HUD PIH Notice § 2024-17

                                 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
                                                WASHINGTON, DC 20410-5000


OFFICE OF PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING


SPECIAL ATTENTION OF:                               NOTICE PIH 2024-17

Office Directors of Public Housing;                 Issued: May 10, 2024
Regional Directors; Public Housing
Agencies                                            Expires: This notice remains in effect until
                                                    amended, superseded, or rescinded.

                                                    Cross References: Notice PIH 2018-16
                                                                      Notice PIH 2023-13


Subject: Streamlined Review Process for Regulatory Waivers to Expedite Admission to the
Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Project-based Voucher (PBV), and Public Housing Programs
for Persons Experiencing Homelessness

1. Applicability

This Notice applies to public housing agencies (PHAs) administering the HCV, PBV, or Public
Housing programs. The HCV program includes special purpose vouchers (SPVs). Except for
Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) and Stability Vouchers (SV), any waiver of HCV
regulations granted under this notice will apply to SPVs. Please note, waivers are not needed for
the EHV and SV programs because the alternative requirements for those programs already
provide the flexibilities being offered under this notice.

2. Purpose

This Notice provides a streamlined submission and review process for two regulatory waivers
related to verification requirements at admission to the HCV, PBV, or Public Housing programs:
(1) third-party verification of date of birth and a person’s disability status, and (2) third-party
verification of income and assets. This streamlined process simplifies and expedites the process
PHAs may undertake to receive approval of regulatory waivers for these purposes. These
regulatory waivers specifically relate to assisting PHAs in responding to the crisis of households
experiencing homelessness and providing tools to house families (which may be a single person
or group of persons) experiencing homelessness more quickly. When granted, these waivers will
remain in effect for a period of 12 months following approval and will provide alternative
requirements that the PHA must follow during the period the waiver is in effect. The notice also
provides guidance on policies that have recently been streamlined to help families more easily
provide documentation and allow PHAs to house families faster.

3. Background

PHAs play a critical role in the efforts to end homelessness. PHAs administer over 899,000 units
of Public Housing and approximately 2.8 million HCVs. In December 2022, the United States


                                      www.hud.gov         espanol.hud.gov
Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) released “The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent
and End Homelessness.” One of the strategies outlined in the plan is “to remove and reduce
programmatic, regulatory, and other barriers that systematically delay or deny access to housing
for households with the highest need.”

In June 2023, the Department published Notice PIH 2023-13, “Guidance on housing individuals
and families experiencing homelessness through the Public Housing and Housing Choice
Voucher Programs.” The notice described ways PHAs could remove barriers to persons
experiencing homelessness using existing flexibilities. Suggestions for PHAs included:

       Participating in the local Continuum of Care’s (CoC) Coordinated Entry System (CES)
        by accepting CES referrals and providing preferences for CES referrals
       Providing general nondiscriminatory preferences in admission policies for homeless
        applicants
       Developing universal applications with PHA partners in the region
       Providing multiple ways to access applications for housing programs
       Engaging with partner organizations to help households experiencing homelessness
        gather necessary information and documentation
       Implementing liberal waiting list reinstatement policies
       Establishing flexible intake and briefing schedules
       Providing longer voucher search terms
       Identifying and addressing racial equity in the PHA’s preference system
       Implementing flexible policies for rental history for those without a consistent or steady
        rental history

With many communities experiencing significant increases in the number of people experiencing
homelessness, HUD is seeking to provide PHAs with options, including regulatory relief, when
warranted based on a PHA’s circumstances.

4. Verification Policies Available to PHAs Without a Waiver

   A. Verification of Social Security Number (SSN)
        HUD has updated its requirements for the documentation of SSNs to make it easier for
        applicants to access programs if they do not have their Social Security card or other
        documentation that HUD typically requires at the time of initial eligibility determination.
        In accordance with 24 CFR 5.216(g)(1)(iii), and through Notice PIH 2023-27, HUD
        provided the following updated guidance.

        PHAs must first attempt to obtain from an applicant, a valid SSN card issued by the
        Social Security Administration (SSA), or an original document issued by a federal or
        state government agency that contains the name and SSN of the individual, along with
        other identifying information of the individual. However, if the applicant is unable to
        provide that information, the PHA may accept as verification of an individual’s SSN the
        applicant’s self-certification of SSN and at least one-third party document, such as a bank
        statement, utility or cell phone bill, benefit letter, etc., that contains the name of the
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       individual. If verifying a person’s SSN using this method, the PHA must document why
       the other SSN documentation was not available.

       If the tenant’s SSN is subsequently verified in EIV, no further verification is required. If
       the tenant’s SSN fails the SSA identity match, the PHA must obtain a valid SSN card
       issued by the SSA, or an original document issued by a federal or state government
       agency that contains the name and SSN of the individual, along with other identifying
       information of the individual. The tenant’s assistance must be terminated if they fail to
       provide the required documentation. Please note that the EHV, SV, and HUD-VASH
       programs have alternative requirements related to the verification of SSNs. Therefore,
       PHAs should consult program specific guidance for those SPVs.

   B. Date of Written, Third-Party Verification

       PHAs are responsible for verifying information that is related to family income, assets,
       and certain expenses and other factors that may affect a family’s adjusted income and
       how much the family will pay for rent. HUD developed a hierarchy that describes
       verification documentation from the most acceptable to the least acceptable that PHAs
       must use when verifying a tenant’s income and related information. Written, third-party
       verification is a type of verification within this hierarchy. Guidance issued in Notice PIH
       2023-27, Section J.5.a., states that an original or authentic document generated by a third-
       party source dated within 120 days of the date received by the PHA, is considered
       acceptable third-party verification. For fixed income sources, a statement dated within
       the appropriate benefit year is acceptable documentation. Previously, documents were
       required to be dated within 60 days of the date received by the PHA. These changes are
       intended to ease the paperwork burden on families, while still providing timely
       information to the PHA. For more detailed information on verification requirements,
       please refer to Section J.5 of Notice PIH 2023-27.

   C. Self-certification of Zero Income

       PHAs may accept a self-certification of zero income from the family without taking any
       additional steps to verify zero reported income prior to admission of the family. HUD
       does not require that such self-certification be notarized. PHAs are reminded that they
       must verify families’ income in EIV within 120 days after admission (Notice PIH 2023-
       27, Section J.8).

5. Streamlined Waiver Process
To help PHAs more quickly and effectively serve persons experiencing homelessness, HUD has
created a streamlined waiver process.

   A. Standards for Requesting Waivers

       PHAs must use the process set forth in this Notice to submit waiver requests and provide
       justification of good cause to receive a streamlined HUD review. HUD has developed a
       streamlined process to respond to these waiver requests in accordance with Section 106

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   of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989. This
   streamlined review process only applies to the waivers under this notice.

   In accordance with 24 CFR 5.110, regulatory waivers provide relief from certain
   requirements upon a finding of good cause, subject to statutory limitations. HUD will
   review waiver requests on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the specific
   circumstances presented by the PHA. There are several factors that a PHA may want to
   consider when developing its waiver request. These factors include, but are not limited
   to:

         A significant population of persons experiencing homelessness or significant
          increase in the population of persons experiencing homelessness within the
          PHA’s jurisdiction, based on data such as the Point-in-Time (PIT) count.
         An emergency declaration by city, county, or state officials related to the
          homelessness crisis, in effect for the PHA’s jurisdiction.
         The PHA is issuing vouchers or admitting to PBV or Public Housing units a
          significant number of persons experiencing homelessness, based on local waiting
          list preferences or the make-up of its HCV, PBV and/or Public Housing waiting
          lists.
         The length of time it takes the PHA to determine eligibility of applicants
          experiencing homelessness vs. other applicants.
         The percentage of applicant families experiencing homelessness that do not have
          income or other documentation readily available.
         The difficulties applicants experiencing homelessness face when attempting to
          gather documentation.
         The length of time it typically takes to gather appropriate documentation for
          persons experiencing homelessness.
         Other data or lessons learned from other programs or use of previous regulatory
          waivers (e.g. EHV, SVs, CARES Act).
         Policies, programs, or partnerships the PHA has put in place to reduce barriers for
          persons experiencing homelessness who are trying to access housing or other
          services.
         Existing referral partnerships with CoCs or Survivor Service Providers.
         Specific challenges your community faces and how these flexibilities would
          improve performance and benefit the community.

B. Available Waivers and Alternative Requirements

   1) 24 CFR 982.201(e) and 960.259(a) and (c)(1): Verification of Date of Birth and
      Disability Status

      HUD may waive 24 CFR 982.201(e) and 960.259(a) and (c)(1), for persons
      experiencing homelessness, as it relates to verifying a family member’s date of birth
      and/or disability status at the time of admission for purposes of determining the
      family's eligible expenses and deductions. For example, the PHA verifies whether

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   the family is eligible to receive the dependent deduction for family members with a
   disability or who are under the age of 18 or receive the elderly/disabled deduction if
   the head of household, co-head or spouse is a person with a disability or is age 62 or
   older.

   Alternative Requirement if Waiver is Approved: For any applicant family
   experiencing homelessness, a PHA may accept a self-certification from the applicable
   family member, if the family is unable to provide third-party verification of date of
   birth and/or disability status for any of its members, because of loss or lack of
   documents. The PHA must verify the disability status and/or date of birth within 90
   days after admission.

   Self-certification of date of birth and disability status cannot be utilized when it is
   related to the eligibility for a particular special purpose voucher (e.g., Mainstream) or
   for Public Housing which has been officially designated, with HUD approval, in
   whole or in part, for families whose head of household, co-head, or spouse is a person
   with disabilities or age 62 or older.

   The waiver will be granted for a period of 12 months following the date of waiver
   approval.

2) 24 CFR 982.201(e) and 960.259(a)(1), (a)(2), and (c): Eligibility Determination,
   Income Verification

   PHAs are required to verify a family’s income eligibility within 60 days prior to
   voucher issuance for the tenant-based voucher program and prior to admission for the
   PBV and Public Housing programs. Notice PIH 2023-27 provides the verification
   hierarchy under which PHAs are responsible for obtaining third-party verification of
   reported family annual income, and PHAs must demonstrate efforts to obtain third-
   party verification prior to accepting self-certification except in instances when self-
   certification is explicitly allowed. HUD may waive these requirements if an applicant
   family lacks necessary income documentation because the family is experiencing
   homelessness.

   Alternative Requirement if Waiver is Approved:
   a) For any applicant family experiencing homelessness, the PHA must first request
      third-party documentation from the family.
   b) If the family is unable to provide third-party documentation at the time of the
      request, the PHA may immediately allow self-certification. The PHA is not
      required to first attempt to obtain the documentation from the third-party source
      of income before proceeding immediately to the family self-certification,
      notwithstanding the requirement under Notice PIH 2023-27 that PHAs must
      demonstrate efforts to obtain third-party verification prior to accepting self-
      certification.
   c) Applicants must submit a self-certification declaration of income, assets,
      expenses, and other factors that would otherwise affect an income eligibility

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              determination within 60 days prior to voucher issuance for the tenant-based HCV
              program, and prior to admission for the Public Housing and PBV programs.
           d) If the family is unable to provide third-party verification, for the tenant-based
              HCV program, the PHA must receive information verifying that the family is
              eligible within 90 days after the PHA enters into a Housing Assistance Payment
              (HAP) contract on behalf of the family. For the Public Housing and PBV
              programs the PHA must receive information verifying that the family is eligible
              90 days following admission.
           e) The adoption of this waiver does not authorize any ineligible family to receive
              assistance under these programs or relieve the PHA of its responsibilities to
              correct any overpayments or underpayments. The PHA must take steps to identify
              and resolve any income discrepancies, including updating the family’s income
              retroactive to the New Admission (action code 1) HUD-50058 and correcting any
              overpayments or underpayments. If the PHA later determines that an ineligible
              family received assistance, the PHA must take steps to terminate that family from
              the program in accordance with the relevant program requirements.
           f) The waiver will be granted for a period of 12 months following the date of waiver
              approval.

6. Nondiscrimination Requirements

PHAs should ensure that applicants have multiple methods by which they can provide
documentation to ensure persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity to access the PHA’s
programs. This could include accepting applications and documentation in person, by mail, or
electronically (by email, or online submission, where available). Additionally, persons with
disabilities may request reasonable accommodations to assist with the application process
consistent with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (i.e., 24 CFR Sections 8.4 and
8.33).

7. Submission Requirements
To ensure streamlined processing, PHAs will submit their waiver request using this LINK.
PHAs must provide certain information within the waiver request document including:

              PHA name, code and business address
              Name and email for the PHA point of contact
              Regulatory waiver(s) being requested
              A PHA specific justification for the waiver(s) that shows good cause. The good
               cause justification must include (a) why a PHA needs the waiver (which may
               address the factors under section 5.A. of this notice, and/or other information the
               PHA deems as relevant) and (b) the impact on PHA operations or applicants if the
               waiver is not provided.

Following submission, PIH will reply via email confirming that the request has been received.
Once a final determination for approval by the Assistant Secretary has been made, PHAs will
receive the signed response to the waiver request via email.


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No waiver(s) requested may be implemented unless written approval from HUD has been
obtained.

Moving to Work (MTW) PHAs: MTW PHAs are encouraged to utilize their waiver flexibilities
provided under the Standard MTW Agreement or MTW Operations Notice to better serve people
experiencing homelessness in their communities. HUD-approved MTW waivers are not limited
to one-year approvals.

Note: PHAs may continue to request other regulatory waivers as necessary to operate their HCV,
PBV and Public Housing programs; however, they will not be subject to the streamlined process
in this Notice. PHA waivers submitted under the streamlined process in this Notice may not be
combined with waivers submitted under the standard process described in Notice PIH 2018-16.

8. Further Information
For further information about this notice, contact the nearest HUD Office of Public Housing.
Locations of these offices are available on HUD’s website at http://www.hud.gov.




                                                      _____________________________
                                                      Richard J. Monocchio
                                                      Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
                                                       Public and Indian Housing




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