HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) sent a memorandum to public housing agency (PHA) executive directors on January 15 stating that Housing Choice Voucher renewal funds and Administrative Fees were paid to them for January and are scheduled to be paid on time for February. Due to the partial shutdown of the federal government, PIH recognizes that in some situations the January and February funds might not cover PHAs’ monthly voucher Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) needs because of additional leasing or other costs.
HUD PIH will allow PHAs to access their HUD-held Housing Assistance Payment Reserves (HHRs) under two circumstances:
- HHR is needed to protect households that are at imminent risk of losing their voucher assistance, and/or
- The PHA was eligible to receive a January payment but did not receive it and needs reserves to ensure that a property owner receives a HAP payment to continue assistance to protect residents at a property. An example of such a situation would be the first-time Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) payments for a project.
When requesting access to their HHR reserve, a PHA must detail any cost-saving measures taken, as outlined in Notice PIH 2011-28, to decrease the possibility of a shortfall.
The PIH memorandum is at: https://bit.ly/2TZwvio