HUD published proposed changes to the rule on forming public housing agency (“PHA”) consortia on July 11 in the Federal Register (the “Proposed Rule”). A copy of the rule can be accessed here.

PHA consortia are two or more PHAs that agree to jointly administer public housing, section 8, and/or grants associated with these programs. Authority to form consortia is provided under existing regulations at 24 CFR Part 943.

Under the proposed rule, HUD creates a new category of consortia, a single Annual Contributions Contract (“ACC”) consortium (“single-ACC consortium”) for purposes of administering the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. A single-ACC consortium would be treated as a separate legal entity and single PHA for purposes of administering the HCV program. The Proposed Rule would allow consortia to form effective January 1 of any calendar year, and require that consortia exist for at least five years before dissolving. The proposed rule includes requirements for calculating administrative fees, withdrawals or additions of PHAs to an existing consortia, dissolution, HCV and funding distribution upon dissolution or withdrawal.

Moving-to Work (MTW) agencies cannot participate in single-ACC or multiple ACC consortia, because MTW agencies operate under unique statutory and regulatory requirements.

HUD intends to further amend Part 943 to include single-ACC consortia for the public housing program at a future date.

HUD is seeking comments on the proposed rule, particularly the calculation of administrative fees, withdrawals and additions to a consortium, the proposed single-ACC consortium, the 5-year term, and the January 1 consortium effective date, among other issues. Comments are due September 9, 2014.