2024 Office of Housing Administrative Plan

Albemarle County Office of Housing (ACOH) is proposing changes to its Administrative Plan and is offering a 45-day public review and comment period to community stakeholders.

Review the Proposed Changes

Important Changes We Propose + Why We Propose Them

ACOH-Proposed Changes

These changes will be effective 5/1/24, pending Board approval. Until that time, current policies remain in effect.

Change the Homeless Preference to require a referral from the Continuum of Care (CoC) Lead Agency, the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless (BRACH). A "limited" preference will be established – up to 25% of all new vouchers issued within a calendar year will be reserved for this preference. The waitlist will be kept open for the homeless preference, so that referrals can be accepted as needed on an ongoing basis.

• This change clarifies the preference and implements a referral process for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. The homeless preference will only apply to families and individuals referred to ACOH by the CoC Lead Agency (BRACH). This will alleviate confusion among applicants and service providers as to how the preference is applied.
• This change helps ACOH remain responsive to the needs of our community’s most vulnerable and housing-instable population. By keeping the waitlist open for the homeless preference, ACOH will be able to respond to urgent and critical housing needs more readily and effectively for those community members experiencing homelessness who have been referred by the CoC Lead Agency (BRACH).

Add Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units for households formerly experiencing homelessness to the list of exceptions to the 25% per project cap. In general, PHAs may not project-base more than the greater of 25 units or 25% of the number of units (assisted or unassisted) in a project. The PHA can establish a list of excepted units where this cap does not apply.

• This change expands the list of excepted units to include PSH units for households formerly experiencing homelessness. This means that ACOH can now project-base more than 25 or 25% of units at PSH projects.

Update local “PHA Policy” sections for the Family Unification Program (FUP) to comport with a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was executed between ACOH, Albemarle County Department of Social Services (ACDSS), and BRACH in May 2023.

• This change adds BRACH as the CoC involved in the MOU. Previously, the MOU was executed between ACDSS and ACOH and did not involve the CoC.
• This change states that ACOH, in addition to ACDSS, will provide supportive services for all FUP youth for a period of 36 months. This change adds ACOH as a second party responsible for the provision of supportive services. The 2023 MOU states which supportive services will be provided by whom.
• This change lists additional supportive services offered by ACOH and/or ACDSS to FUP youth. In accordance with the 2023 MOU, the following additional supportive services will be provided:
  1. Housing Search Assistance, including Neighborhood Tours, Unit Viewings, and Landlord Introductions in low-poverty census tracts
  2. Financial Assistance, including Security Deposit Assistance, Rental Application Fees Assistance, and Utility Startup (including utility arrears)
  3. Post-Move Counseling, including Subsequent-Move Counseling and Landlord-Tenant Mediation
• This change updates the FUP referral process to comport with the 2023 MOU. It adds the CoC as a participant in the referral process.

Increase the minimum deadline for rent increase request submissions by owners to ACOH from 60 days to 90 days.

• This change aligns the notice period with the term of a voucher. This means, should the client decide not to renew with the rent increase, they retain the full 90-day term to utilize their voucher in searching for a new home.

HUD-Proposed Changes

HOTMA [Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act of 2016]

These changes will be effective at a currently unknown date in 2024, pending Board approval. Until that time, pre-HOTMA policies remain in effect. PHAs with a fiscal year start date of 7/1, such as ACOH, must have these policies updated in their plan 75 days prior to 7/1/24.

The Final Rule Implementing HOTMA Sections 102, 103, and 104 was officially published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2023, and revises HUD regulations to put those sections of HOTMA into effect. These sections make changes to the United States Housing Act of 1937, particularly those affecting income calculation, reviews, and program eligibility. Click here for more information about HOTMA.

• Chapter 3: Income, Assets, and Eligibility

Income and net family assets of household members are excluded when determining income eligibility; however, household members are considered for purposes of unit size and subsidy standards

• Chapter 6: Income and Subsidy Determinations

Many changes to income definitions (all income is included unless excluded), including assets and income from assets, absent family members, students, and new methods for calculating deductions and medical care expenses.

• Chapter 7: Verification

Changes here include policies governing when and how to use other federal program’s income determinations, streamlined income determinations for fixed income, and income verification methods and hierarchy.

NSPIRE [National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate]

These changes will be effective 7/1/24, pending Board approval. Until that time, current policies remain in effect.

On May 11, 2023, HUD published the NSPIRE Rule to implement one of NSPIRE's core objectives—the formal alignment of expectations of housing quality and consolidation of inspection standards across HUD programs. NSPIRE standards replace Housing Quality Standards (HQS), which is the set of standards currently used to conduct inspections of units rented or to be rented by voucher-holders. Click here for more information about NSPIRE.