DISASTER HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (DHAP)

1. DISASTER HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM(DHAP)

2. WEBSITE FOR DHAP OPERATING REQUIREMENTS NOTICE • DHAP Operating Requirements were posted as HUD Notice PIH-2007-26 on Office of Public and Indian Housing’s website on August 16, 2007. The link to the Notice can be found at: www.hud.gov/offices/pih

3. DHAP: GENERAL OVERVIEW • PHAs currently administering Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program will be designated by HUD to administer DHAP in their jurisdiction. • DHAP rental assistance payments will commence on November 1, 2007. • However, PHAs administering DHAP begin pre-transitional case management services for the first group of families transitioning to DHAP on/after September 1, 2007. • FEMA, not PHA, determines eligibility of family under DHAP.

4. DHAP: GENERAL OVERVIEW (cont’d) • PHAs must report DHAP family information to HUD through Disaster Information System, or DIS. • PHAs must report monthly leasing and expenditures for DHAP families through Voucher Management System, or VMS. • Family income is not considered in calculating the monthly rent subsidy paid to owners. • Since DHAP terminates March 1, 2009, case management services provided for duration.

5. DHAP: GENERAL OVERVIEW (cont’d) • On March 8, 2008, PHAs implement the “incremental rent transition” where families must pay a portion of rent, in addition to any rent already being paid, in preparation for assuming full responsibility for housing costs at end of DHAP.

6. FAMILY ELIGIBILITY • Determination of family’s eligibility is sole responsibility of FEMA, not PHA. However, PHA accesses DIS to verify family’s eligibility status. • Two categories of families will first be transitioned to DHAP, with case management services commencing on/shortly after Sept. 1, 2007: (1) Family currently receiving FEMA Direct Assistance through FEMA’s contractor, Corporate Lodging Consultants (CLC), and FEMA determines family eligible for continued rental assistance. (2) Family currently receiving other rental assistance from FEMA in rental unit, not through CLC, and FEMA determines family eligibility for continued rental assistance.

7. FAMILY ELIGIBILITY (cont’d) • Three other categories of families may be determined eligible for DHAP by FEMA and, if determined eligible, will be subsequently added to DIS and referred to PHA for DHAP assistance. • Case management for subsequently added families will commence after rental payments transitioned to DHAP beginning on or after November 1, 2007. • The three categories are:

8. FAMILY ELIGIBILITY (cont’d) (1) Family not currently receiving FEMA rental assistance, but determined DHAP-eligible before program ends. (2) Family relocating from FEMA-provided temporary housing unit, for example, a FEMA trailer. (3) Family vacating HUD-provided Real Estate Owned (REO) property in which they resided under HUD-FEMA arrangement, and FEMA determines family is eligible for continued rental assistance.

9. DHAP PARTICIPATING PHAs • HUD will invite PHAs to administer DHAP based on following factors: (1) PHA is currently administrator of HCV program, (2) DHAP-eligible families currently residing in PHA jurisdiction or have indicated wish to receive DHAP assistance within PHA’s jurisdiction. (3) PHA has administrative capacity for DHAP, indicated by SEMAP score and PHAS score, taking into consideration extent which other PHAs are available to administer DHAP for area.

10. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES • PHAs will receive fees for DHAP administrative activities and services. • If family moves outside PHA’s jurisdiction, then portion of fees must be transferred to PHA having jurisdiction over area where family decides to move. • Fees provided for following: (1) Pre-Transition Activities, (2) One-time Placement of Families, (3) Ongoing Administration, and (4) Case Management Services.

11. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) • Pre-Transition Activities: PHAs will receive this fee immediately after signing Grant Agreement with FEMA, paid only for September and October, 2007, the “Pre-transition Period.” • Fee: $92/month X number of families receiving pre-transitional services. • HUD will provide PHA with initial list of families eligible for DHAP assistance. • PHA accesses family’s record in DIS database and beings pre-transition activities.

12. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) • PHA must perform following Pre-Transition Activities: --Contact/brief family on DHAP and transition process. --Inform family on-going case management services required and family must sign certification of family obligations. --If family does not want case management services or refuses to sign certification, cannot participate in DHAP or any FEMA housing program.

13. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) --PHA must request signed statement from family acknowledging understanding that they are declining case management services and no longer eligible to participate in DHAP or any FEMA housing program. --If family refuses to sign statement, PHA must document family’s refusal to do so.

14. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) • One-Time Placement of Families: PHAs will receive one-time placement fee of --$1,000 for each family leasing in-place or in a FEMA-identified unit, and --$1,500 for all other families. • PHAs will receive one-time placement fee at time family placed under a Disaster Rent Subsidy Contract executed by PHA and owner to provide assistance for family.

15. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) --PHA must contact owner of private rental unit, to explain DHAP, and determine owner’s willingness to participate. --PHAs should determine intent of most owners by October 1, 2007. --If owner and family agree to lease in-place, owner must execute Disaster Rent Subsidy Contract (DRSC) with PHA and lease addendum with family ASAP.

16. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) --If family wishes to move, owner does not want to participate in DHAP, or owner will not make unit HQS-compliant, PHA asks if family wishes to move to another unit or wishes to return to pre-disaster jurisdiction or another jurisdiction. --If family wishes to remain in PHA’s jurisdiction, PHA provides family with housing search assistance.

17. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) • Ongoing Administration: PHAs will receive an ongoing administrative fee calculated at 15% of the initial estimated DHAP rent subsidy payment for each assisted family for 16-month period. • Entire fee paid up-front to PHA at time of family eligibility determination and referral to PHA. • PHAs expected to perform ongoing administrative activities/services for DHAP families in jurisdiction, which include:

18. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) (1) Rent Reasonableness: Upon initial transition to DHAP, rent reasonableness does not apply in following cases: --FEMA rental assistance family is transitioning to DHAP by staying in-place. --Family relocating from FEMA-provided FEMA temporary housing unit to private rental market unit that FEMA has located for family. Exception: If owner subsequently wishes to increase rent in either case while unit is under DRSC, then PHA must determine proposed new rent is reasonable.

19. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) --For all other cases, PHA must determine rent is reasonable before approving unit for leasing. --In order to be rent reasonable, rent may not exceed the rent charged for comparable units in the private unassisted market, and comparable units on the premises. --PHAs may consider variety of market factors, such as location, quality, size, etc. to make determination. --PHA must also re-determine that rent remains reasonable as result of proposed rent increase for unit under DRSC.

20. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) (2) Physical Condition of Unit: To be DHAP-eligible unit, PHA must ensure unit is decent, safe, and sanitary. -- PHAs must conduct initial inspection of unit assisted under DHAP. --PHA does not conduct a full Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection on unit in following cases: - FEMA rental assistance family transitioning to DHAP by staying in-place. - Family relocating from FEMA-provided unit to private rental market unit FEMA has located.

21. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) --Instead, PHA must conduct limited inspection on or shortly after DRSC’s effective date to ensure unit does not contain any life-threatening deficiencies. --If unit fails limited inspection, owner must correct life-threatening deficiencies within 48 hours. --PHA must verify deficiencies have been corrected. --If corrections not made within 48 hours, PHA must immediately abate rental subsidy payment and provide housing search assistance to family.

22. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) --In all other cases, unit must be initially inspected by PHA and meet HQS before the PHA and owner may enter in DRSC. --HQS are same as used for the Housing Choice Voucher Program at Title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 982.401, with following exception: -Section 982.401(d) provides each dwelling unit must have at least one bedroom or living/sleeping room for each two persons. However, PHA may grant exception on case-by-case basis at family’s request.

23. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) --After initial inspection, PHA is not required to conduct subsequent inspections of unit on periodic or annual basis since DHAP is temporary program. --Owner is required to maintain unit in accordance with HQS. --PHA may inspect a unit under DRSC to determine if unit meets HQS requirements. --If unit fails such inspection and owner fails to correct defect, PHA must abate monthly rental subsidy payment and provide housing search assistance to family to lease another unit.

24. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) (3) Incremental Rent Transition:Beginning March 1, 2008, families participating in DHAP required to pay portion of rent, in addition to any existing family share already being paid to prepare for self-sufficiency when DHAP ends on March 1, 2009. --PHAs implement incremental rent transition by reducing rental subsidy payment by $50 for March 2008 rent subsidy payment. --Reduction incrementally increased by additional $50 each month thereafter until family’s participation ends.

25. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d --For example, if PHA pays $800 on behalf of participating family on February 1, 2008, the new subsidy payment will be $750 and the family is responsible for the $50 difference. On April 1, the subsidy the PHA pays owner on behalf of family would be $700 with family responsible for $100 difference. --PHA must provide reminder notice during January 2008 to both participating families and owners that incremental rent transition goes into effect on March 1, 2008.

26. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d --Family may request that PHA grants exception to incremental rent transition policy on basis of economic hardship. --In order to be eligible for hardship exception, family must have complied with all case management services requirements and must demonstrate that applicable incremental rent transition amount will exceed 30 percent of family’s gross monthly income. --PHAs must make families aware of hardship exception during family briefing.

27. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) • Case Management Services: PHAs receive fee after November 1, 2007, once family identified as eligible for DHAP in DIS database. • Fee: $92/month X number of families. • Families required to participate in case management services provided by PHA to prepare them for end of DHAP assistance as of March 1, 2009. • PHAs report case management outputs and resident outcomes through HUD web-based tracking system.

28. DHAP FEES: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES (cont’d) • PHA performs case management services in-house or through contractor. • Ratio of case managers to participants is 1:50. • Case management services must include needs assessment and individual development plan (IDP) for each family. • Objective of case management services is greater self-sufficiency for families.

29. OWNER LEASE AND DHAP LEASE ADDENDUM • Under DHAP, PHA is not party to lease between owner and family. • If family already under lease and wishes to remain in place, the owner and family may remain under existing lease, provided they execute DHAP lease addendum. • If family is in unit with no existing lease and wishes to remain in place, family and owner must enter into lease and execute DHAP lease addendum.

30. OWNER LEASE AND DHAP LEASE ADDENDUM (cont’d) • Effective March 1, 2008, owner will be responsible for collecting family’s portion of the rent attributable to incremental rent transition. • Owner is responsible for enforcing terms of lease, including collecting any charges for unit damage by family. • Owner must notify PHA of any changes in amount of rent charged under lease at least thirty days before such change goes into effect.

31. DHAP MONTHLY RENT SUBSIDY • For FEMA rental assistance families, until March 1, 2008, the monthly rent subsidy for that unit equals the lesser of: (1) the monthly rent specified in the lease, or (2) the greater of: --the applicable Fair Market Rent, or FMR, published for the area where the unit is located. --the applicable payment standard for the PHA’s HCV program. --the amount of monthly assistance the family received under the FEMA rental assistance program for the unit prior to the transition to DHAP.

32. DHAP MONTHLY RENT SUBSIDY (cont’d) • For all other families, including a FEMA rental assistance family that moves, calculation is slightly different. Until March 1, 2008, if the family moves, either at the time of the transition to DHAP or after, the monthly rent subsidy equals the lesser of: (1) the monthly rent specified in the lease; or (2) the greater of: a. the applicable FMR published for the area where the unit is located, or b. the applicable payment standard for the PHA’s HCV program.

33. DHAP MONTHLY RENT SUBSIDY (cont’d) • Under DHAP, the applicable FMR/payment standard is the lesser of: (1) the FMR/payment standard for the bedroom size for which the family qualifies for under the PHA subsidy standards for the Housing Choice Voucher Program (family unit size); or (2) the FMR/payment standard for the bedroom size of the actual unit leased.

34. DHAP MONTHLY RENT SUBSIDY (cont’d) • Effective March 1, 2008, amount of monthly rent subsidy for all families must be adjusted in accordance with incremental rent transition requirements.

35. Subsidy Calculation Example • Monthly Rent = $1,000 • FMR = $950 • Payment Standard = $995 • Previous FEMA Payment = $1,000 • DHAP Subsidy = $1,000

36. Subsidy Calculation Example #2 (Family Moving) • Monthly Rent = $1,010 • FMR = $950 • Payment Standard = $995 • DHAP Subsidy = $995 • Family Contribution = $15

37. INELIGIBLE UNITS AND PROHIBITION AGAINST OTHER SUBSIDIES The following types of housing may not be be leased: • A public housing unit or Indian housing unit; • A unit receiving assistance under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937; • Nursing homes, board and care homes, or facilities providing continual psychiatric, medical, or nursing services; • College or other school dormitories; • Units on the ground of penal, reformatory, medical, mental, and similar public or private institutions;

38. INELIGIBLE UNITS AND PROHIBITION AGAINST OTHER SUBSIDIES (cont’d) • A unit occupied by its owner or by a person with interest in the unit; • A FEMA-provided temporary or permanent housing unit; • A HUD Real Estate Owned (REO) property • In addition, family may not receive benefit of DHAP rent subsidy while receiving benefit of other forms of housing subsidy, for same unit or for different unit, described in HCV program regulations at 24 CFR 982.352(c).

39. DISASTER RENT SUBSIDY CONTRACT • PHA and owner must execute Disaster Rent Subsidy Contract (DRSC) in order for owner to receive payments. By executing contract, owner agrees to comply with all of owner’s obligations under DRSC. • Owner responsible for screening and selection of family to occupy unit. • Term of DRSC begins on date specified in contract.

40. DISASTER RENT SUBSIDY CONTRACT (cont’d) • DRSC terminates if any of the following occurs: (1) Lease is terminated by owner or tenant, (2) PHA terminates Contract, (3) PHA terminates assistance for family for violating family obligations, or (4) Family vacates unit. • DRSC automatically terminates as of March 1, 2009, or at such time that subsidy paid on behalf of family equals zero, whichever comes first.

41. FAMILY OBLIGATIONS • During family briefing on DHAP, PHA must provide family with list of Family Obligations. • Applicant, Co-applicant, or Head of Household must sign copy of family obligations and certify that it understands that PHA may terminate DHAP assistance for family that does not comply with family obligations. The PHA must retain family certification for their records.

42. FAMILY OBLIGATIONS (cont’d) • Family receiving assistance under DHAP must comply with family obligations during their participation in program. • These obligations include supplying any information to the PHA that HUD requires for DHAP assistance, not committing any serious or repeated violation of the lease, notifying the PHA before moving out of the unit or terminating the lease, and participating in the required case management services provided by the PHA.

43. TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE • PHA may terminate assistance for participating family that does not comply with family obligations under DHAP. • PHA must give family opportunity to request informal hearing, using same procedures PHA employs for its voucher program and regulations found at 24 CFR 982.555. • If family’s participation in DHAP terminated, PHA must record end of participation in DIS database.

44. SUBSEQUENT MOVES UNDER DHAP • A DHAP family may request to move to new unit with continued DHAP assistance if: (1) lease has terminated, including lease terminations by mutual consent; or (2) owner has given family notice to vacate, has commenced action to evict family, or has obtained court judgment or other process allowing owner to evict family; or (3) family has given notice of lease termination if family has right to terminate lease on notice to owner.

45. SUBSEQUENT MOVES UNDER DHAP (cont’d) • If PHA terminates family’s participation in DHAP, family may not choose to move to another unit with continued DHAP assistance or receive assistance under any FEMA housing program. • A family may move with continued DHAP assistance within jurisdiction of PHA administering the family’s DHAP assistance. • Family receiving assistance under DHAP may also make one move outside of initial DHAP PHA’s jurisdiction with continued DHAP assistance.

46. SUBSEQUENT MOVES UNDER DHAP (cont’d) • Once family has exercised its opportunity to move outside of initial DHAP PHA’s jurisdiction, the family may not move again between PHA jurisdictions with continued DHAP assistance. • Prorated share of administrative fees and case management fees provided to initial DHAP PHA for family that is moving to another DHAP PHA jurisdiction will be transferred to receiving DHAP PHA as part of this process.

47. END OF DHAP • Finally, as stated several times throughout this broadcast, DHAP assistance is temporary housing assistance and program terminates as of March 1, 2009. • If family’s participation in DHAP ends for any reason prior to March 1, 2009, termination date of program, PHA must record family’s end of participation in DIS database.

48. E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR QUESTIONS • Any questions regarding DHAP can be sent to the following e-mail address: DHAP@hud.gov