HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) recently announced an extension of the compliance deadline for its National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE), moving the implementation date for scoring new affirmative requirements to Oct. 1, 2025. This update grants property owners and managers under Public Housing and Multifamily Housing programs additional time to align with these updated standards.

HUD extended the deadline in response to the challenges owners and managers were facing in implementing the new standards. The extension also gives HUD more transition time in its effort to ease the implementation process.

The fact that HUD has delayed the scoring indicates that it realizes the complexity of instituting these changes. Owners should make full use of this opportunity to identify deficiencies and work toward meeting all such requirements for when they’re eventually introduced into the scoring. By reviewing the updated standards, developing a phased compliance plan, and addressing high-priority areas, sites can ensure smoother compliance when the updated standards take full effect in October 2025. 

We’ll cover NSPIRE’s affirmative requirements and the scope of HUD’s extension for Public Housing and Multifamily Programs.

NSPIRE’s Affirmative Requirements

NSPIRE standards now include new affirmative requirements that address safety and functionality across several property attributes. These requirements are designed to improve property resilience and tenant safety. Previously, deficiencies in these areas would have resulted in deductions from inspection scores, but HUD is extending the date that point deductions will start in physical inspection REAC scores for these new NSPIRE affirmative requirements until Oct. 1. The key areas of these affirmative requirements cover the following:

• Fire-labeled doors
• Electrical safety measures such as GFCI and AFCI installations
• Guardrails
• HVAC system standards
• Interior lighting
• Minimum electrical and lighting standards

Scope of extension. This extension applies only to Public Housing and Multifamily Housing programs and doesn’t alter HUD’s long-standing policy on items that have traditionally been treated as non-scored deficiencies, including smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, handrails, and call-for-aid. 

Flagged issues. While deficiencies with regard to the affirmative requirements won’t affect inspection scores, deficiencies in these areas will still be flagged during inspections with a caret (‸) symbol. This visual indicator serves as a guide for areas that need attention, even though they won’t yet affect the property’s overall score.

NSPIRE’s Affirmative Requirements for Inspectable Areas

Inspectable areas under NSPIRE include individual apartment units, non-residential interior elements of the building, and the building’s exterior. The objective is to ensure that all components within these areas are “functionally adequate, operable, and free of health and safety hazards” as outlined in 24 CFR §5.703(a). Here are the affirmative requirements for each area:

UNITS 

(the interior components of a household’s apartment)

• The unit must have hot and cold running water in both the bathroom and kitchen, including an adequate source of safe drinking water in the bathroom and kitchen;
• The unit must include its own bathroom or sanitary facility that is in proper operating condition and usable in privacy. It must contain a sink, a bathtub or shower, and an interior flushable toilet;
• The unit must include at least one battery-operated or hard-wired smoke detector, in proper working condition, in the following locations:
1. On each level of the unit;
2. Inside each bedroom;
3. Within 21 feet of any door to a bedroom measured along a path of travel; and
4. Where a smoke detector installed outside a bedroom is separated from an adjacent living area by a door, a smoke detector must also be installed on the living area side of the door.
• If the unit is occupied by any hearing-impaired person, the smoke detectors must have an alarm system designed for hearing-impaired persons;
• CO alarms in proper locations are required;
• The unit must have a living room and a kitchen area with a sink, cooking appliance, refrigerator, food preparation area, and food storage area;
• For units assisted under the HCV or PBV program, the unit must have at least one bedroom or living/sleeping room for each two persons;
• The unit must have two working outlets or one working outlet and a permanent light within all habitable rooms;
• Outlets within 6 feet of a water source must be GFCI protected;
• For climate zones designated by the Secretary through notice, the unit must have a permanently installed heating source. No units may contain unvented space heaters that burn gas, oil, or kerosene;
• The unit must have a guardrail when there is an elevated walking surface with a drop off of 30 inches or greater measured vertically; and
• The unit must have a permanently mounted light fixture in the kitchen and each bathroom.

INSIDE 

(the common areas and building systems that can be generally found within the building interior and are not inside a unit)

• At least one battery-operated or hard-wired smoke detector, in proper working condition, on each level of the property. 
• CO alarms in proper locations;
• Any outlet installed within 6 feet of a water source must be ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protected;
• Guardrails when there is an elevated walking surface with a drop off of 30 inches or greater measured vertically;
• Permanently mounted light fixtures in any kitchens and each bathroom; and
• The inside area may not contain unvented space heaters that burn gas, oil, or kerosene.

OUTSIDE

(the building site, building exterior components, and any building systems located outside of the building or unit) 

• Outlets within 6 feet of a water source must be GFCI protected; and
• The outside area must have a guardrail when there is an elevated walking surface with a drop off of 30 inches or greater measured vertically.