HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) announced 14 “Get Ready” sessions regarding National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE). NSPIRE is a new approach to defining and assessing housing quality among most HUD programs, particularly public housing and privately owned multifamily properties assisted with Section 8. The purpose of the sessions is to help all REAC stakeholders, including residents, property owners, and inspectors, learn more about NSPIRE and prepare for its full implementation.
HUD published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on January 13, 2021 (see Memo, 1/19/21). The title of the upcoming sessions – “Get Ready” – implies that implementation of a final rule is imminent, though there is currently no indication that a final rule is soon to be published because one is not posted at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The intent of the proposed rule, along with the existing NSPIRE demonstration (see Memo, 8/26/19), is to improve HUD oversight by aligning and consolidating the physical inspection regulations used to evaluate HUD-assisted housing across multiple HUD programs, creating a unified assessment of housing quality. Currently, the various HUD programs evaluate housing quality using different inspection standards, protocols, and frequencies. NLIHC has submitted comments about the proposed rule (see Memo, 3/22/21) and prepared a detailed summary of key features of the proposed rule.
A list of cities and dates for the upcoming “Get Ready” sessions can be found here.
REAC’s NSPIRE homepage is accessible here.