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Will your MOR be less?

The Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance program is subject to an annual audit and inspection known as a Management and Occupancy Review (MOR). It’s one of the tools HUD uses to monitor a site to ensure that the owner is complying with its HAP contract, management certification, and HUD rules and regulations. MORs ensure that HUD’s multifamily housing programs are administered as intended by identifying deficiencies to eliminate fraud, waste, and mismanagement. 

HUD recently published the final rule implementing Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act legislation. HUD’s December 2017 interim rule amended regulatory language that applies to Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher program, Section 8, and Section 202/811 PAC/PRAC programs. And it amended regulations related to asset verification, utility allowance reimbursements, and triennial income verifications.

Restricting visitors may be a legitimate health measure—as long as the restrictions are reasonable.

For victims of domestic violence, staying at home during the pandemic may not be the safest option.

Here’s how to comply with the latest guidance on CARES Act provisions, building operations, and certifications.

On April 14, HUD published another update to the HUD COVID-19 Q&A document. HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs, which oversees contracts with private owners of HUD-assisted sites, has been using this document to address the concerns of owners, staff, and residents during this pandemic.

We'll review the best practices for operating a housing site during a public health crisis.

Whether or not cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in your area, you should review your site’s emergency response plans and update them accordingly as a precaution. Your efforts may not only reduce the spread of the disease, but can help you maintain site operations and minimize disruptions caused by staff absences.

Tenant fraud occurs when an applicant or household member deliberately provides false or misleading information or omits key facts to obtain or increase the amount of assistance provided, and then signs or declares that the lies or omissions are true.

Leases that don't have the required attachments will raise red flags for auditors.

HUD expects owners to enforce program requirements set forth in the HUD Handbook and the HUD model lease. In fact, HUD requires owners to investigate and research discrepancies and possible errors to promote income and rent integrity [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 8-18(A)]. Likewise, HUD expects residents to comply with the program requirements as established in the lease, such as timely reporting of changes in family income or other factors that affect the calculation of the family’s annual income.

Recently, HUD’s focus has been directed to certain websites that may be selling assistance animal verifications. HUD Secretary Ben Carson has written to Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Joseph J. Simons and Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Andrew Smith requesting that the FTC investigate these websites.