[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12198-12199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04253]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7034-N-11]


30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Rental 
Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Choice Mobility and Long-Term 
Affordability Evaluation OMB Control No. 2528-New

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 30 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: April 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: HUD Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503; fax:202-395-5806, Email: OIRA [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QMAC, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410; email her at [email protected] or 
telephone 202-402-5535. This is not a toll-free number. Person with 
hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Copies 
of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from Ms. Guido.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.
    The Federal Register notice that solicited public comment on the 
information collection for a period of 60 days was published on June 9, 
2020 at 85 FR 35328.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Rental Assistance Demonstration 
(RAD) Choice Mobility and Long-Term Affordability Evaluation.
    OMB Approval Number: 2528-New.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Form Number: NA
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use:
    The Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), at the U.S. 
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is proposing the 
collection of information for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) 
Choice Mobility and Long-Term Affordability Evaluation.
    RAD was established under the Consolidated and Further Continuing 
Appropriations Act of 2012 to preserve affordable housing units over 
the long term by enabling public housing authorities (PHAs) to apply to 
HUD to convert at-risk public housing properties to two different forms 
of project-based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments contracts--
project-based voucher (PBV) or project-based rental assistance (PBRA). 
Doing so gives PHAs more flexibility to access private and public 
funding sources to meet with short-term capital needs, reduce their 
reliance on limited appropriations, and stabilize their financial and 
physical condition. Choice mobility, an

[[Page 12199]]

additional feature of RAD, allows residents of RAD properties to 
request a Housing Choice Voucher that they can use to move to a housing 
unit in the private market.
    Congress requested an evaluation of RAD to assess the impact of the 
demonstration on the preservation and improvement of public housing, 
the amount of private sector leveraging, and the effect on tenants. HUD 
contracted a two-phase evaluation to address these research areas. The 
Phase I results were published in 2016 and the Phase II results in 
2019. The OMB Approval Number for that evaluation was 2528-0304 and 
expired on January 31st, 2020. The Fiscal Year 2018 Appropriations Act 
provided funds to conduct a follow-up evaluation of the RAD program, 
including its implementation and outcomes, the choice mobility option, 
the impact on tenants and related protections, and the long-term 
preservation of housing affordability.
    This Federal Register Notice provides an opportunity to comment on 
the information collection for this new phase of the RAD evaluation 
titled RAD Choice Mobility and Long-Term Affordability Evaluation. The 
current information collection is designed to support four studies 
included in the evaluation. One is the study of the implementation of 
the RAD choice mobility option and its effects on property outcomes, 
tenant outcomes, and the voucher program. The second study is the 
impact of RAD on the long-term preservation and financial viability of 
converted affordable housing properties. The third is the adequacy of 
asset management for PBV and PBRA conversions. The fourth study will 
examine the organizational and operational changes at PHAs that 
participated in RAD. For the first three studies, the evaluation 
includes web-based survey of all RAD PHAs, RAD property owners/
operators, and former RAD residents who have exercised the choice 
mobility option; and a sample survey of RAD residents who have not 
elected the choice mobility option. For the fourth study, we plan to 
conduct qualitative interviews with senior staff at 25 RAD PHAs.

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                                                                                                         Burden       Annual       Hourly
                    Information collection                      Number of    Frequency    Responses    ?hour per      burden      cost per   Annual cost
                                                               respondents  of response   per annum     response      hours       response
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Census of RAD PHA............................................          400            1          400         0.75       300.00       $34.46   $10,338.00
Survey of RAD non-PHA Property Owners........................          228            1          228         0.33        75.24        34.46     2,592.77
Survey of choice mobility residents..........................          708            1          708         0.33       233.64        28.62     6,686.78
Survey of non-choice mobility residents......................          231            1          231         0.33        76.23        28.62     2,181.70
Interview of PHA staff on organizational changes.............          250            1          250          1.5       375.00        34.46    12,922.50
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    Total....................................................        1,817          N/A        1,817          N/A     1,060.11          N/A    34,721.75
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B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond; including through the use of appropriate 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
    (5) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to 
these questions.

    Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

Anna P. Guido,
Department Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-04253 Filed 3-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P