[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59750-59752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16114]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6466-N-01]


Request for Information; Direct Rental Assistance

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: In the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, rental housing 
subsidies are provided on behalf of an eligible low-income renter to 
the landlord of a rental unit. Recently, some researchers, advocates, 
policymakers, and public housing agencies have expressed interest in 
testing a ``direct rental assistance'' model. The model would provide a 
rental housing subsidy directly to the renter, rather than providing it 
to the landlord. The approach is similar to what HUD did 50 years ago 
in its Experimental Housing Allowance Program (EHAP). While HUD is not 
currently providing direct rental assistance, and this Notice does not 
provide any funding to do so, HUD's Office of Policy Development and 
Research (PD&R) and Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) are 
releasing this Request for Information (RFI) to seek public input on 
the concept to inform future policy development.

DATES: Comments are requested on or before August 30, 2024. Late-filed 
comments will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments responsive 
to this RFI. All submissions must refer to the docket number and title 
of the RFI. Commenters are encouraged to identify the number of the 
specific question or questions to which they are responding. Responses 
may include the name(s) of the person(s) or organization(s) filing the 
comment; however, because any responses received by HUD will be 
publicly available, responses should not include any personally 
identifiable information or confidential commercial information.
    There are two methods for submitting public comments.
    1. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit 
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov.
    2. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by 
mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276, 
Washington, DC 20410-0500.
    HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit their feedback and 
recommendations electronically. Electronic submission of comments 
allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a response, 
ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make comments 
immediately available to the public. Comments submitted electronically 
through the http://www.regulations.gov website can be viewed by other 
commenters and interested members of the public. Commenters should 
follow the instructions provided on that site to submit comments 
electronically.
    To receive consideration as public comments, comments must be 
submitted through one of the two methods specified above. Again, all 
submissions must refer to the docket number and title of the RFI.
    Public Inspection of Public Comments. HUD will make all properly 
submitted comments and communications available for public inspection 
and copying during regular business hours at the above address. Due to 
security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an advance 
appointment to review the public comments must be scheduled by calling 
the Regulations Division at (202) 708-3055 (this is not a toll-free 
number). HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals 
who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or 
communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an 
accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs. Copies of all comments 
submitted are available for inspection and downloading at 
www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Joice, Program Demonstration 
Division, Office of Policy Development and Research, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development; telephone number 312-913-8597 (this is 
not a toll-free number), or via email at 
[email protected]. HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive 
calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as 
individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more 
about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Developing relevant evidence and using rigorous research are 
essential for HUD's mission of creating strong, sustainable, inclusive 
communities and quality, affordable homes for all. PD&R is responsible 
for supporting innovation in housing policy, improving HUD programs 
through evaluations and demonstrations, and conducting

[[Page 59751]]

rigorous research to fill key evidence gaps in the field. HUD's 
Learning Agenda: 2022-2026 \1\ aligned with the Department's Fiscal 
Year 2022-2026 Strategic Plan \2\ frames a multiyear agenda ensuring a 
robust pipeline of research, including research opportunities that we 
highlight for Congress in the Department's budget, as well as efforts 
HUD launches in-house and with external research partners. The Learning 
Agenda draws on extensive stakeholder engagement and input from 
practitioners, advocates, people with lived experience in HUD programs, 
researchers, and policymakers at the Federal, State, and local levels. 
The Learning Agenda: 2022-2026 includes several research questions 
about how HUD can effectively meet needs for high-quality, rent-
assisted housing that supports housing security and economic 
advancement, including a research question about the potential effect 
of providing tenant-based rental assistance directly to the tenant.
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    \1\ https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/HUD-Learning-Agenda.pdf.
    \2\ https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/CFO/documents/FY2022-2026HUDStrategicPlan.pdf.
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    In 2023, the PD&R also published a post on the PD&R Edge \3\ 
identifying HUD's interest in learning about direct rental assistance 
programs. In the post, PD&R leadership called attention to the 
Philadelphia Housing+ program, a direct rental assistance program in 
Philadelphia, and other guaranteed income pilots across the country. 
PD&R expressed interest in partnering with public housing agencies, 
philanthropies, and other local groups to learn about direct rental 
assistance programs. In response to the post on the PD&R Edge, a range 
of stakeholders reached out to HUD expressing support for the concept, 
underscoring the broad interest in learning about this type of 
assistance.
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    \3\ https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-frm-asst-sec-090523.html.
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    Consideration of a direct rental assistance program has deep roots 
at HUD. In the 1970s, HUD ran the Experimental Housing Allowance 
Program (EHAP) to test tenant-based housing subsidies. The program 
ultimately helped to inform the design of the HCV program, although the 
HCV program differs from historic housing allowances on several 
important dimensions. One notable feature of EHAP, which was not 
adopted by the HCV program, was that the subsidy was paid directly to 
the assisted household, rather than being paid to the landlord. One 
reason that HUD is now interested in direct rental assistance is to 
better understand the implications of that policy design choice.
    A growing number of stakeholders have expressed general interest in 
the direct rental assistance concept, but many details about the 
program design remain unresolved. Among those details are the method of 
calculating the subsidy, the mode for conducting the housing 
inspection, and the role of PHAs in the process. While HUD has not 
committed to a specific set of design choices, PD&R leadership has 
outlined a possible program design.\4\ A forthcoming article in 
Cityscape \5\ also considers program design choices.
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    \4\ https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdredge/DRA-proposal-9-5-23.pdf.
    \5\ https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscape.html.
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    HUD's interest in research on direct rental assistance is 
fundamentally tied to it being a rental assistance program, not an 
unrestricted cash transfer. For direct rental assistance to support 
HUD's evidence-based policy development and program improvement goals, 
HUD believes it should align with the HCV program in certain ways. 
Specifically:
     The subsidy should be provided to the renter, and the 
renter would be required to use the subsidy for housing. The rental 
subsidy should not exceed the recipient's total gross rent.
     The subsidy should be provided to low-income households 
eligible for the HCV program, and the amount of the subsidy should be 
roughly equivalent to the HCV subsidy.
     Any test of direct rental assistance should be 
administered in partnership with PHAs to ensure that the program draws 
HCV-eligible households from the PHA waitlists, but the PHAs would have 
no direct contractual relationships with landlords renting to direct 
rental assistance recipients.
     A housing quality requirement of some type should ensure 
that direct rental assistance recipients occupy decent, safe, and 
sanitary housing.
    HUD is interested in learning about the effect of direct rental 
assistance on the following outcomes:
     How likely are households offered direct rental assistance 
to complete all necessary steps to receive the assistance? What is the 
length of time from an offer of assistance to receipt of assistance?
     What types of burdens--for tenants, landlords, and PHAs--
are associated with the administration of direct rental assistance?
     How willing are landlords to rent to tenants receiving 
direct rental assistance?
     Do renters have access to a broad range of units and 
neighborhoods using direct rental assistance?
     What is the quality of housing when tenants are using 
direct rental assistance?
     Do tenants make timely rent payments using direct rental 
assistance?

II. Purpose of This Request for Information

    The purpose of this RFI is to solicit information regarding the 
direct rental assistance concept, including the potential advantages 
and disadvantages of such a program. HUD is not currently developing a 
direct rental assistance demonstration or pilot, but may do so in the 
future under the Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration program or under 
other new legislative authority if provided by Congress. There may also 
be PHAs, funders, researchers, and other partners interested in 
developing pilot programs independent of HUD. Responses to this RFI 
will inform HUD and other stakeholders interested in direct rental 
assistance. Comments from housing providers, renters, PHAs, and other 
organizations that serve low-income renters would be particularly 
helpful.

III. Specific Information Requested

    While HUD welcomes all comments relevant to the direct rental 
assistance concept, HUD is particularly interested in receiving input 
from interested parties on the questions outlined below.
    1. What policies or procedures should be in place to ensure that 
direct rental assistance payments are used by recipients for rental 
housing costs?
    2. What steps should be taken to ensure that direct rental 
assistance is not treated as income for the purposes of taxes and other 
public benefit programs?
    3. How would the behaviors or engagement of housing providers, 
tenants or other stakeholders be expected to respond to direct rental 
assistance?
    4. How should direct rental assistance subsidies be calculated?
    5. How could a direct rental assistance program ensure that 
recipients have decent, safe, and sanitary housing, without creating a 
burden on landlords that might deter them from accepting tenants with 
the direct rental assistance subsidy?
    6. What aspects of existing rental assistance programs, beyond 
those noted above, should be preserved in a

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direct rental assistance pilot or demonstration?

Solomon Greene,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Policy Development and Research.
Dominique Blom,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 2024-16114 Filed 7-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P