NAHMA HUD Update: HUD Issues 2020 RAD Contract RentsDecember 15, 2020 Dear NAHMA Members, Below, please find an update from HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), via their RADBlast. This update includes the 2020 RAD Contract Rents, which are used to determine the initial contract rents in the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract for public housing properties converting under RAD. In this Issue: v 2020 RAD Rents Now Available v Spotlight on… The Housing Authority of the City of Austin Updated RAD Rents Now Available. HUD has just posted the 2020 RAD Contract Rents, which are used to determine the initial contract rents in the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract for public housing properties converting under RAD. HUD will utilize these amounts for any new awards starting January 1, 2021. In addition, current awardees that have not yet closed may request to update rents in their existing Commitments to enter into HAP (CHAPs) by contacting their assigned Transaction Manager, Closing Coordinator, or [email protected]. RAD Rents are re-established every two years based on public housing Congressional appropriations levels. We strongly recommend that PHAs review these 2020 RAD rents to evaluate whether these new levels best position properties for long-term preservation. Spotlight on…the Housing Authority of the City of Austin. The Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) has recently completed an effort to preserve and improve 1,816 units of public housing through conversion under RAD. HACA’s conversions have exemplified a residents-first approach, educating and empowering residents to actively participate in the RAD conversion and promote a robust Choice-Mobility option (i.e., the right to request a tenant-based voucher after a period of occupancy). The properties they have converted have undergone a mix of rehabilitation or complete redevelopment. Their final conversion blended the use of RAD and Section 18 towards the redevelopment of one of America’s oldest public housing properties, Chalmers Court. This redevelopment employed a “build-first” approach so that residents could move only once during the process – into their new unit. It will result in replacing the 158 original units, plus adding 117 newly affordable units just east of downtown Austin.
In case you missed it: Public housing properties converting through RAD have generated over $10 billion in construction investment for the improvement and replacement of 140,000 units of deeply affordable homes. See here for what this has meant for residents, properties, and communities around the country.
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