The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced it is reducing the advance notice it provides to public housing authorities (PHAs) and private owners of HUD-subsidized apartment developments before their housing is inspected.
The department’s new standard provides PHAs and owners of HUD-assisted housing 14 calendar days' notice before an inspection, a dramatic reduction from the current notice, which can frequently extend up to four months. Read HUD's notice.
HUD's Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) has provided advance notice before a scheduled inspection, which frequently has extended up to 120 days. This amount of lead time allows owners to undertake cosmetic, “just-in-time” repairs to their properties rather than adopting year-round maintenance practices, said HUD in a Feb. 20 press release.
"It's become painfully clear to us that too many PHAs and private landlords whom we contract with were using the weeks before their inspection to make quick fixes, essentially gaming the system," said HUD secretary Ben Carson. "The action we take today is part of a broader review of our inspections so we can be true to the promise of providing housing that's decent, safe, and healthy to the millions of families we serve."
HUD said it will be consulting with PHAs and property owners over the next several months to discuss other improvements to REAC's process.
REAC is responsible for inspecting properties owned and operated by approximately 3,700 local PHAs nationwide. In addition, REAC-contracted inspectors evaluate approximately 23,000 privately owned apartment buildings. Combined, approximately 96% of these properties pass their inspections.
HUD officials said it's been their observation that many PHAs and private owners of HUD-subsidized housing have grown accustomed to REAC's 20-year-old inspection regime and, in some cases, invest more resources in passing minimal inspection requirements rather than satisfying their obligation to provide quality housing.
