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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released an updated Public Housing Procurement Handbook, HUD Handbook 7460.8, which was last updated in 2007, and which we briefly addressed in a prior alert.
The Handbook does not include an effective date, although we believe it was first posted to the HUD website in February.
It includes multiple significant changes to existing policy.
The Handbook applies its procurement requirements to income that the Central Office Cost Center (COCC) generates through fees of various types. This policy is in contradiction to the principles of asset management incorporated into the public housing operating fund rule-making process for the asset-based management regulation published in 2005. The Handbook also applies its procurement requirements to Housing Choice Voucher administrative fees, which had been exempt under 24 C.F.R. Part 85. There is also a mandatory five-year limit on contract terms, which will be challenging for contracts with benefits providers and some software providers. The Handbook also requires compliance with the HUD Litigation handbook, which is not currently publicly available on HUD's website.
A letter from HUD to executive directors stated that the rule was effective upon publication, indicating that it is not retroactive.
Advocacy groups are exploring options for addressing these issues with HUD.
We encourage housing authorities to review the new rules and their current procurement policy.
The new Procurement Handbook can be accessed here.
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