HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) issued Notice PIH 2024-21 revising the calendar year (CY) 2024 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Set-Aside Shortfall Funding requirements. The Notice establishes additional public housing agency (PHA) eligibility requirements for the CY24 shortfall funding category, including more stringent restrictions on the issuance of vouchers. The Notice supersedes Appendix E of Notice PIH 2024-16, which implements the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program funding provisions of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024” that establishes the allocation methodology for calculating HAP renewal funds, new incremental vouchers, and administrative fees.
The 2024 Appropriations Act provides up to $200 million for the HCV HAP Set-Aside Fund. Section 11.A of Notice PIH 2024-16 describes 11 categories of eligible uses of Set-Aside Funds, one of which is funding for PHAs that, despite taking reasonable cost savings measures, would otherwise be required to terminate households from the voucher program due to insufficient HAP funds. PIH is prioritizing the need for shortfall funding over the other eligible categories to prevent voucher terminations. Consequently, PIH will delay making awards for the other funding categories. In addition, PIH may prorate funding awards or decline to make any funding awards for some or all other Set-Aside categories depending on the extent of shortfall funding needs.
Once a PHA is notified that PIH’s Shortfall Prevention Team (SPT) has identified a projected shortfall in a PHA’s HCV program for CY24, the PHA must comply with all required actions outlined in the SPT notice, including immediately suspending the issue of new vouchers and absorbing vouchers from other PHAs under the voucher program’s portability provisions. A PHA must also implement all other cost saving measures identified by the SPT in the PHA’s Action Plan within the SPT’s specified timeframes.
There are six exceptions to the requirement to suspend general voucher issuance, including:
- Vouchers issued to current HCV households to allow them to move, as well as vouchers issued to Project-Based Voucher (PBV) households who choose to move from their PBV project, are excepted provided holders have lived in the project for at least one year.
- PHAs may allow households applying to PBV to move into PBV units in order for the PHA to meet its PBV contractual obligations. This covers both units being placed under a HAP contract for the first time (e.g., in accordance with an Agreement to Enter into a HAP Contract (AHAP)) and PBV units currently under HAP contract that are vacant. This includes PBV projects under the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD).
- PHAs leasing under the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH) up to the baseline level of units under all HUD-VASH allocations (not just recent allocations), including turnover of HUD-VASH vouchers, are excepted.
- Vouchers issued to households applying under Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPVs) or special-purpose voucher (SPVs) increments awarded in CY23 or CY24 are excepted. These SPVs include Family Unification Program (FUP), Non-Elderly Disabled (NED), and Foster the Youth to Independence (FYI) vouchers.
Read Notice PIH 2024-21 at: https://tinyurl.com/55r4kxtj
Read Notice PIH 2024-16 at: https://tinyurl.com/47wzwm29
Read more about the HCV program on page 4-1 of NLIHC’s 2024 Advocates’ Guide.