WILDFIRE WAIVERS
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has introduced Community Planning and Development (CPD) Mega Waivers to help communities recover from wildfire-related disruptions. The waivers provide flexibility in using HUD CPD Programs to meet housing and community development needs and aim to provide necessary administrative relief and rental housing support to the Pacific Palisades and Eaton communities affected by wildfires, ensuring they can effectively utilize HUDā€™s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.
HUD provided Regulatory Waivers and Alternatives to help communities recover from Presidentially-declared disasters like the Los Angeles County wildfire-related disruptions. These regulatory waivers provide flexibility in using HUD PIH programs to meet County operations and subsidized rental housing needs for participating families, property owners, and the general public.
Administrative Plan Approval Process: HUD approval waived the regulatory requirement to obtain Board of Commissioner approval to implement discretionary policies in the HCV Program Administrative Plan. This regulatory waiver permitted the Executive Director to immediately implement a local admission preference, at the highest level, to prioritize HCV Program rental assistance for families who lost homes because of the Palisades and Eaton fires. The requirement to obtain formal approval is still required within 120 days of the HUD-approved regulatory waiver.
Waiting List Opening and Closing Public Notice: Families wishing to obtain rental assistance through the HCV Program, must first register their interest via an open waiting list. HUD regulations require a Public Housing Agency, such as the LACDA, to provide notification of the availability of waiting list registration through printed news publications, such as the Los Angeles Times. This regulatory waiver provided the LACDA the ability to bypass this process and utilize the flexibility to use its website (and other electronic and social media platforms) as the primary means of instant and wide range notification.
These waivers aim to provide necessary relief and support to communities affected by wildfires, ensuring they can effectively utilize HUD programs to meet their housing and community development needs.
New Housing Construction: Allows the use of CDBG funds for new housing construction to address disaster damage.
Suspension of Public Services Cap: Permits exceeding the 15% cap on public service expenditures.
Emergency Grant Payments: Allows emergency grant payments for food, clothing, housing, or utilities for up to six months.
Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA): Eases certification requirements to quickly use HOME funds for rental assistance.
Administration and Planning Cap: Increases the cap on administrative and planning costs to 20%.
Matching Contribution Requirements: Waives the matching contribution requirements for the current and subsequent fiscal years.
Rental Assistance and Housing Services: Waives the 24-month limit on rental assistance and housing services.
Fair Market Rent (FMR) Restriction: Removes the restriction to make more units available for permanent housing.
Housing Standards: Waives housing standards for units in the disaster area.
Rapid Re-Housing Rental Assistance: Waives the 24-month limit on rapid re-housing rental assistance
Lease Requirement: Allows leases with an initial term of less than one year.
Moving Costs: Permits payment for moving costs more than once.