Streamlining Administrative Regulations for Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Multifamily Housing, and Community Planning and Development Programs

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2014 (2014 Appropriations Act), made several changes to the United States Housing Act of 1937 (1937 Act). Section 243 of the 2014 Appropriations Act authorized HUD to implement these changes through notice, followed by notice-and-comment rulemaking. Notices implementing the changes were published on May 19, 2014, and June 25, 2014. HUD issued a proposed rule on January 6, 2015, to codify these changes in regulation. In addition, the January 2015 rule proposed changes to streamline regulatory requirements pertaining to certain elements of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing (PH), and various multifamily housing (MFH) rental assistance programs; to reduce the administrative burden on public housing agencies (PHAs) and MFH owners; and to align, where feasible, requirements across programs, including the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), which are administered by HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD). HUD also issued an interim rule on September 8, 2015, implementing changes to flat rents in the Public Housing program made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2015 (2015 Appropriations Act). This final rule makes changes to the regulatory text as presented in the January 2015 proposed rule, including additional changes in response to public comment as well as further consideration by HUD of changes proposed in January 2015, and finalizes the regulatory changes contained in the September 2015 interim rule.