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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 13, 2021 / Proposed Rules better understand how housing quality regulations needed to evolve. HUD
found that both inspection models can sometimes provide inaccurate and inconsistent results and can prevent HUD from effectively evaluating housing across programs. HUD
determined that while the models are well-intentioned in design, neither model currently aligns with HUDs priorities, the state of the housing industry and improvements in technology. This is partly because neither model includes mechanisms for continual update. This analysis also identified a disproportionate emphasis around the appearance of items that are otherwise safe and functional and paid inadequate attention to the health and safety conditions within the built environment. HUD has concluded that existing housing standards need to focus on habitability and the residential use of the structures, and most importantly, the health and safety of residents.
To this end, HUD announced the implementation of NSPIRE through the publication of an August 21, 2019, notice,1 which described the development of a new inspection model for HUD programs. HUD began building the updated standards, procedures, and scoring methodologies, which will to be refined through a multistage NSPIRE
demonstration. The demonstration will test and HUD will further refine the future state of HUDs physical inspection model to best serve residents.
NSPIRE programmatic provisions will be published in the Federal Register and will provide an opportunity for public comment.2 The improvements being refined through the NSPIRE
demonstration are intended to occur in parallel to support and reinforce the changes being proposed by this rule.
Regulatory Consolidation and Alignment As noted above, the proposed rule would consolidate and align housing quality requirements and associated inspection standards across programs wherever possible. To achieve this, housing quality regulations across HUD
programs would be consolidated into one location at 24 CFR part 5. HUD
understands, however, that regulations must be flexible enough to accommodate each programs unique circumstances. Where differing statutory requirements or public policy considerations prevent alignment to 24
CFR part 5, those program-specific requirements would be maintained in their respective program regulations and 1 84

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would supersede or supplement 24 CFR
part 5.
Current program regulations governing housing quality and inspections have a large regulatory footprint. Rather than being in a single location, they are located under 24 CFR
part 5 and part 200 for programs governed by Uniform Physical Condition Standards UPCS; 24 CFR
982.401 for programs governed by HQS;
and within each programs individual regulations in 24 CFR parts 92, 93, 200, 574, 576, 578, 880, 882, 884, 886, 902, 982, 983, and 985. This means that finding and understanding the requirements across programseven those governed by the same standard is often cumbersome. Instead, this rule would consolidate 14 dispersed sections which are spread across 24 CFR, into 7
consecutive sections.
Further, there are often minor, unnecessary discrepancies in language across regulations. The use of decent, safe, and sanitary is a good example.
The physical condition standards applicable to Public Housing and HUDs Multifamily Housing program outlines that housing must be decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair. 3 The Housing Choice Voucher HCV and Project-Based Voucher PBV program regulations state housing must be decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of a modest non-luxury nature with suitable amenities. 4 Meanwhile, regulations for the Home Investment Partnerships HOME program state housing be decent, safe, sanitary and affordable. HUD believes that all standards governing HUD housing are equivalent in that they mandate safe, habitable housing for residents. An alignment of these standards would create a single expectation of housing quality across these programs and remove these unnecessary discrepancies.
Finally, programmatic alignment and consolidation is increasingly important as HUDs inspection portfolio has shifted to include greater numbers of mixed finance properties which are subject to multiple inspection standards by the nature of their financing. A
similar challenge is faced by PHAs and owners whose portfolio includes multiple HUD program types or that convert from one funding stream to another, such as through the Rental Assistance Demonstration RAD
program. HUD acknowledges that the challenges a PHA faces are not always the same challenges that owners face, but in both cases, the lack of aligned
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requirements unduly increases the complexity and uncertainty associated with participating in HUDs programs and may deter some owners from future involvement.
Programmatic and Statutory Limits on Alignment Part of this alignment will consolidate and align the regulations governing the physical condition of HUD housing to create a shared expectation of housing quality across a wide array of distinct programs. The remainder of the alignment centers around program administration: Inspection protocols, processes, and procedures.
Regarding these inspection protocols, processes, and procedures, the majority of the alignment that HUD is proposing involves the program regulations for the public housing and multifamily programs. However, given the unique nature of some HUD programs and the limits posed by existing statutory requirements, it is not possible for HUD
to align all program administration regulations across all programs under this proposed rule.
Within this proposed rule, the Housing Choice Voucher HCV
program, comprised of the Project Based Voucher PBV and Tenant Based Voucher TBV programs, has been aligned with other HUD programs to the maximum extent possible, while also acknowledging that varying types of rental housing and unique geographic features conditions nationwide necessitate separate requirements in certain areas. HUDs approach for aligning these programs accounts for the:
Unique statutory requirements related to the standards of individual units rather than the project as a whole; 5
Nature of the entity responsible for conducting inspections 6 the PHA
rather than HUD;
Relationship of housing quality standards to State and local codes; 7
Pass/fail nature of inspections; and Frequency of inspections.8
All of these differ greatly from other HUD programs, particularly projectbased assistance programs.9
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9 Important to note that PBVs are part of the HCV
program and PBV units under section 8o13 are subject to the requirements under section 8o8, thus, using the Housing Quality Standards similar to tenant-based voucher units. Thus, key elements of physical standard requirements for the PBVs align with the HCV program and by virtue of section 8o8 will be distinct and separate from PBRA and public housing.
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