On September 29, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued Notice PIH 2023-17 guidance for Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA) Sections 102 and 104. Among other things, implementation deadlines have been updated.
As stated in the notice, “Sections 102 and 104 of HOTMA make sweeping changes to the United States Housing Act of 1937 (1937 Act), particularly those affecting income calculations and reviews. Section 102 changes requirements related to income reviews for Public Housing and Section 8 programs. Section 104 sets maximum asset limits for Public Housing and Section 8 applicants and participants.”
A detailed final rule was published in Federal Register Notice 88 FR 9600 on February 14, 2023. The recent notice issued on September 29th provides implementation guidance for Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and Multifamily Housing (MFH) Owners.
For covered PHAs and HUD-assisted MFH Owners, the final HOTMA rule effective date is January 1, 2024, with full compliance mandated by January 1, 2025. (Previously, January 1, 2024 was the deadline.) The delayed timeframe is due to HUD’s recognition of the time required for software compliance and the fact that there are new additions to programs on an ongoing basis.
Per the guidance:
- Each PHA will set its own compliance date between January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025, based on when its annual plan is due to HUD.
- Each MFH owner is required to update Tenant Selection Plans and income verification policies and procedures by March 31, 2024. In addition, Tenant Selection Plans must be publicly available as of March 31, 2024. (Refer to the List of Discretionary Policies to Implement HOTMAso you can state where you are exercising discretion in the Tenant Selection Plans.)
MFH Owners have until January 1, 2025 to achieve full compliance. Until then, if there are any HOTMA-related tenant file errors during Management and Occupancy Reviews (MORs), observations and corrective actions will be issued. Failure to take corrective action or to implement HOTMA by January 1, 2025 may result in the owner being found in default of business agreements with HUD.
For more information, be sure to review Notice PIH 2023-17, especially Section 6 for additional compliance deadlines and activities. For additional resources – including a quick start guide, forms, training, and more – visit the HOTMA page on HUD.gov.
If you need to free up time to focus on HOTMA compliance, you can count on RBT CPAs to handle all of your accounting, audit, and tax needs. To learn more, give us a call today.
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