On April 21, 2022, HUD’s Office of Housing send out the following Multifamily Housing News bulletin from Ethan Handelman:

Multifamily Housing partners,

In an effort to ensure that HAP contracts are aligned with market rents and to streamline transactions where a HAP renewal is required, we are proposing a set of revisions to our Rent Comparability Study guidance. A revised version of Chapter 9 of the Section 8 Renewal Policy Guidebook has been posted to the Multifamily Housing Policy Drafting Table, and may be reviewed here.

As you review this draft, please document any comments or suggested changes on this response worksheet.

Submit your feedback to HUD via email at S8RPG@hud.gov.

Written comments may be submitted until close of business on May 23, 2022. All comments will be considered as we revise this draft and prepare a final version of Chapter 9.

In addition to written comments, Multifamily Housing is planning a listening session where stakeholders may share feedback about the proposed revisions. That listening session will occur during the last week of the comment period. An invitation to that listening session will be sent to you in early May.

We welcome your feedback and look forward to working together to ensure that project-based Section 8 HAP rents accurately represent a project’s market value, support appropriate services without placing an undue burden on program participants, and keep our affordable housing stock financially strong.

Sincerely,

Ethan Handelman