Date Published:
August 17th, 2021
CLPHA, MTW Collaborative, NAHRO, NLHA and PHADA submitted a joint letter to HUD and Treasury summarizing persistent challenges public housing authorities (PHAs) are experiencing with the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) and other related regulatory and statutory relief needed for public housing and Section 8 programs.
The joint industry letter sent to HUD and Treasury stipulates immediate actions each Department should take to remedy persistent programmatic and administrative challenges and to quickly deliver relief for our most vulnerable populations. Some recommendations to HUD and Treasury are to direct ERA grantees to streamline applications to remove barriers to applicants by:
- granting PHAs a special designation exempting them from requiring a HUD-assisted resident to sign a consent form to share data with ERA grantees;
- granting PHAs a special designation exempting them from completing the income verification process and allow residents to demonstrate eligibility for rental assistance through an affidavit or self-attestation;
- establishing a safe harbor for those attempting to obtain documentation from uncommunicative residents to support those applications; and
- requiring state and local grantees to facilitate bulk processing of applications and payments.