Streamlining Administrative Regulations for Multifamily Housing Programs and Implementing Family Income Reviews Under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, 58335-58341 [2017-26697]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 12, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
of November 1, 2017 that modifies Class
E airspace extending upward from 700
feet above the surface at Stevens Point
Municipal Airport, Stevens Point, WI, to
accommodate new standard instrument
approach procedures for instrument
flight rules operations at the airport. The
FAA identified that the latitude
coordinate was incorrect.
Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on December
1, 2017.
Christopher L. Southerland,
Acting Manager, Operations Support Group,
ATO Central Service Center.
Effective 0901 UTC, February 1,
2018. The Director of the Federal
Register approves this incorporation by
reference action under Title 1, Code of
Federal Regulations, part 51, subject to
the annual revision of FAA Order
7400.11 and publication of conforming
amendments.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Walter Tweedy, Federal Aviation
Administration, Operations Support
Group, Central Service Center, 10101
Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX
76177; telephone (817) 222–5900.
Correction to Final Rule
Accordingly, pursuant to the
authority delegated to me, in the
Federal Register of November 1, 2017
(82 FR 50503) FR Doc. 2017–23434,
Amendment of Class E Airspace;
Stevens Point, WI, is corrected as
follows:
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[Docket No. FR 5743–I–04]
RIN 2577–AJ36
Streamlining Administrative
Regulations for Multifamily Housing
Programs and Implementing Family
Income Reviews Under the Fixing
America’s Surface Transportation
(FAST) Act
ACTION:
The FAA published a final rule in the
Federal Register (82 FR 50503,
November 1, 2017) Docket No. FAA–
2017–0143, modifying Class E airspace
extending upward from 700 feet above
the surface at Stevens Point Municipal
Airport, Stevens Point, WI.
Subsequent to publication, the FAA
found that the geographic coordinates
for the airport were incorrect. This
action amends the latitude coordinate in
the airspace designation.
Class E airspace designations are
published in paragraph 6005,
respectively, of FAA Order 7400.11B,
dated August 2, 2017, and effective
September 15, 2017, which is
incorporated by reference in 14 CFR
71.1. The Class E airspace designations
listed in this document will be
published subsequently in the Order.
[Amended]
Stevens Point, WI
On page 50504 column 1, line 59,
remove ‘‘Lat. 44°32′43″ N.’’ and add in
its place ‘‘Lat. 44°32′42″ N.’’
■
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24 CFR Parts 5, 891, 960, and 982
16:52 Dec 11, 2017
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Office of the Deputy Secretary,
HUD.
History
AGL WI E5
[Corrected]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
AGENCY:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
§ 71.1
[FR Doc. 2017–26656 Filed 12–11–17; 8:45 am]
Interim final rule.
HUD published a final rule on
March 8, 2016, containing changes to
streamline regulatory requirements
pertaining to certain elements of the
Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public
Housing (PH), and various multifamily
housing (MFH) rental assistance
programs. The goal of the final rule was
to reduce the administrative burden on
public housing agencies (PHAs) and
MFH owners, including changes
pertaining to annual income reviews in
the HCV, PH, and Section 8 ProjectBased Rental Assistance (PBRA)
programs for families with sources of
fixed income. On December 4, 2015, the
President signed the Fixing America’s
Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act)
into law. The law contained language
that allowed PHAs and owners to
conduct full income recertification for
families with 90 percent or more of their
income from fixed-income every 3 years
instead of annually. This interim final
rule amends the regulatory language to
implement the FAST Act and to align
the current regulatory flexibilities with
those provided in the FAST Act. In
addition, this interim final rule seeks to
extend to certain MFH programs some
of the streamlining changes that were
proposed for and made only to the HCV
and PH programs.
DATES: Effective date: March 12, 2018.
Comment due date: January 11, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit comments regarding
this interim final rule. All
communications must refer to the above
docket number and title. There are two
SUMMARY:
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58335
methods for submitting public
comments.
1. Submission of Comments by Mail.
Comments may be submitted by mail to
the Regulations Division, Office of
General Counsel, U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 451
7th Street SW, Room 10276,
Washington, DC 20410–0500.
2. Electronic Submission of
Comments. Interested persons may
submit comments electronically through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly
encourages commenters to submit
comments electronically. Electronic
submission of comments allows the
commenter maximum time to prepare
and submit a comment, ensures timely
receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to
make comments immediately available
to the public. Comments submitted
electronically through the
www.regulations.gov Website can be
viewed by other commenters and
interested members of the public.
Commenters should follow the
instructions provided on that site to
submit comments electronically.
Note: To receive consideration as public
comments, comments must be submitted
through one of the two methods specified
above. Again, all submissions must refer to
the docket number and title of the rule.
No Facsimiled Comments. Facsimiled
(faxed) comments are not acceptable.
Public Inspection of Public
Comments. Copies of all comments
submitted are available for inspection
and downloading at
www.regulations.gov. In addition, all
properly submitted comments and
communications submitted to HUD will
be available for public inspection and
copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
weekdays, at the above address. Due to
security measures at the HUD
Headquarters building, an advance
appointment to review the public
comments must be scheduled by calling
the Regulations Division at 202–708–
3055 (this is not a toll-free number).
Individuals with speech or hearing
impairments may access this number
via TTY by calling the Federal Relay
Service at 800–877–8339 (this is a tollfree number).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
questions, please contact the following
people (the phone numbers are not tollfree):
Multifamily Housing programs:
Katherine Nzive, Director, Program
Administration Office, Asset
Management and Portfolio Oversight,
202–708–3000.
Housing Choice Voucher and Public
Housing programs: Becky Primeaux,
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Director, Housing Voucher Management
and Occupancy Division, 202–402–6050
or Monica Shepherd, Director, Public
Housing Management and Occupancy,
202–402–4059.
Persons with hearing or speech
impairments may access this number
through TTY by calling the Federal
Relay Service at 800–877–8339 (this is
a toll-free number). The above-listed
contacts may also be reached by mail at
the following address: U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development;
451 7th Street SW, Washington, DC
20410.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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I. Background
On January 6, 2015, at 80 FR 423,
HUD issued a proposed rule to
implement several statutory changes
made in the Department of Housing and
Urban Development Appropriations
Act, 2014 and also make multiple
administrative streamlining changes
across several HUD programs. In that
proposed rule, some of these additional
streamlining changes applied only to
the HCV and PH programs, not MFH
programs. Given feedback on the rule,
HUD is issuing this interim final rule to
expand some of the flexibilities—
namely, flexibilities related to utility
reimbursements and asset declarations
that were finalized for the HCV and PH
programs in a March 8, 2016, final rule,
at 81 FR 12354—to housing assisted
under the following MFH programs,
while seeking public feedback on that
expansion:
(1) Section 8 Project-Based Rental
Assistance (PBRA), including projects
undergoing Mark-to Market debt
restructuring under the Multifamily
Assisted Housing Reform and
Affordability Housing Act.
(2) Section 202 of the Housing Act of
1959 (both before and after section 202
was amended by section 801 of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
Housing Act).
(3) Section 811 of the CranstonGonzalez National Affordable Housing
Act.
In addition, another of the provisions
in the March 8, 2016, final rule, which
applied to the HCV, PH, and abovelisted MFH programs, allowed PHAs
and multifamily owners to streamline
income recertification procedures for
families with income that comes from
fixed-income sources. The new
regulatory provision allowed PHAs and
owners to only require third-party
documentation for fixed-income sources
every 3 years. In the intermediate years
the PHA or owner could apply a
previously determined or verified cost
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of living adjustment (COLA) or interest
rate adjustment specific to each source
of fixed income.
Prior to the issuance of the final rule,
on December 4, 2015, the President
signed the FAST Act (Pub. L. 114–94).
While primarily a transportation law,
section 78001 of the FAST Act also
amended the United States Housing Act
of 1937 to allow PHAs and owners in
the HCV, PH, and PBRA programs to
eliminate annual income reviews in
some years by applying a COLA
determined by the Secretary to fixedincome sources for families with
incomes that are made up of at least 90
percent fixed income. The PHA or
owner is not required to verify nonfixed income amounts in years where no
fixed-income review is required, but is
still required to use third-party
documentation for a full income
recertification every 3 years.
This interim final rule not only
implements the statutory provisions of
the FAST Act, but it also modifies the
earlier streamlining regulations so that
the procedures for families meeting the
90 percent fixed-income threshold of
the FAST Act are as similar as possible
to those for families who receive some,
but less than 90 percent, of their income
from fixed-income sources.
II. Summary of This Interim Final Rule
Streamlined Certification of Fixed
Income (§§ 5.233, 5.657, 960.257, and
982.516)
Under this interim final rule, during
years 2 and 3 after a full income review,
PHAs and owners in the HCV, PH, and
PBRA programs may determine a
family’s fixed income by using a
verified COLA or rate of interest on the
individual sources of fixed income. In
the case of a family with at least 90
percent of the family’s unadjusted
income from fixed income, a PHA or
owner using streamlined income
verification may, but is not required to,
adjust the non-fixed income. For
families with at least one source of fixed
income, but for which less than 90
percent of the family’s income is from
fixed sources, PHAs and owners must
verify and adjust non-fixed sources
annually.
This interim final rule does not
change the requirement that the PHA or
owner must undertake a full
recertification every 3 years. Nor does it
alter the requirement, applicable under
the current regulations, that families
certify that all the information they
submit for income verification,
including the sources of income, is
accurate.
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Utility Reimbursements (§ 5.632)
As required by § 5.632 of the current
PBRA regulations, where tenants pay for
their utility usage, owners must
reimburse tenants if the utility
allowance exceeds the total tenant
payment, but they do not specify how
frequently such reimbursement must be
made. Such silence may have led
owners to the assumption that
reimbursements must be monthly,
causing them to process small monthly
checks and expend postage to mail them
to voucher holders, which may
constitute an administrative and
financial burden.
This interim final rule explicitly
allows owners to make reimbursements
of $45 or less (per quarter) on a
quarterly basis, in order to eliminate the
burdensome process of processing and
mailing monthly reimbursement checks.
In the event a family leaves the program
in advance of its next quarterly
reimbursement, the owner would be
required to reimburse the family for a
prorated share of the applicable
reimbursement. Owners exercising this
option will be required to have a policy
in place to assist tenants for whom the
quarterly reimbursements will pose a
financial hardship.
For the Section 202 and Section 811
programs, the regulations do not contain
the requirements around utility
reimbursements, in general, leaving
such requirements in the assistance
contracts. Therefore, HUD is not
including regulatory text to implement
these new flexibilities in this interim
final rule, but rather would be open to
amending the assistance contracts of
any owners looking to take advantage of
the flexibilities.
Family Declaration of Assets Under
$5,000 (§ 5.659)
Families in the PBRA program are
required to report all assets annually.
The amount of interest earned on those
assets is included as income used to
calculate the tenant’s rent obligation.
Tenants with assets below $5,000
typically generate minimal income from
these assets, which results in small
changes, if any, to tenant rental
payments. Owners spend significant
time verifying such assets.
This rule amends the regulations so
that, for a family that has net assets
equal to or less than $5,000, an owner,
at recertification, may accept a family’s
declaration that it has net assets equal
to or less than $5,000, without annually
taking additional steps to verify the
accuracy of the declaration. Third-party
verification of all family assets will be
required every 3 years.
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The regulations allow owners in the
Section 202 and Section 811 programs
to require tenants to provide the same
certification of assets allowed in the
HCV, PH, and PBRA programs.
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Applicability to Housing Choice
Voucher and Public Housing Programs
In the March 8, 2016, final rule, the
provisions related to utility allowance
reimbursements and asset certification
applied to the HCV and PH programs
only. HUD is currently expanding the
same policies to the MFH programs
through this interim final rule.
However, comments on this interim
final rule may lead us to reconsider
those policies as they apply to the HCV
and PH programs, in the interest of
aligning policies across HUD programs.
III. Justification for Interim
Rulemaking
In general, HUD publishes a rule for
public comment before issuing a rule for
effect, in accordance with its own
regulations on rulemaking, 24 CFR part
10. Part 10, however, provides for
exceptions from that general rule where
the Department finds good cause to omit
advance notice and public participation.
The good cause requirement is satisfied
when the prior public procedure is
‘‘impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary
to the public interest.’’
The Department finds that good cause
exists to publish this interim rule for
effect on the basis that the streamlining
changes made to utility reimbursement
and declaration of assets in this interim
rule were included in HUD’s January 6,
2015, proposed rule. Although these
provisions were not presented as
streamlining changes for adoption in
HUD’s MFH programs, commenters
responding to the solicitation of
comment in the January 6, 2015,
proposed rule requested HUD
consideration of extending the
applicability of these provisions to
HUD’s MFH programs.
The language implementing the FAST
Act is implementing statutory language
that provides an option for PHAs and
owners. While the statute does not
mandate that PHAs or owners use the
streamlined reexamination, it does
require HUD to give PHAs and owners
the option. In addition, this interim
final rule builds upon proposals that
already underwent public comment,
resulting in HUD’s March 8, 2016, final
rule. The specific use of the Social
Security Administration’s COLA was
not issued for prior public comment, but
the use of a single COLA, unless
requested otherwise by the family, will
provide PHAs and owners with
additional streamlining benefits.
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Although HUD is issuing this rule for
effect, HUD has delayed the effective
date for a period of 90 days, allowing
participants in HUD’s MFH programs
and other interested parties to submit
comment during the first 30-day period
following publication of this interim
rule. HUD will take any comments
received into consideration and
determine whether any further changes
should be made before implementing
the streamlining changes for the MFH
programs.
IV. Specific Question for Comment
While HUD welcomes comments on
all aspects of this interim final rule,
HUD is seeking specific comment on the
following question:
The language in this interim final rule
proposes a policy on utility
reimbursements and asset certification
identical to that applying to the HCV
and PH programs contained in the
March 8, 2016, final rule. Comments on
this interim final rule may lead us to
reconsider those policies as they apply
to the HCV and PH programs, in the
interest of aligning policies across HUD
programs. Are there program-specific or
unintended impacts in the HCV, PH, or
MFH programs that should be
considered in aligning these policies
across programs? Would any difference
cause a burden to entities administering
these forms of assistance or to the
tenants receiving the assistance?
V. Findings and Certifications
Regulatory Review—Executive Orders
12866 and 13563
Under Executive Order 12866
(Regulatory Planning and Review), a
determination must be made whether a
regulatory action is significant and
therefore, subject to review by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) in
accordance with the requirements of the
order. Executive Order 13563
(Improving Regulations and Regulatory
Review) directs executive agencies to
analyze regulations that are ‘‘outmoded,
ineffective, insufficient, or excessively
burdensome,’’ and to modify,
streamline, expand, or repeal them in
accordance with what has been learned.
Executive Order 13563 also directs that,
where relevant, feasible, and consistent
with regulatory objectives, and to the
extent permitted by law, agencies are to
identify and consider regulatory
approaches that reduce burdens and
maintain flexibility and freedom of
choice for the public. This rule was not
determined to be a ‘‘significant
regulatory action’’ as defined in section
3(f) of the Executive order.
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As discussed, this interim final rule
furthers HUD’s efforts to streamline
administrative requirements for owners
receiving subsidies under the HCV, PH,
PBRA, Section 202 and Section 811
programs. Specifically, this interim rule
gives PHAs and owners greater
flexibilities in determining tenant
families’ income and assets, and in
issuing utility reimbursements. The rule
provides PHAs and owners with the
discretion to implement these
regulations. Some may choose the status
quo; others will choose the streamlining
alternative. By allowing voluntary
implementation, HUD enables
participants to choose their desired
method of administration, which in
many cases will presumably be the
least-cost method. Aggregate savings are
expected to be approximately $31.2
million.
A. Benefits
The most significant savings come
from reduced time devoted to
administrative tasks related to certifying
income. HUD expects that this
streamlining interim rule will, in some
cases, reduce the time required for
income recertification, but it is difficult
to know by how much, given the
voluntary nature of the regulatory
changes. To monetize the cost savings,
we make assumptions concerning the
proportion of PHAs and owners that
will adopt the streamlining practices
and what the time savings will be.
We assume that administrative costs
for PH and PBRA, are similar to those
for the HCV program. A HUD study of
administrative costs in the HCV
program found that, on average, 13.8
hours are required per voucher per year
to run a high-performing program.1 Half
of the effort is allocated to ongoing
occupancy, of which annual
recertification is a major portion.
Annual recertification includes
preparing for and scheduling
recertification, conducting interviews,
verifying income and household
composition, reviewing Enterprise
Income Verification (EIV), and
calculating total tenant payment and
housing assistance payment. The
average time spent is 232 minutes per
voucher per year, with a 95 percent
confidence interval of 206 to 257
minutes. The median is 225 minutes per
voucher per year.
Based on this study, we estimate that
the savings per household per year are
30 minutes (or approximately 12
percent of the total average
reexamination time of 232 minutes).
1 Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Fee
Study, Final Report, August 2015.
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The savings are realized 2 of every 3
years and, so, on average, the perhousehold per-year savings will be 20
minutes. If the opportunity cost of labor
is $60 per hour, then the average savings
per affected household per year is $20
($1 per minute × 20 minutes).
Current regulations in the HCV, PH,
and PBRA programs apply streamlined
income verification practices to all
households with any income coming
from fixed-income sources (60 percent
of households in these programs).2 This
interim final rule changes the
streamlined procedures for households
with at least 90 percent of their income
from fixed-income sources (53 percent
of all households), or 2.5 million of 4.7
million households in the HCV, PH, and
PBRA programs being eligible to benefit
from this interim final rule.
For these 2.5 million households, a
PHA or owner using streamlined
income verification may, but is not
required to, adjust the non-fixed
income. It is reasonable to expect that
streamlining will be applied to no more
than half of those eligible (or that the
savings will be noticeable for no more
than half). Thus, we assume that
assistance providers realize average
administrative efficiencies of $20 across
1.25 million households for aggregate
savings of $25 million. The aggregate
efficiencies realized would be
correspondingly higher (lower) if
applied to more (fewer) households or if
opportunity costs were higher (lower).
Given anecdotal evidence from
streamlining regulations, HUD expects
the lower-end estimates to be more
representative of the impact of the
changes. If the impact ranges from 0
percent to 75 percent of the point
estimate, we could expect
administrative efficiencies of from $0 to
$37.5 million.
In addition to the savings seen by
streamlining annual certification of
income, self-certification by households
of assets is expected to reduce
administrative burdens on PHAs and
owners in the PBRA, Section 202, and
Section 811 programs. This interim final
rule applies to the 95 percent of
PBRA-, Section 202-, and Section 811assisted households that have assets
with a cash value of less than $5,000 but
would only reduce costs for the 43
percent of households in these programs
that have assets worth less than $5,000
but more than zero. Of the 589,000
estimated eligible households (43
percent of 1.378 million), we assume
2 This percentage was computed by HUD staff
using HUD data. It is further assumed that the
percentage is consistent and observable across all
HUD programs.
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that the streamlining savings will be
realized for half of them. Applying the
same logic as for income recertification
and assuming that the average savings
per household from streamlining is $20,
the aggregate savings will be $5.9
million.
Further savings come from allowing
quarterly utility reimbursements when
such quarterly amounts are $45 or less.
The Tenant Rental Assistance
Certification System (TRACS) database
which contains data on multifamily
owners, contracts, and tenants, reports
that as of March 2017, 82,000
households assisted by the PBRA,
Section 202 and Section 811 programs
(of approximately 1.37 million) received
utility reimbursements. Of these
households, 30,000 received a monthly
utility reimbursement less than $45. If
administrators choose quarterly
reimbursements as opposed to monthly,
then doing so would save some time
and expense by eliminating the costs of
sending eight letters every year to
eligible households. Because it is a
minor activity, information to estimate
time spent on utility reimbursements is
not available. We assume that
processing and mailing costs $3 per
letter. Over 1 year, the savings amount
to $24 (8 months × $3) per affected
household. If only half choose the
streamlining, then total savings will be
$0.36 million.
By allowing voluntary
implementation, HUD enables
participants to choose their desired
method of administration, which in
many cases will presumably be the
least-cost method. It is difficult to
estimate the savings with precision
given that an unknown number of PHAs
and owners may choose the status quo.
Based on the aforementioned
assumptions, aggregate savings are
expected to be approximately $31.2
million ($24.9 million from income
verification + $0.6 million from utility
reimbursement + $5.9 million from asset
verification).
B. Costs and Transfers
All of the regulatory changes included
in this interim final rule are intended to
provide additional options and
flexibilities to PHAs and owners, not to
mandate new actions. Therefore, HUD
expects that PHAs and owners will not
adopt any new procedures that add
costs to their operations.
There may be a small transfer
resulting from the change to the income
streamlining regulations due to foregone
tenant rent increases that would
otherwise be owed by an unknown
portion of the 2.5 million tenants
affected by the new 90 percent fixed-
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income cutoff; there is no incentive to
report an increase in income if
regulations do not require doing so.
Those households who realize a positive
transfer from HUD is the subset who
experience increases in non-fixed
income during years 2 and 3 of the
streamlined recertification cycle.
Of those households who receive 90
percent of income from fixed sources,
the median annual income from nonfixed sources (labor earnings, asset
income, temporary public assistance,
and other sources of income) is $0. The
mean annual income from non-fixed
sources across all such households is
$44. Under previous regulations, these
households would contribute up to 30
percent of any increase in income to
their rent payments. Thus, the transfer
to households would be approximately
30 percent of any income gain in nonfixed income sources. If we assume that
all non-fixed incomes increase by 1
percent for all households, then the
average gain would be $0.13 annually
($44 × 1 percent growth × 30 percent
towards tenant payment). This transfer
occurs in only 2 out of every 3 years and
so would be approximately $0.09 on
average. The aggregate transfer could be
as high as $225,000. As noted, most
households will not experience such an
impact: Only 13 percent of the affected
population receive income from other
than fixed-income sources. If we limit
the effect to those who receive non-fixed
income the measured impact is more
pronounced: The mean non-fixed
income is $338. The individual impact
is more pronounced (about 10 times
larger) for such households. Less
frequent recertification will lead to less
timely data but, given the relative
stability of fixed-income streams, would
not result in a significant change in the
payment of housing assistance.
There may also be a small cost to the
tenant from temporarily withholding
utility reimbursements for quarterly
reimbursements. However, given the
short time span and low amount, the
maximum opportunity cost for a
household would range from $0.44 (at a
3 percent annual discount rate) to $1.04
(at a 7 percent annual discount rate.3
The maximum aggregate cost across
30,000 households ranges from $13,200
to $31,200. However, the actual cost
will be less because not all of the
3 If the annual discount rate is 3 percent (7
percent), then the monthly discount rate is 0.25
percent (0.57 percent). The maximum burden on
households will be when the utility reimbursement
is $15 per month ($45 per quarter). For every
quarter, the first month’s reimbursement will be
delayed by 2 months and the second month’s by 1
month. Per quarter the burden will be $0.11 ($0.26
cents) at a 3 percent (7 percent) annual discount
rate.
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affected 30,000 households receive
monthly utility reimbursements of $15
or less.
Any associated risk of lost revenue to
PHAs, owners, or HUD resulting from
errors in imputed asset income is
expected to be negligible. HUD’s Quality
Control Study (QC Study) reports that
34.5 percent of all households in HUDassisted housing programs reported
some errors in their income reporting.
Of the group with income reporting
errors, only 3 percent were found to
have erroneously reported their annual
asset income (by $800 on average).
A potential administrative
inefficiency is that the frequency and
size of reporting error would increase if
certifications are required every 3 years.
Examination of quality control data
from 2014 reveals that the net error in
rent payments is more positive
(indicating a tenant is overpaying) and
varies less when asset income is the
largest source of the rent error. For those
with assets less than $5,000, the
estimated annual net error is only $8 in
cases where asset income is the largest
source of error (representing an
overpayment). It is not clear what the
impact of the rule would be on the level
of the net error; however, we could
expect greater variability with less
accurate data. From the quality control
data, we estimate that 1 percent of all
households are those with assets less
than $5,000 for which errors originate
from miscalculation of asset income (or
132,500 of 1.325 million households in
multifamily housing). Even if the net
error doubled because of the rule, the
transfer to or from tenants would
amount to no more than $1 million per
year 2 out of every 3 years. Finally,
streamlining would allow staff to more
rigorously control tenant information
that is a greater source of error (such as
earned income).
Information Collection Requirements
The information collection
requirements contained in this interim
final rule have been approved by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520) and
assigned OMB control number 2502–
0204. In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may
not conduct or sponsor, and a person is
not required to respond to, a collection
of information, unless the collection
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) establishes
requirements for federal agencies to
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assess the effects of their regulatory
actions on state, local, and tribal
governments and the private sector.
This interim final rule will not impose
any federal mandates on any state, local,
or tribal governments or the private
sector within the meaning of UMRA.
Environmental Review
This interim final rule involves
external administrative requirements
and procedures related to calculation of
HUD rental assistance that do not
constitute a development decision
affecting the physical condition of
specific project areas or building sites.
Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(6),
this interim final rule is categorically
excluded from environmental review
under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321).
Impact on Small Entities
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) generally requires
an agency to conduct a regulatory
flexibility analysis of any rule subject to
notice and comment rulemaking
requirements, unless the agency certifies
that the rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. This interim
final rule reduces administrative
burdens on PHAs and MFH owners in
several aspects of administering assisted
housing. All PHAs and MFH owners,
regardless of size, will benefit from the
burden reduction made by this interim
final rule. These revisions impose no
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
Therefore, the undersigned certifies that
this interim final rule will not have a
significant impact on a substantial
number of small entities.
Notwithstanding HUD’s belief that
this interim final rule will not have a
significant effect on a substantial
number of small entities, HUD
specifically invites comments regarding
any less burdensome alternatives to this
interim final rule that will meet HUD’s
objectives as described in this preamble.
Executive Order 13132, Federalism
Executive Order 13132 (entitled
‘‘Federalism’’) prohibits an agency from
publishing any rule that has federalism
implications if the rule either imposes
substantial direct compliance costs on
state and local governments and is not
required by statute, or the rule preempts
state law, unless the agency meets the
consultation and funding requirements
of section 6 of the Executive order. This
interim final rule does not have
federalism implications and does not
impose substantial direct compliance
costs on state and local governments nor
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58339
preempt state law within the meaning of
the Executive order.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance numbers applicable to the
program affected by this interim final
rule are 14.157, 14.181, 14.195, 14.850,
and 14.871.
List of Subjects
24 CFR Part 5
Administrative practice and
procedure, Aged, Claims, Crime,
Government contracts, Grant
programs—housing and community
development, Individuals with
disabilities, Intergovernmental relations,
Loan programs—housing and
community development, Low and
moderate income housing, Mortgage
insurance, Penalties, Pets, Public
housing, Rent subsidies, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Social
security, Unemployment compensation.
24 CFR Part 891
Aged, Grant programs—housing and
community development, Individuals
with disabilities, Loan programs—
housing and community development,
Rent subsidies, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
24 CFR Part 960
Aged, Grant programs—housing and
community development, Individuals
with disabilities, Pets, Public housing.
24 CFR Part 982
Grant programs—housing and
community development, Grant
programs—Indians, Indians, Public
housing, Rent subsidies, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, for the reasons stated in
the preamble, HUD is amending 24 CFR
parts 5, 891, 960, and 982 as follows:
PART 5—GENERAL HUD PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS; WAIVERS
1. The authority citation for part 5
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1701x; 42 U.S.C.
1437a, 1437c, 1437d, 1437f, 1437n, 3535(d);
Sec. 327, Pub. L. 109–115, 119 Stat. 2936;
Sec. 607, Pub. L. 109–162, 119 Stat. 3051 (42
U.S.C. 14043e et seq.); E.O. 13279, 67 FR
77141, 3 CFR, 2002 Comp., p. 258; and E.O.
13559, 75 FR 71319, 3 CFR, 2010 Comp., p.
273.
2. In § 5.632, add three sentences to
the end of paragraph (b)(1) to read as
follows:
■
§ 5.632
*
Utility reimbursements.
*
*
(b) * * *
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*
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(1) * * * The responsible entity has
the option of making utility
reimbursement payments not less than
once per calendar-year quarter, for
reimbursements totaling $45 or less per
quarter. In the event a family leaves the
program in advance of its next quarterly
reimbursement, the responsible entity
must reimburse the family for a prorated
share of the applicable reimbursement.
PHAs and owners exercising this option
must have a hardship policy in place for
tenants.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 3. In § 5.657, revise paragraph (d) to
read as follows:
§ 5.657 Section 8 project-based assistance
programs: Reexamination of family income
and composition.
ethrower on DSK3G9T082PROD with RULES
*
*
*
*
*
(d) Streamlined income
determination—(1) General. An owner
may elect to apply a streamlined income
determination to families receiving
fixed income as described in paragraph
(d)(3) of this section.
(2) Definition of ‘‘fixed income’’. For
purposes of this section, ‘‘fixed income’’
means periodic payments at reasonably
predictable levels from one or more of
the following sources:
(i) Social Security, Supplemental
Security Income, Supplemental
Disability Insurance.
(ii) Federal, state, local, or private
pension plans.
(iii) Annuities or other retirement
benefit programs, insurance policies,
disability or death benefits, or other
similar types of periodic receipts.
(iv) Any other source of income
subject to adjustment by a verifiable
COLA or current rate of interest.
(3) Method of streamlined income
determination. Owners using the
streamlined income determination must
adjust a family’s income according to
the percentage of a family’s unadjusted
income that is from fixed income.
(i) When 90 percent or more of a
family’s unadjusted income consists of
fixed income, owners using streamlined
income determinations must apply a
COLA or COLAs to the family’s fixedincome sources, provided that the
family certifies both that 90 percent or
more of their unadjusted income is fixed
income and that their sources of fixed
income have not changed from the
previous year. For non-fixed income,
owners may choose, but are not
required, to make appropriate
adjustments pursuant to paragraph (b) of
this section.
(ii) When less than 90 percent of a
family’s unadjusted income consists of
fixed income, owners using streamlined
income determinations must apply a
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16:52 Dec 11, 2017
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COLA to each of the family’s sources of
fixed income. Owners must determine
all other income pursuant to paragraph
(b) of this section.
(4) COLA rate applied by owners.
Owners using streamlined income
determinations must adjust a family’s
fixed income using a COLA or current
interest rate that applies to each specific
source of fixed income and is available
from a public source or through tenantprovided, third-party-generated
documentation. If no public verification
or tenant-provided documentation is
available, then the owner must obtain
third-party verification of the income
amounts in order to calculate the change
in income for the source.
(5) Triennial verification. For any
income determined pursuant to a
streamlined income determination, an
owner must obtain third-party
verification of all income amounts every
3 years.
■ 4. Amend § 5.659 by revising
paragraph (d) introductory text and
adding paragraph (e) to read as follows:
*
*
*
*
*
(d) Owner responsibility for
verification. Except as allowed under
paragraph (e), the owner must obtain
and document in the family file third
party verification of the following
factors, or must document in the file
why third party verification was not
available:
*
*
*
*
*
(e) Verification of assets. For a family
with net assets equal to or less than
$5,000, an owner may accept, for
purposes of recertification of income, a
family’s declaration that it has net assets
equal to or less than $5,000 without
taking additional steps to verify the
accuracy of the declaration, except as
required in paragraph (e)(2) of this
section.
(1) The declaration must state the
amount of income the family expects to
receive from such assets; this amount
must be included in the family’s
income.
(2) An owner must obtain third-party
verification of all family assets every 3
years.
PART 891—SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
FOR THE ELDERLY AND PERSONS
WITH DISABILITIES
5. The authority citation for part 891
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1701q; 42 U.S.C.
1437f, 3535(d), and 8013.
6. In § 891.415, revise paragraph (a)(2)
to read as follows:
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Obligations of the household or
*
*
*
*
*
(a) * * *
(2) Supply such certification, release
of information, consent, completed
forms or documentation as the Owner
(or Borrower, as applicable) or HUD
determines necessary, including
information and documentation relating
to the disclosure and verification of
Social Security Numbers, as provided
by 24 CFR part 5, subpart B; the signing
and submission of consent forms for the
obtaining of wage and claim information
from State Wage Information Collection
Agencies, as provided by 24 CFR part 5,
subpart B; and any certification of
family net assets, as provided by 24 CFR
5.659(e);
*
*
*
*
*
PART 960—ADMISSION TO, AND
OCCUPANCY OF, PUBLIC HOUSING
7. The authority citation for part 960
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1437a, 1437c, 1437d,
1437n, 1437z–3, and 3535(d).
§ 5.659 Family information and
verification.
■
§ 891.415
family.
8. In § 960.257, redesignate
paragraphs (b)(3) and (c) as paragraphs
(c) and (d), respectively, and revise
redesignated paragraph (c) to read as
follows:
■
§ 960.257 Family income and composition:
Annual and interim reexaminations.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) Streamlined income
determination—(1) General. A PHA may
elect to apply a streamlined income
determination to families receiving
fixed income, as described in paragraph
(c)(3) of this section.
(2) Definition of ‘‘fixed income’’. For
purposes of this section, ‘‘fixed income’’
means periodic payments at reasonably
predictable levels from one or more of
the following sources:
(i) Social Security, Supplemental
Security Income, Supplemental
Disability Insurance.
(ii) Federal, state, local, or private
pension plans.
(iii) Annuities or other retirement
benefit programs, insurance policies,
disability or death benefits, or other
similar types of periodic receipts.
(iv) Any other source of income
subject to adjustment by a verifiable
COLA or current rate of interest.
(3) Method of streamlined income
determination. A PHA using the
streamlined income determination must
adjust a family’s income according to
the percentage of a family’s unadjusted
income that is from fixed income.
(i) When 90 percent or more of a
family’s unadjusted income consists of
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 12, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
fixed income, PHAs using streamlined
income determinations must apply a
COLA or COLAs to the family’s sources
of fixed income, provided that the
family certifies both that 90 percent or
more of their unadjusted income is fixed
income and that their sources of fixed
income have not changed from the
previous year. For non-fixed income,
the PHA may choose, but is not
required, to make appropriate
adjustments pursuant to paragraph (a) of
this section.
(ii) When less than 90 percent of a
family’s unadjusted income consists of
fixed income, PHAs using streamlined
income determinations must apply a
COLA to each of the family’s sources of
fixed income individually. The PHA
must determine all other income
pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section.
(4) COLA rate applied by PHAs. PHAs
using streamlined income
determinations must adjust a family’s
fixed income using a COLA or current
interest rate that applies to each specific
source of fixed income and is available
from a public source or through tenantprovided, third-party-generated
documentation. If no public verification
or tenant-provided documentation is
available, then the owner must obtain
third-party verification of the income
amounts in order to calculate the change
in income for the source.
(5) Triennial verification. For any
income determined pursuant to a
streamlined income determination, a
PHA must obtain third-party
verification of all income amounts every
3 years.
*
*
*
*
*
PART 982—SECTION 8 TENANTBASED ASSISTANCE: HOUSING
CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM
9. The authority citation for part 982
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1437f and 3535(d).
10. In § 982.516, revise paragraph (b)
to read as follows:
■
§ 982.516 Family income and composition:
Annual and interim reexaminations.
ethrower on DSK3G9T082PROD with RULES
*
*
*
*
*
(b) Streamlined income
determination—(1) General. A PHA may
elect to apply a streamlined income
determination to families receiving
fixed income as described in paragraph
(b)(3) of this section.
(2) Definition of ‘‘fixed income’’. For
purposes of this section, ‘‘fixed income’’
means periodic payments at reasonably
predictable levels from one or more of
the following sources:
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16:52 Dec 11, 2017
Jkt 244001
(i) Social Security, Supplemental
Security Income, Supplemental
Disability Insurance.
(ii) Federal, state, local, or private
pension plans.
(iii) Annuities or other retirement
benefit programs, insurance policies,
disability or death benefits, or other
similar types of periodic receipts.
(iv) Any other source of income
subject to adjustment by a verifiable
COLA or current rate of interest.
(3) Method of streamlined income
determination. A PHA using the
streamlined income determination must
adjust a family’s income according to
the percentage of a family’s unadjusted
income that is from fixed income.
(i) When 90 percent or more of a
family’s unadjusted income consists of
fixed income, PHAs using streamlined
income determinations must apply a
COLA or COLAs to the family’s fixedincome sources, provided that the
family certifies both that 90 percent or
more of their unadjusted income is fixed
income and that their sources of fixed
income have not changed from the
previous year. For non-fixed income,
the PHA may choose, but is not
required, to make appropriate
adjustments pursuant to paragraph (a) of
this section
(ii) When less than 90 percent of a
family’s unadjusted income consists of
fixed income, PHAs using streamlined
income determinations must apply a
COLA to each of the family’s sources of
fixed income individually. The PHA
must determine all other income
pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section.
(4) COLA rate applied by PHAs. PHAs
using streamlined income
determinations must adjust a family’s
fixed income using a COLA or current
interest rate that applies to each specific
source of fixed income and is available
from a public source or through tenantprovided, third-party-generated
documentation. If no public verification
or tenant-provided documentation is
available, then the owner must obtain
third-party verification of the income
amounts in order to calculate the change
in income for the source.
(5) Triennial verification. For any
income determined pursuant to a
streamlined income determination, a
PHA must obtain third-party
verification of all income amounts every
3 years.
*
*
*
*
*
Dated: November 8, 2017.
Pamela H. Patenaude,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017–26697 Filed 12–11–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P; 5743–04–P
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58341
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R03–OAR–2016–0574; FRL–9971–56–
Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans; West
Virginia; Removal of Clean Air
Interstate Rule Trading Programs
Replaced by Cross-State Air Pollution
Rule Trading Programs; Withdrawal of
Direct Final Rule
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Withdrawal of direct final rule.
AGENCY:
Due to receipt of an adverse
comment, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is withdrawing the
September 25, 2017 direct final rule that
approved two state implementation plan
(SIP) revisions submitted by the State of
West Virginia removing the Clean Air
Interstate Rule (CAIR) annual nitrogen
oxide (NOX) and annual sulfur dioxide
(SO2) trading programs from the West
Virginia SIP.
DATES: The direct final rule published at
82 FR 44525 on September 25, 2017 is
withdrawn as of December 12, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marilyn Powers, (215) 814–2308, or by
email at powers.marilyn@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July
13, 2016, the State of West Virginia,
through the West Virginia Department
of Environmental Protection (WVDEP),
submitted three SIP revisions requesting
that EPA remove from its SIP three
regulations that implemented the CAIR
(70 FR 25162, May 12, 2005) trading
programs: Regulation 45CSR39—Control
of Annual Nitrogen Oxides Emissions,
Regulation 45CSR40—Control of Ozone
Season Nitrogen Oxides Emissions, and
Regulation 45CSR41—Control of
Annual Sulfur Dioxide Emissions. The
September 25, 2017 action pertained to
the two submittals that requested
removal of 45CSR39 and 45CSR41, the
CAIR annual NOX and annual SO2
trading programs, respectively, from the
West Virginia SIP. The submittal
pertaining to removal of the CAIR ozone
season NOX trading program was not a
part of that action and is being
addressed in a separate action. In the
direct final rule published on September
25, 2017 (82 FR 44525), EPA stated that
if EPA received adverse comments by
October 25, 2017, the rule would be
withdrawn and not take effect. EPA
subsequently received an adverse
comment from an anonymous
commenter.
SUMMARY:
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 12, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58335-58341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26697]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
24 CFR Parts 5, 891, 960, and 982
[Docket No. FR 5743-I-04]
RIN 2577-AJ36
Streamlining Administrative Regulations for Multifamily Housing
Programs and Implementing Family Income Reviews Under the Fixing
America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act
AGENCY: Office of the Deputy Secretary, HUD.
ACTION: Interim final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: HUD published a final rule on March 8, 2016, containing
changes to streamline regulatory requirements pertaining to certain
elements of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing (PH), and
various multifamily housing (MFH) rental assistance programs. The goal
of the final rule was to reduce the administrative burden on public
housing agencies (PHAs) and MFH owners, including changes pertaining to
annual income reviews in the HCV, PH, and Section 8 Project-Based
Rental Assistance (PBRA) programs for families with sources of fixed
income. On December 4, 2015, the President signed the Fixing America's
Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) into law. The law contained
language that allowed PHAs and owners to conduct full income
recertification for families with 90 percent or more of their income
from fixed-income every 3 years instead of annually. This interim final
rule amends the regulatory language to implement the FAST Act and to
align the current regulatory flexibilities with those provided in the
FAST Act. In addition, this interim final rule seeks to extend to
certain MFH programs some of the streamlining changes that were
proposed for and made only to the HCV and PH programs.
DATES: Effective date: March 12, 2018.
Comment due date: January 11, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this interim final rule. All communications must refer to the above
docket number and title. There are two methods for submitting public
comments.
1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by
mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room
10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500.
2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit
comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows the
commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, ensures timely
receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make comments immediately available
to the public. Comments submitted electronically through the
www.regulations.gov Website can be viewed by other commenters and
interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the
instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.
Note: To receive consideration as public comments, comments must
be submitted through one of the two methods specified above. Again,
all submissions must refer to the docket number and title of the
rule.
No Facsimiled Comments. Facsimiled (faxed) comments are not
acceptable.
Public Inspection of Public Comments. Copies of all comments
submitted are available for inspection and downloading at
www.regulations.gov. In addition, all properly submitted comments and
communications submitted to HUD will be available for public inspection
and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., weekdays, at the above address.
Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an advance
appointment to review the public comments must be scheduled by calling
the Regulations Division at 202-708-3055 (this is not a toll-free
number). Individuals with speech or hearing impairments may access this
number via TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339
(this is a toll-free number).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions, please contact the
following people (the phone numbers are not toll-free):
Multifamily Housing programs: Katherine Nzive, Director, Program
Administration Office, Asset Management and Portfolio Oversight, 202-
708-3000.
Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing programs: Becky Primeaux,
[[Page 58336]]
Director, Housing Voucher Management and Occupancy Division, 202-402-
6050 or Monica Shepherd, Director, Public Housing Management and
Occupancy, 202-402-4059.
Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number
through TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339 (this
is a toll-free number). The above-listed contacts may also be reached
by mail at the following address: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development; 451 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20410.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On January 6, 2015, at 80 FR 423, HUD issued a proposed rule to
implement several statutory changes made in the Department of Housing
and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2014 and also make multiple
administrative streamlining changes across several HUD programs. In
that proposed rule, some of these additional streamlining changes
applied only to the HCV and PH programs, not MFH programs. Given
feedback on the rule, HUD is issuing this interim final rule to expand
some of the flexibilities--namely, flexibilities related to utility
reimbursements and asset declarations that were finalized for the HCV
and PH programs in a March 8, 2016, final rule, at 81 FR 12354--to
housing assisted under the following MFH programs, while seeking public
feedback on that expansion:
(1) Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), including
projects undergoing Mark-to Market debt restructuring under the
Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Housing Act.
(2) Section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (both before and after
section 202 was amended by section 801 of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act).
(3) Section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
Housing Act.
In addition, another of the provisions in the March 8, 2016, final
rule, which applied to the HCV, PH, and above-listed MFH programs,
allowed PHAs and multifamily owners to streamline income
recertification procedures for families with income that comes from
fixed-income sources. The new regulatory provision allowed PHAs and
owners to only require third-party documentation for fixed-income
sources every 3 years. In the intermediate years the PHA or owner could
apply a previously determined or verified cost of living adjustment
(COLA) or interest rate adjustment specific to each source of fixed
income.
Prior to the issuance of the final rule, on December 4, 2015, the
President signed the FAST Act (Pub. L. 114-94). While primarily a
transportation law, section 78001 of the FAST Act also amended the
United States Housing Act of 1937 to allow PHAs and owners in the HCV,
PH, and PBRA programs to eliminate annual income reviews in some years
by applying a COLA determined by the Secretary to fixed-income sources
for families with incomes that are made up of at least 90 percent fixed
income. The PHA or owner is not required to verify non-fixed income
amounts in years where no fixed-income review is required, but is still
required to use third-party documentation for a full income
recertification every 3 years.
This interim final rule not only implements the statutory
provisions of the FAST Act, but it also modifies the earlier
streamlining regulations so that the procedures for families meeting
the 90 percent fixed-income threshold of the FAST Act are as similar as
possible to those for families who receive some, but less than 90
percent, of their income from fixed-income sources.
II. Summary of This Interim Final Rule
Streamlined Certification of Fixed Income (Sec. Sec. 5.233, 5.657,
960.257, and 982.516)
Under this interim final rule, during years 2 and 3 after a full
income review, PHAs and owners in the HCV, PH, and PBRA programs may
determine a family's fixed income by using a verified COLA or rate of
interest on the individual sources of fixed income. In the case of a
family with at least 90 percent of the family's unadjusted income from
fixed income, a PHA or owner using streamlined income verification may,
but is not required to, adjust the non-fixed income. For families with
at least one source of fixed income, but for which less than 90 percent
of the family's income is from fixed sources, PHAs and owners must
verify and adjust non-fixed sources annually.
This interim final rule does not change the requirement that the
PHA or owner must undertake a full recertification every 3 years. Nor
does it alter the requirement, applicable under the current
regulations, that families certify that all the information they submit
for income verification, including the sources of income, is accurate.
Utility Reimbursements (Sec. 5.632)
As required by Sec. 5.632 of the current PBRA regulations, where
tenants pay for their utility usage, owners must reimburse tenants if
the utility allowance exceeds the total tenant payment, but they do not
specify how frequently such reimbursement must be made. Such silence
may have led owners to the assumption that reimbursements must be
monthly, causing them to process small monthly checks and expend
postage to mail them to voucher holders, which may constitute an
administrative and financial burden.
This interim final rule explicitly allows owners to make
reimbursements of $45 or less (per quarter) on a quarterly basis, in
order to eliminate the burdensome process of processing and mailing
monthly reimbursement checks. In the event a family leaves the program
in advance of its next quarterly reimbursement, the owner would be
required to reimburse the family for a prorated share of the applicable
reimbursement. Owners exercising this option will be required to have a
policy in place to assist tenants for whom the quarterly reimbursements
will pose a financial hardship.
For the Section 202 and Section 811 programs, the regulations do
not contain the requirements around utility reimbursements, in general,
leaving such requirements in the assistance contracts. Therefore, HUD
is not including regulatory text to implement these new flexibilities
in this interim final rule, but rather would be open to amending the
assistance contracts of any owners looking to take advantage of the
flexibilities.
Family Declaration of Assets Under $5,000 (Sec. 5.659)
Families in the PBRA program are required to report all assets
annually. The amount of interest earned on those assets is included as
income used to calculate the tenant's rent obligation. Tenants with
assets below $5,000 typically generate minimal income from these
assets, which results in small changes, if any, to tenant rental
payments. Owners spend significant time verifying such assets.
This rule amends the regulations so that, for a family that has net
assets equal to or less than $5,000, an owner, at recertification, may
accept a family's declaration that it has net assets equal to or less
than $5,000, without annually taking additional steps to verify the
accuracy of the declaration. Third-party verification of all family
assets will be required every 3 years.
[[Page 58337]]
The regulations allow owners in the Section 202 and Section 811
programs to require tenants to provide the same certification of assets
allowed in the HCV, PH, and PBRA programs.
Applicability to Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing Programs
In the March 8, 2016, final rule, the provisions related to utility
allowance reimbursements and asset certification applied to the HCV and
PH programs only. HUD is currently expanding the same policies to the
MFH programs through this interim final rule. However, comments on this
interim final rule may lead us to reconsider those policies as they
apply to the HCV and PH programs, in the interest of aligning policies
across HUD programs.
III. Justification for Interim Rulemaking
In general, HUD publishes a rule for public comment before issuing
a rule for effect, in accordance with its own regulations on
rulemaking, 24 CFR part 10. Part 10, however, provides for exceptions
from that general rule where the Department finds good cause to omit
advance notice and public participation. The good cause requirement is
satisfied when the prior public procedure is ``impracticable,
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.''
The Department finds that good cause exists to publish this interim
rule for effect on the basis that the streamlining changes made to
utility reimbursement and declaration of assets in this interim rule
were included in HUD's January 6, 2015, proposed rule. Although these
provisions were not presented as streamlining changes for adoption in
HUD's MFH programs, commenters responding to the solicitation of
comment in the January 6, 2015, proposed rule requested HUD
consideration of extending the applicability of these provisions to
HUD's MFH programs.
The language implementing the FAST Act is implementing statutory
language that provides an option for PHAs and owners. While the statute
does not mandate that PHAs or owners use the streamlined reexamination,
it does require HUD to give PHAs and owners the option. In addition,
this interim final rule builds upon proposals that already underwent
public comment, resulting in HUD's March 8, 2016, final rule. The
specific use of the Social Security Administration's COLA was not
issued for prior public comment, but the use of a single COLA, unless
requested otherwise by the family, will provide PHAs and owners with
additional streamlining benefits.
Although HUD is issuing this rule for effect, HUD has delayed the
effective date for a period of 90 days, allowing participants in HUD's
MFH programs and other interested parties to submit comment during the
first 30-day period following publication of this interim rule. HUD
will take any comments received into consideration and determine
whether any further changes should be made before implementing the
streamlining changes for the MFH programs.
IV. Specific Question for Comment
While HUD welcomes comments on all aspects of this interim final
rule, HUD is seeking specific comment on the following question:
The language in this interim final rule proposes a policy on
utility reimbursements and asset certification identical to that
applying to the HCV and PH programs contained in the March 8, 2016,
final rule. Comments on this interim final rule may lead us to
reconsider those policies as they apply to the HCV and PH programs, in
the interest of aligning policies across HUD programs. Are there
program-specific or unintended impacts in the HCV, PH, or MFH programs
that should be considered in aligning these policies across programs?
Would any difference cause a burden to entities administering these
forms of assistance or to the tenants receiving the assistance?
V. Findings and Certifications
Regulatory Review--Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Under Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review), a
determination must be made whether a regulatory action is significant
and therefore, subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) in accordance with the requirements of the order. Executive Order
13563 (Improving Regulations and Regulatory Review) directs executive
agencies to analyze regulations that are ``outmoded, ineffective,
insufficient, or excessively burdensome,'' and to modify, streamline,
expand, or repeal them in accordance with what has been learned.
Executive Order 13563 also directs that, where relevant, feasible, and
consistent with regulatory objectives, and to the extent permitted by
law, agencies are to identify and consider regulatory approaches that
reduce burdens and maintain flexibility and freedom of choice for the
public. This rule was not determined to be a ``significant regulatory
action'' as defined in section 3(f) of the Executive order.
As discussed, this interim final rule furthers HUD's efforts to
streamline administrative requirements for owners receiving subsidies
under the HCV, PH, PBRA, Section 202 and Section 811 programs.
Specifically, this interim rule gives PHAs and owners greater
flexibilities in determining tenant families' income and assets, and in
issuing utility reimbursements. The rule provides PHAs and owners with
the discretion to implement these regulations. Some may choose the
status quo; others will choose the streamlining alternative. By
allowing voluntary implementation, HUD enables participants to choose
their desired method of administration, which in many cases will
presumably be the least-cost method. Aggregate savings are expected to
be approximately $31.2 million.
A. Benefits
The most significant savings come from reduced time devoted to
administrative tasks related to certifying income. HUD expects that
this streamlining interim rule will, in some cases, reduce the time
required for income recertification, but it is difficult to know by how
much, given the voluntary nature of the regulatory changes. To monetize
the cost savings, we make assumptions concerning the proportion of PHAs
and owners that will adopt the streamlining practices and what the time
savings will be.
We assume that administrative costs for PH and PBRA, are similar to
those for the HCV program. A HUD study of administrative costs in the
HCV program found that, on average, 13.8 hours are required per voucher
per year to run a high-performing program.\1\ Half of the effort is
allocated to ongoing occupancy, of which annual recertification is a
major portion. Annual recertification includes preparing for and
scheduling recertification, conducting interviews, verifying income and
household composition, reviewing Enterprise Income Verification (EIV),
and calculating total tenant payment and housing assistance payment.
The average time spent is 232 minutes per voucher per year, with a 95
percent confidence interval of 206 to 257 minutes. The median is 225
minutes per voucher per year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Fee Study, Final
Report, August 2015.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based on this study, we estimate that the savings per household per
year are 30 minutes (or approximately 12 percent of the total average
reexamination time of 232 minutes).
[[Page 58338]]
The savings are realized 2 of every 3 years and, so, on average, the
per-household per-year savings will be 20 minutes. If the opportunity
cost of labor is $60 per hour, then the average savings per affected
household per year is $20 ($1 per minute x 20 minutes).
Current regulations in the HCV, PH, and PBRA programs apply
streamlined income verification practices to all households with any
income coming from fixed-income sources (60 percent of households in
these programs).\2\ This interim final rule changes the streamlined
procedures for households with at least 90 percent of their income from
fixed-income sources (53 percent of all households), or 2.5 million of
4.7 million households in the HCV, PH, and PBRA programs being eligible
to benefit from this interim final rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ This percentage was computed by HUD staff using HUD data. It
is further assumed that the percentage is consistent and observable
across all HUD programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For these 2.5 million households, a PHA or owner using streamlined
income verification may, but is not required to, adjust the non-fixed
income. It is reasonable to expect that streamlining will be applied to
no more than half of those eligible (or that the savings will be
noticeable for no more than half). Thus, we assume that assistance
providers realize average administrative efficiencies of $20 across
1.25 million households for aggregate savings of $25 million. The
aggregate efficiencies realized would be correspondingly higher (lower)
if applied to more (fewer) households or if opportunity costs were
higher (lower). Given anecdotal evidence from streamlining regulations,
HUD expects the lower-end estimates to be more representative of the
impact of the changes. If the impact ranges from 0 percent to 75
percent of the point estimate, we could expect administrative
efficiencies of from $0 to $37.5 million.
In addition to the savings seen by streamlining annual
certification of income, self-certification by households of assets is
expected to reduce administrative burdens on PHAs and owners in the
PBRA, Section 202, and Section 811 programs. This interim final rule
applies to the 95 percent of PBRA-, Section 202-, and Section 811-
assisted households that have assets with a cash value of less than
$5,000 but would only reduce costs for the 43 percent of households in
these programs that have assets worth less than $5,000 but more than
zero. Of the 589,000 estimated eligible households (43 percent of 1.378
million), we assume that the streamlining savings will be realized for
half of them. Applying the same logic as for income recertification and
assuming that the average savings per household from streamlining is
$20, the aggregate savings will be $5.9 million.
Further savings come from allowing quarterly utility reimbursements
when such quarterly amounts are $45 or less. The Tenant Rental
Assistance Certification System (TRACS) database which contains data on
multifamily owners, contracts, and tenants, reports that as of March
2017, 82,000 households assisted by the PBRA, Section 202 and Section
811 programs (of approximately 1.37 million) received utility
reimbursements. Of these households, 30,000 received a monthly utility
reimbursement less than $45. If administrators choose quarterly
reimbursements as opposed to monthly, then doing so would save some
time and expense by eliminating the costs of sending eight letters
every year to eligible households. Because it is a minor activity,
information to estimate time spent on utility reimbursements is not
available. We assume that processing and mailing costs $3 per letter.
Over 1 year, the savings amount to $24 (8 months x $3) per affected
household. If only half choose the streamlining, then total savings
will be $0.36 million.
By allowing voluntary implementation, HUD enables participants to
choose their desired method of administration, which in many cases will
presumably be the least-cost method. It is difficult to estimate the
savings with precision given that an unknown number of PHAs and owners
may choose the status quo. Based on the aforementioned assumptions,
aggregate savings are expected to be approximately $31.2 million ($24.9
million from income verification + $0.6 million from utility
reimbursement + $5.9 million from asset verification).
B. Costs and Transfers
All of the regulatory changes included in this interim final rule
are intended to provide additional options and flexibilities to PHAs
and owners, not to mandate new actions. Therefore, HUD expects that
PHAs and owners will not adopt any new procedures that add costs to
their operations.
There may be a small transfer resulting from the change to the
income streamlining regulations due to foregone tenant rent increases
that would otherwise be owed by an unknown portion of the 2.5 million
tenants affected by the new 90 percent fixed-income cutoff; there is no
incentive to report an increase in income if regulations do not require
doing so. Those households who realize a positive transfer from HUD is
the subset who experience increases in non-fixed income during years 2
and 3 of the streamlined recertification cycle.
Of those households who receive 90 percent of income from fixed
sources, the median annual income from non-fixed sources (labor
earnings, asset income, temporary public assistance, and other sources
of income) is $0. The mean annual income from non-fixed sources across
all such households is $44. Under previous regulations, these
households would contribute up to 30 percent of any increase in income
to their rent payments. Thus, the transfer to households would be
approximately 30 percent of any income gain in non-fixed income
sources. If we assume that all non-fixed incomes increase by 1 percent
for all households, then the average gain would be $0.13 annually ($44
x 1 percent growth x 30 percent towards tenant payment). This transfer
occurs in only 2 out of every 3 years and so would be approximately
$0.09 on average. The aggregate transfer could be as high as $225,000.
As noted, most households will not experience such an impact: Only 13
percent of the affected population receive income from other than
fixed-income sources. If we limit the effect to those who receive non-
fixed income the measured impact is more pronounced: The mean non-fixed
income is $338. The individual impact is more pronounced (about 10
times larger) for such households. Less frequent recertification will
lead to less timely data but, given the relative stability of fixed-
income streams, would not result in a significant change in the payment
of housing assistance.
There may also be a small cost to the tenant from temporarily
withholding utility reimbursements for quarterly reimbursements.
However, given the short time span and low amount, the maximum
opportunity cost for a household would range from $0.44 (at a 3 percent
annual discount rate) to $1.04 (at a 7 percent annual discount rate.\3\
The maximum aggregate cost across 30,000 households ranges from $13,200
to $31,200. However, the actual cost will be less because not all of
the
[[Page 58339]]
affected 30,000 households receive monthly utility reimbursements of
$15 or less.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ If the annual discount rate is 3 percent (7 percent), then
the monthly discount rate is 0.25 percent (0.57 percent). The
maximum burden on households will be when the utility reimbursement
is $15 per month ($45 per quarter). For every quarter, the first
month's reimbursement will be delayed by 2 months and the second
month's by 1 month. Per quarter the burden will be $0.11 ($0.26
cents) at a 3 percent (7 percent) annual discount rate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any associated risk of lost revenue to PHAs, owners, or HUD
resulting from errors in imputed asset income is expected to be
negligible. HUD's Quality Control Study (QC Study) reports that 34.5
percent of all households in HUD-assisted housing programs reported
some errors in their income reporting. Of the group with income
reporting errors, only 3 percent were found to have erroneously
reported their annual asset income (by $800 on average).
A potential administrative inefficiency is that the frequency and
size of reporting error would increase if certifications are required
every 3 years. Examination of quality control data from 2014 reveals
that the net error in rent payments is more positive (indicating a
tenant is overpaying) and varies less when asset income is the largest
source of the rent error. For those with assets less than $5,000, the
estimated annual net error is only $8 in cases where asset income is
the largest source of error (representing an overpayment). It is not
clear what the impact of the rule would be on the level of the net
error; however, we could expect greater variability with less accurate
data. From the quality control data, we estimate that 1 percent of all
households are those with assets less than $5,000 for which errors
originate from miscalculation of asset income (or 132,500 of 1.325
million households in multifamily housing). Even if the net error
doubled because of the rule, the transfer to or from tenants would
amount to no more than $1 million per year 2 out of every 3 years.
Finally, streamlining would allow staff to more rigorously control
tenant information that is a greater source of error (such as earned
income).
Information Collection Requirements
The information collection requirements contained in this interim
final rule have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520)
and assigned OMB control number 2502-0204. In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor,
and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of
information, unless the collection displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA)
establishes requirements for federal agencies to assess the effects of
their regulatory actions on state, local, and tribal governments and
the private sector. This interim final rule will not impose any federal
mandates on any state, local, or tribal governments or the private
sector within the meaning of UMRA.
Environmental Review
This interim final rule involves external administrative
requirements and procedures related to calculation of HUD rental
assistance that do not constitute a development decision affecting the
physical condition of specific project areas or building sites.
Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(6), this interim final rule is
categorically excluded from environmental review under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321).
Impact on Small Entities
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)
generally requires an agency to conduct a regulatory flexibility
analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking
requirements, unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
This interim final rule reduces administrative burdens on PHAs and MFH
owners in several aspects of administering assisted housing. All PHAs
and MFH owners, regardless of size, will benefit from the burden
reduction made by this interim final rule. These revisions impose no
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Therefore, the undersigned certifies that this interim final rule will
not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Notwithstanding HUD's belief that this interim final rule will not
have a significant effect on a substantial number of small entities,
HUD specifically invites comments regarding any less burdensome
alternatives to this interim final rule that will meet HUD's objectives
as described in this preamble.
Executive Order 13132, Federalism
Executive Order 13132 (entitled ``Federalism'') prohibits an agency
from publishing any rule that has federalism implications if the rule
either imposes substantial direct compliance costs on state and local
governments and is not required by statute, or the rule preempts state
law, unless the agency meets the consultation and funding requirements
of section 6 of the Executive order. This interim final rule does not
have federalism implications and does not impose substantial direct
compliance costs on state and local governments nor preempt state law
within the meaning of the Executive order.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers applicable to
the program affected by this interim final rule are 14.157, 14.181,
14.195, 14.850, and 14.871.
List of Subjects
24 CFR Part 5
Administrative practice and procedure, Aged, Claims, Crime,
Government contracts, Grant programs--housing and community
development, Individuals with disabilities, Intergovernmental
relations, Loan programs--housing and community development, Low and
moderate income housing, Mortgage insurance, Penalties, Pets, Public
housing, Rent subsidies, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Social security, Unemployment compensation.
24 CFR Part 891
Aged, Grant programs--housing and community development,
Individuals with disabilities, Loan programs--housing and community
development, Rent subsidies, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
24 CFR Part 960
Aged, Grant programs--housing and community development,
Individuals with disabilities, Pets, Public housing.
24 CFR Part 982
Grant programs--housing and community development, Grant programs--
Indians, Indians, Public housing, Rent subsidies, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, for the reasons stated in the preamble, HUD is
amending 24 CFR parts 5, 891, 960, and 982 as follows:
PART 5--GENERAL HUD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS; WAIVERS
0
1. The authority citation for part 5 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1701x; 42 U.S.C. 1437a, 1437c, 1437d,
1437f, 1437n, 3535(d); Sec. 327, Pub. L. 109-115, 119 Stat. 2936;
Sec. 607, Pub. L. 109-162, 119 Stat. 3051 (42 U.S.C. 14043e et
seq.); E.O. 13279, 67 FR 77141, 3 CFR, 2002 Comp., p. 258; and E.O.
13559, 75 FR 71319, 3 CFR, 2010 Comp., p. 273.
0
2. In Sec. 5.632, add three sentences to the end of paragraph (b)(1)
to read as follows:
Sec. 5.632 Utility reimbursements.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
[[Page 58340]]
(1) * * * The responsible entity has the option of making utility
reimbursement payments not less than once per calendar-year quarter,
for reimbursements totaling $45 or less per quarter. In the event a
family leaves the program in advance of its next quarterly
reimbursement, the responsible entity must reimburse the family for a
prorated share of the applicable reimbursement. PHAs and owners
exercising this option must have a hardship policy in place for
tenants.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 5.657, revise paragraph (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 5.657 Section 8 project-based assistance programs: Reexamination
of family income and composition.
* * * * *
(d) Streamlined income determination--(1) General. An owner may
elect to apply a streamlined income determination to families receiving
fixed income as described in paragraph (d)(3) of this section.
(2) Definition of ``fixed income''. For purposes of this section,
``fixed income'' means periodic payments at reasonably predictable
levels from one or more of the following sources:
(i) Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Supplemental
Disability Insurance.
(ii) Federal, state, local, or private pension plans.
(iii) Annuities or other retirement benefit programs, insurance
policies, disability or death benefits, or other similar types of
periodic receipts.
(iv) Any other source of income subject to adjustment by a
verifiable COLA or current rate of interest.
(3) Method of streamlined income determination. Owners using the
streamlined income determination must adjust a family's income
according to the percentage of a family's unadjusted income that is
from fixed income.
(i) When 90 percent or more of a family's unadjusted income
consists of fixed income, owners using streamlined income
determinations must apply a COLA or COLAs to the family's fixed-income
sources, provided that the family certifies both that 90 percent or
more of their unadjusted income is fixed income and that their sources
of fixed income have not changed from the previous year. For non-fixed
income, owners may choose, but are not required, to make appropriate
adjustments pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section.
(ii) When less than 90 percent of a family's unadjusted income
consists of fixed income, owners using streamlined income
determinations must apply a COLA to each of the family's sources of
fixed income. Owners must determine all other income pursuant to
paragraph (b) of this section.
(4) COLA rate applied by owners. Owners using streamlined income
determinations must adjust a family's fixed income using a COLA or
current interest rate that applies to each specific source of fixed
income and is available from a public source or through tenant-
provided, third-party-generated documentation. If no public
verification or tenant-provided documentation is available, then the
owner must obtain third-party verification of the income amounts in
order to calculate the change in income for the source.
(5) Triennial verification. For any income determined pursuant to a
streamlined income determination, an owner must obtain third-party
verification of all income amounts every 3 years.
0
4. Amend Sec. 5.659 by revising paragraph (d) introductory text and
adding paragraph (e) to read as follows:
Sec. 5.659 Family information and verification.
* * * * *
(d) Owner responsibility for verification. Except as allowed under
paragraph (e), the owner must obtain and document in the family file
third party verification of the following factors, or must document in
the file why third party verification was not available:
* * * * *
(e) Verification of assets. For a family with net assets equal to
or less than $5,000, an owner may accept, for purposes of
recertification of income, a family's declaration that it has net
assets equal to or less than $5,000 without taking additional steps to
verify the accuracy of the declaration, except as required in paragraph
(e)(2) of this section.
(1) The declaration must state the amount of income the family
expects to receive from such assets; this amount must be included in
the family's income.
(2) An owner must obtain third-party verification of all family
assets every 3 years.
PART 891--SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY AND PERSONS WITH
DISABILITIES
0
5. The authority citation for part 891 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1701q; 42 U.S.C. 1437f, 3535(d), and 8013.
0
6. In Sec. 891.415, revise paragraph (a)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 891.415 Obligations of the household or family.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(2) Supply such certification, release of information, consent,
completed forms or documentation as the Owner (or Borrower, as
applicable) or HUD determines necessary, including information and
documentation relating to the disclosure and verification of Social
Security Numbers, as provided by 24 CFR part 5, subpart B; the signing
and submission of consent forms for the obtaining of wage and claim
information from State Wage Information Collection Agencies, as
provided by 24 CFR part 5, subpart B; and any certification of family
net assets, as provided by 24 CFR 5.659(e);
* * * * *
PART 960--ADMISSION TO, AND OCCUPANCY OF, PUBLIC HOUSING
0
7. The authority citation for part 960 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1437a, 1437c, 1437d, 1437n, 1437z-3, and
3535(d).
0
8. In Sec. 960.257, redesignate paragraphs (b)(3) and (c) as
paragraphs (c) and (d), respectively, and revise redesignated paragraph
(c) to read as follows:
Sec. 960.257 Family income and composition: Annual and interim
reexaminations.
* * * * *
(c) Streamlined income determination--(1) General. A PHA may elect
to apply a streamlined income determination to families receiving fixed
income, as described in paragraph (c)(3) of this section.
(2) Definition of ``fixed income''. For purposes of this section,
``fixed income'' means periodic payments at reasonably predictable
levels from one or more of the following sources:
(i) Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Supplemental
Disability Insurance.
(ii) Federal, state, local, or private pension plans.
(iii) Annuities or other retirement benefit programs, insurance
policies, disability or death benefits, or other similar types of
periodic receipts.
(iv) Any other source of income subject to adjustment by a
verifiable COLA or current rate of interest.
(3) Method of streamlined income determination. A PHA using the
streamlined income determination must adjust a family's income
according to the percentage of a family's unadjusted income that is
from fixed income.
(i) When 90 percent or more of a family's unadjusted income
consists of
[[Page 58341]]
fixed income, PHAs using streamlined income determinations must apply a
COLA or COLAs to the family's sources of fixed income, provided that
the family certifies both that 90 percent or more of their unadjusted
income is fixed income and that their sources of fixed income have not
changed from the previous year. For non-fixed income, the PHA may
choose, but is not required, to make appropriate adjustments pursuant
to paragraph (a) of this section.
(ii) When less than 90 percent of a family's unadjusted income
consists of fixed income, PHAs using streamlined income determinations
must apply a COLA to each of the family's sources of fixed income
individually. The PHA must determine all other income pursuant to
paragraph (a) of this section.
(4) COLA rate applied by PHAs. PHAs using streamlined income
determinations must adjust a family's fixed income using a COLA or
current interest rate that applies to each specific source of fixed
income and is available from a public source or through tenant-
provided, third-party-generated documentation. If no public
verification or tenant-provided documentation is available, then the
owner must obtain third-party verification of the income amounts in
order to calculate the change in income for the source.
(5) Triennial verification. For any income determined pursuant to a
streamlined income determination, a PHA must obtain third-party
verification of all income amounts every 3 years.
* * * * *
PART 982--SECTION 8 TENANT-BASED ASSISTANCE: HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER
PROGRAM
0
9. The authority citation for part 982 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1437f and 3535(d).
0
10. In Sec. 982.516, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 982.516 Family income and composition: Annual and interim
reexaminations.
* * * * *
(b) Streamlined income determination--(1) General. A PHA may elect
to apply a streamlined income determination to families receiving fixed
income as described in paragraph (b)(3) of this section.
(2) Definition of ``fixed income''. For purposes of this section,
``fixed income'' means periodic payments at reasonably predictable
levels from one or more of the following sources:
(i) Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Supplemental
Disability Insurance.
(ii) Federal, state, local, or private pension plans.
(iii) Annuities or other retirement benefit programs, insurance
policies, disability or death benefits, or other similar types of
periodic receipts.
(iv) Any other source of income subject to adjustment by a
verifiable COLA or current rate of interest.
(3) Method of streamlined income determination. A PHA using the
streamlined income determination must adjust a family's income
according to the percentage of a family's unadjusted income that is
from fixed income.
(i) When 90 percent or more of a family's unadjusted income
consists of fixed income, PHAs using streamlined income determinations
must apply a COLA or COLAs to the family's fixed-income sources,
provided that the family certifies both that 90 percent or more of
their unadjusted income is fixed income and that their sources of fixed
income have not changed from the previous year. For non-fixed income,
the PHA may choose, but is not required, to make appropriate
adjustments pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section
(ii) When less than 90 percent of a family's unadjusted income
consists of fixed income, PHAs using streamlined income determinations
must apply a COLA to each of the family's sources of fixed income
individually. The PHA must determine all other income pursuant to
paragraph (a) of this section.
(4) COLA rate applied by PHAs. PHAs using streamlined income
determinations must adjust a family's fixed income using a COLA or
current interest rate that applies to each specific source of fixed
income and is available from a public source or through tenant-
provided, third-party-generated documentation. If no public
verification or tenant-provided documentation is available, then the
owner must obtain third-party verification of the income amounts in
order to calculate the change in income for the source.
(5) Triennial verification. For any income determined pursuant to a
streamlined income determination, a PHA must obtain third-party
verification of all income amounts every 3 years.
* * * * *
Dated: November 8, 2017.
Pamela H. Patenaude,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-26697 Filed 12-11-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P; 5743-04-P