Federal Mandates Changing RRP

Federal Mandates Changing RRP
By: Tommy Herbert, Manager of Government Affairs, VAMA 

Starting on May 11, applications to the Rent Relief Program need to include applicant information related to assets and income due to federal mandates handed down by the United States Department of the Treasury.

 

This unwelcome change will mean that more time and effort are required to connect our residents to the aid that they so desperately need. For housing providers who are going through Virginia Housing, you can access the new forms here. This mandate comes down from Treasury to conform all states to the HUD understanding of ‘income and assets,’ as a term.

 

VAMA is already working to see what avenues are open to the organization and members to oppose this federal intrusion in to one of the nation’s most effective and efficient rent relief programs. VAMA’s staff and members have worked hard in the past year to effect improvements to the program, and are deeply opposed to frivolous federal mandates that will keep residents from receiving relief.

 

This development will mean a longer application time for housing providers, but also comes alongside new ramped up elements of the Virginia Housing application process that should lower real-time waiting periods for assistance. As VAMA members know, Virginia Housing (formerly VHDA) are the administrators of the RRP on the landlord application side. They have been experiencing a massive volume of applications since the new year, and are continuing a strong hiring program to get contractors into the program to start evaluating applications.

 

That expanded capacity to handle applications also comes on the heels of a clarification by Virginia Housing regarding an unfortunate but common scenario; that of residents who refuse to cooperate by providing their information on an application. Previously, housing providers have been so hamstrung in their abilities to enforce their leases in court that they had been submitting applications without tenant eligibility information simply so that they could get a denial to show a judge. That dynamic had ground the process of approving applications nearly to a halt.

 

Virginia Housing came out on April 23 in a stakeholder communication that you can read on VAMA’s website here, to make clear that such applications could not be approved or denied, and should not be submitted by housing providers seeking a denial to use in court. Now that those applications are not being submitted, or at least are being submitted less, Virginia Housing has been able to make meaningful progress on getting back to their 45-day timeline and working through the large backlog that had accumulated over the course of 2021. This will mean quicker payment times once applications are submitted, which is a win for housing providers and residents alike.

 

VAMA will be communicating more details to members regarding next steps on advocacy and clear guidance on compliance as more details become clear. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Tommy Herbert at tommy@vamaonline.org.