HUD has released a Notice in the Federal Register to announce revisions to the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program and to solicit comments on eligibility and selection criteria. The Notice proposes updates to PIH 2012-32, originally issued on July 26, 2012, which provided for full implementation of the RAD program.  Comments are being accepted on these proposed changes until August 1, 2013 and interested persons are invited to submit comments electronically to rad@hud.gov .

Summary of Changes:

  1. Providing RAD awards for projects requiring multi-phased development to facilitate the assembly of financing (see Section 1.9.E).
  2. Allowing a PHA to apply for a Portfolio Award for a set of projects, wherein HUD will reserve RAD conversion authority for all projects contained in the portfolio, provided the PHA submits individual completed RAD Applications for at least 50% of the projects. The PHA then has 365 days to submit a completed application for each of the remaining projects (see Section 1.9.F, Attachment 1C
  3. Providing contract rents at FY 2012 rent levels (as posted in the RAD Application) for all applications submitted prior to the end of CY 2013. This provision facilitates conversion of a public housing project, a multi-phase project, or a PHA-defined portfolio of projects by providing assurances to lenders and PHAs about contract rents to be established at the time of conversion (see Section 1.6.B.5; Section 1.7.A.5, Attachment 1C).
  4. Allowing PHAs to adjust subsidy (and initial contract rents) across multiple projects to facilitate financing. The combined subsidy for these “bundled” projects may not exceed the aggregate funding for all of the projects the PHA is proposing to bundle (see Section 1.6.B.5; Section 1.7.A.5, and Section 1.9.D).
  5. Allowing Moving to Work (MTW) agencies who are applying for two or more projects to use their MTW block grant flexibility to set initial contract rents, subject to RAD rent caps and continued service requirements (see Section 1.6.B.5, Section 1.7.A.5, and Section 1.9.D).
  6. Expanding eligibility of HOPE VI projects (see Section 1.11.C.2.c).
  7. Eliminating the caps on awards to PHAs and to Mixed-Finance projects (see Section 1.11.C.2.c).
  8. Exempting awarded public housing projects from scoring under the Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) to support redevelopment planning and need for temporary relocation during construction (see Section 1.5.I).
  9. Allowing PHAs to use the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation (CNI) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to apply for Joint RAD/CNI Awards (see Section 1.11.C.2.c).
  10. Opening the Mod Rehab Ongoing Application Period under the First Component and removing the cap on Mod Rehab Projects applying under the First Component (see Section 2.2.10).
  11. Allowing a Mod Rehab owner to request a Portfolio Award for a grouping of projects, wherein HUD will reserve RAD conversion authority for all projects contained in the grouping, provided the owner submits a completed application for at least 50% of the projects. The owner then has 365 days to submit a completed application for the remaining projects (see Section 2.2.8.C).
  12. Providing RAD awards for projects requiring multi-phased development to facilitate the assembly of financing (see Section 2.2.8.D).

Click here to read the latest proposed changes to RAD.