
- Makes available funds to increase contract rents in order to finance climate-related investments at properties that are Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) conversions.
- Implements waivers that allow resident services at Section 202 PRAC properties to continue following RAD conversion.
- Strengthens resident engagement requirements during the RAD conversion process and amends reporting requirements surrounding resident engagement efforts.
- Raises minimum energy efficiency standards for new construction, and requires that new construction be consistent with the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS).
- Requires that all RAD conversion projects be evaluated for radon.
- Modifies how HAs treat both existing households and new admissions that are “Zero HAP,” i.e., whose total tenant payment (TTP) exceeds the gross rent.
- Incentivizes Faircloth-to-RAD conversions by allowing HAs to use Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) reserves to establish higher initial contract rents for projects that meet certain conditions.
- Streamlines procedures for conversions utilizing a RAD/Section 18 blend.
We will have a deeper analysis of the notice and its implications for RAD conversions in the next edition of the Advocate.