News | HOTMA HOME and NHTF implementation guidance has been released

Read the Notice HERE.

CPD participating jurisdictions, participants, and grantees (“CPD grantees”) subject are not required to comply with HUD CPD-program changes in the HOTMA final rule until as late as January 1, 2025. The notice joins the guidance provided on  September 29, 2023 by HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing (“PIH”) and Office of Housing. This notice announced that HUD would allow for a later compliance date than the effective date of the HOTMA final rule. [Notice H 2023–10/PIH 2023–27] This was in response to requests from PHAs, owners, and related housing partners for additional time to prepare for HOTMA final rule implementation. HUD has determined that CPD grantees receiving assistance through CPD programs must be provided similar flexibilities as PHAs and is communicating these flexibilities through the notice. Through the HOTMA Notice, HUD allowed PHAs the flexibility to establish their own compliance date for sections 102 and 104 of HOTMA as early as January 1, 2024, and no later than January 1, 2025. 

HUD CPD recognizes that until it has provided the guidance and performed the software updates necessary for CPD grantees to implement the HOTMA final rule, CPD grantees may not be able to comply with the requirements of the HOTMA final rule. Even after the necessary guidance and system updates are made, CPD grantees will still need additional time to incorporate this information into their program policies and procedures and update their systems and software. In recognition of these operational issues and challenges, HUD will allow CPD grantees to set their own compliance date for the applicable HOTMA final rule provisions. This compliance date may be as early as January 1, 2024, and no later than January 1, 2025. 

Which programs does this guidance cover? HUD is extending the compliance date for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (“HOME”), HOME-American Rescue Plan program, Housing Trust Fund (“HTF”), Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (“HOPWA”), Community Development Block Grant Program (“CDBG”), Emergency Solution Grants (ESG), Continuum of Care (CoC) programs, and CPD programs funded through a competitive process (“CPD programs”) until January 1, 2025. HUD is taking this action to allow jurisdictions, participants, and grantees additional time to incorporate HUD's income and asset requirements into their own programs and the flexibility to transition to implementing HOTMA requirements under their own timelines.

What steps need to be taken? In the Notice, HUD provides the below instructions and guidance for CPD programs. Before implementing the HOTMA final rule, CPD grantees must comply with all applicable HOTMA requirements to establish policies and procedures, including establishing hardship policies for programs implementing the hardship provisions contained in 24 CFR 5.611(c)–(e), policies prescribing when and under what conditions a family must report a change in family income or composition in accordance with 24 CFR 574.310(e)(4)(iv), and/or policies describing income verification when using the safe harbor provisions in 24 CFR 5.609(c). In addition, CPD grantees must perform the following, as applicable, to implement the HOTMA final rule:

• Conduct any public process necessary to comply with the consolidated plan requirements.
• Update program guidelines, policies and procedures, templates, income and asset forms, and applications.
• Conduct internal and external system and software updates.
• Update income and asset regulatory citations and requirements in written agreement templates.
• Require owners to send notices to tenants of any expected changes to leases or rents required by the HOTMA final rule.
• Train staff, subrecipients, and contractors on the new income requirements and perform outreach to housing partners ( e.g., project owners) to implement the HOTMA final rule. 

To assist CPD grantees in implementing these requirements, HUD intends to issue supplemental guidance to HOME participating jurisdictions and HTF grantees, including guidance on obtaining income eligibility determinations made by PHAs, owners, and providers of HUD rental assistance or subsidy programs. HUD also intends to publish, through a Federal Register notice, guidance on implementing HOTMA standards applicable to the HOPWA program.