Department of Housing and Urban Development March 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces a two-day session of the negotiated rulemaking committee that developed HUD's November 18, 2011, proposed rule to revise the regulations governing the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Program and Title VI Loan Guarantee Program. HUD's proposed rule was developed, as required by statute, by negotiated rulemaking. The public comment period on the proposed rule closed on January 17, 2012. The purpose of the two-day session is to provide the negotiated rulemaking committee members the opportunity to review and consider responses to the public comments received on the November 18, 2011, proposed rule.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. HUD is conducting an evaluation of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, focused on the initial round of grants funded in August 2011. This evaluation requires the collection of information from households living in the Choice Neighborhoods sites. This proposed information collection will support the first phase of the evaluation, which is focused on studying implementation of the grants and establishing a baseline for long-term evaluation of program outcomes. The information collection is necessary to understand the experience of the residents in the Choice Neighborhood sites.

This proposed rule would amend HUD's regulations governing the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program (Section 202) and the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program (Section 811), by streamlining the requirements for mixed- finance Section 202 and Section 811 developments. This rule would streamline the requirements for mixed-finance developments by removing restrictions on the portions of developments not funded through capital advances, thereby lifting barriers on participation in the development of the projects, and eliminating burdensome funding requirements. These proposed amendments would attract private capital and the expertise of the private developer community to create attractive and affordable supportive housing developments for the elderly and for persons with disabilities. HUD is also taking this opportunity to improve and bring up to date certain regulations governing all Section 202 and Section 811 developments. These changes will permit broader flexibility in the design of Section 202/811 units, extend the duration of the availability of capital advance funds, and make a technical correction. This proposed rule is the first part of a larger regulatory effort to reform the Section 202 and Section 811 programs, which will include implementation of the changes made to these programs by the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010 and the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act of 2010. A subsequent rule, which will focus on the statutory changes, is expected to be published later in 2012.

This Notice announces a debenture call of certain Federal Housing Administration (FHA) debentures in accordance with authority provided in the National Housing Act.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for use to assist the homeless.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. This is an extension of a currently approved collection for submitting Applications for Housing Assistance Payments for Section 8, Rent Supplement, Rental Assistance Payment (RAP), Section 202 Project Assistance Contracts (PACs) and Section 811 and 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts (PRACS) program units. Special Claims for damages, unpaid rent loss, and vacancy claims are available for the Section 8, Section 202 PACs, and Section 811 and Section 202 PRACS programs. Each HUD program has an assistance payments contract. These contracts indicate that HUD will make monthly assistance payments to Project Owners/Management Agents on behalf of the eligible households who reside in the assisted units. Project Owners are required to sign a certification on the Housing Owner's Certifications and Application for Housing Assistance form which states: (1) Each tenant's eligibility and assistance payments was computed in accord with HUD's regulations administrative procedures and the Contract, and are payable under the Contract; (2) The units for which assistance is being billed are decent, safe, sanitary, and occupied or available for occupancy; (3) No amount included on the bill has been previously billed or paid; (4) All facts and data on which the payment request is based are true and accurate; and (5) That no payments have been paid or will be paid from the tenant or any public or private source for units beyond that authorized by the assistance contract, or lease, unless permitted by HUD.

This proposed rule would amend the HUDAR to implement miscellaneous changes. These changes include, for example, such amendments as removing provisions that are now obsolete, refining provisions to approve requests for deviation from the HUDAR, updating provisions that address the organizational structure of HUD, and adding provisions on contractor record retention.

In accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-05, approved February 17, 2009) (Recovery Act), and implementing guidance of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), this notice advises that certain exceptions to the Buy American requirement of the Recovery Act have been determined applicable for work using Capital Fund Recovery Formula and Competition (CFRFC) grant funds. Specifically, an exception was granted to the Housing Authority of the City of Vancouver for the purchase and installation of ductless split heat pumps for the Skyline Crest Sustainability Upgrade project.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

Section 106 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (the HUD Reform Act) requires HUD to publish quarterly Federal Register notices of all regulatory waivers that HUD has approved. Each notice covers the quarterly period since the previous Federal Register notice. The purpose of this notice is to comply with the requirements of section 106 of the HUD Reform Act. This notice contains a list of regulatory waivers granted by HUD during the period beginning on October 1, 2011, and ending on December 31, 2011.

In accordance with Section 102(a)(4)(C) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989, this announcement notifies the public of funding decisions made by the Department for funding under the FY 2011 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Public and Indian Housing Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS)Service Coordinators Program for Fiscal Year 2011. This announcement contains the consolidated names and addresses of those award recipients selected for funding based on the funding priority categories established in the NOFA.

In accordance with Section 102(a)(4)(C) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989, this announcement notifies the public of funding decisions made by the Department in a competition for funding under the FY2010 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Family Unification Program (FUP). This announcement contains the consolidated names and addresses of the award recipients for this year under the FUP Program.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. The Rental Assistance Demonstration allows Public Housing and Moderate Rehabilitation (Mod Rehab) properties to convert to long-term Section 8 rental assistance contracts; and Rent Supplement, Rental Assistance Payment and Mod Rehab properties upon contract expiration or termination, to convert tenant protection vouchers (TPVs) to project- based vouchers (PBVs). Participation in the initiative will be voluntary; the attached applications will be used to determine eligibility for Public Housing and Mod Rehab owners only.

The Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) provides the opportunity to test the conversion of public housing and other HUD- assisted properties to long-term, project-based Section 8 rental assistance to achieve certain goals, including the preservation and improvement of these properties through access by public housing agencies (PHAs) and owners to private debt and equity to address immediate and long-term capital needs. RAD is also designed to test the extent to which residents have increased housing choices after the conversion, and the overall impact on the subject properties. This notice announces that HUD has posted on its Web site a demonstration program notice (Program Notice) entitled ``Rental Assistance DemonstrationPartial Implementation and Request for Comments.'' Prior to the issuance of the final program notice that will provide for full implementation of RAD, HUD welcomes public comment on the entirety of the Program Notice and particularly seeks comments on elements highlighted in this notice.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.