Paperwork Reduction Act Submission

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Paperwork Reduction Act Submission
Please read the instruction before completing this form.  For additional forms or assistance in completing this forms, contact your agency’s Paperwork Reduction Officer. Send two copies of this form, the collection instrument to be reviewed, the Supporting Statement, and any additional documentation to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 Seventeenth St. NW,  Washington, DC  20503.
1. Agency/Subagency Originating Request:
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Multifamily Housing Programs
Office of Housing Assistance and Grant Administration

2. OMB Control Number:
a. 2502-0446

b.    None
      
3.	Type of information collection: (check one)
    a.    New Collection 
    b.    Revision of a currently approved collection
    c.    Extension of a currently approved collection
    d.    Reinstatement, without change, of previously approved 
		collection for which approval has expired
    e.    Reinstatement, with change, of previously approved collection 
		for which approval has expired
    f.    Existing collection in use without an OMB control number
For b-f, note item A2 of Supporting Statement instructions.
4.	Type of review requested: (check one)
    a.    Regular
    b.    Emergency - Approval requested by       
    c.    Delegated
5.	Small entities: Will this information collection have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities?  
 Yes    No
6.	Requested expiration date:
a.  Three years from approval date  	b.   Other (specify)
	      
7. Title:
Procedures for Appealing Section 8 Rent Adjustments

8. Agency form number(s):  (if applicable)
None
9. Keywords:
Housing, Mortgage, Assistance Payments, Rent Adjustments
10. Abstract:
When a rent increase for certain Section 8 subsidized projects is denied, in full or in part, owners may submit to HUD an appeal letter outlining the basis for the appeal.  The appeal letter must be submitted to the Contract Administrator or the Hub Director for review.  HUD uses the information to determine whether to deny or allow Section 8 rent increases.  
11. Affected public:  (mark primary with “P” and all others that apply with “X”)
a.  	Individuals or households	e.  	Farms
b. P	Business or other for-profit	f.   	Federal Government
c. X	Not-for-profit institutions	g.  	State, Local or Tribal Government
12. Obligation to respond:  (mark primary with “P” and all others that apply with “X”)
a.  	Voluntary
b. P	Required to obtain or retain benefits
c.  	Mandatory
13. Annual reporting and recordkeeping hour burden:
a. Number of respondents	400
b. Total annual responses	400
Percentage of these responses collected electronically 	0%
c. Total annual hours requested	800
d. Current OMB inventory	1,000
e. Difference (+,-)	-200
f. Explanation of difference:
1. Program change:	
2. Adjustment:	-200
14. Annual reporting and recordkeeping cost burden: (in thousands of dollars)
	Do not include costs based on the hours in item 13.
a. Total annualized capital/startup costs	$0.00
b. Total annual costs (O&M)	$0.00
c. Total annualized cost requested	$0.00
d. Total annual cost requested	$0.00
e. Current OMB inventory	$0.00
f. Explanation of difference:
1. Program change:	     
2. Adjustment:	     
15. Purpose of Information collection:  (mark primary with “P” and all others that apply with “X”)
a. P Application for benefits	e.   Program planning or management
b.   Program evaluation	f.    Research
c.   General purpose statistics	g.   Regulatory or compliance
d.    Audit
16. Frequency of recordkeeping or reporting:  (check all that apply)
a.  Recordkeeping	b.  Third party disclosure 
c.  Reporting:
1.  On occasion	2.  Weekly	3.   Monthly
4.  Quarterly	5.  Semi-annually	6.   Annually
7.  Biennially	8.  Other (describe)       

17. Statistical methods: 
Does this information collection employ statistical methods?
  Yes     No

18. Agency contact: (person who can best answer questions regarding the content of this submission) 
Name: Gail Williamson
Phone: 202-708-3000 ext. 2473


19. Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions
On behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9.
Note: The text of 5 CFR 1320.9, and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320/8(b)(3) appears at the end of the instructions.  The certification is to be made with reference to those regulatory provisions as set forth in the instructions.

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collections of information that the certification covers:
    (a)  It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;
    (b)  It avoids unnecessary duplication;
    (c)  It reduces burden on small entities;
    (d)  It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous terminology that is understandable to respondents;
    (e)  Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;
    (f)  It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;
    (g)  It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3):
    (i)  Why the information is being collected;
    (ii)  Use of the information;
    (iii)  Burden estimate;
    (iv)  Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
    (v)  Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
    (vi)  Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
    (h)  It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to collected (see note in item 19 of the instructions);
    (i)  It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology; and
    (j)  It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item below and explain the reason in item 18 of the Supporting Statement.


Signature of Program Official:






Date:
Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

Procedures for Appealing Section 8 Rent Adjustments
OMB Control Number 2502-0446

A.	Justification

1.	Title II, Section 221, of the National Housing Act requires that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulate rents for certain cooperative and subsidized rental projects.  Under this legislation, HUD is charged with the responsibility of determining the method of rent adjustments and with facilitating these adjustments.  Because rent adjustments are considered benefits to project owners, HUD must also provide some means for owners to appeal the decisions made by the Department or the Contract Administrator.  This appeal process, and the information collection included as part of the process, play an important role in preventing costly litigation and in ensuring the accuracy of the overall rent adjustment process.  

2.	Owners of certain cooperative and subsidized multifamily housing rental projects are allowed two appeals under the Section 8 rent appeal process.  The first appeal is made to the local HUD Office or Contract Administrator that rendered the initial rent adjustment decision, and the second appeal may be made to the Hub Director, who will designate an official to review any appeal.  Each appeal must include a letter explaining the owner’s disagreement and documentation outlining the requested rents, along with any other supporting documentation.  This information must be submitted within 30 days of notification of denial of the rent adjustment request.  

3.	This information is not collected electronically and there are no plans to automate the process at this time because it requires either HUD staff or Contract Administrator staff to review the owner’s supporting documentation to justify the appeal and compare it to the owner’s original rent increase submission and determination of the rents by HUD or the Contract Administrator.  At this time, automating this process is not feasible as it will not allow reviewers to adequately assess all pertinent materials due to the unique nature and project operation of every property while ensuring compliance with HUD regulations and guidelines as required by the business agreements.  Furthermore, as more and more Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Contracts are renewed, the cost to do so would far exceed the benefits achieved.  

4.	No similar information is being collected.

5.	Some project owners may be considered small businesses.  The collection of this information is the same for all project owners.  A project owner determines whether or not to submit the information.  The two burden hours per submission are not considered significant. 

6.	If this information were not collected as required, HUD would be in violation of the Statute.  The information is collected, at the owner’s discretion, when they wish to appeal a rent decision.  The information could not be conducted less frequently.  Failure to collect this information would hinder the Department’s ability to provide owners with an opportunity to appeal rent adjustments.

7.	The information must be submitted within 30 days of notification of denial of the rent adjustment request, as required by Section 516(c) of MAHRA.

8.	In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8(d), the agency’s notice soliciting public comments was announced in the Federal Register on October 2, 2008 (Vol. 73, No. 192, pages 57380 and 57381).  No comments were received.  

	Industry contacts included:

Mr. Roger Brown
Housing Compliance Director
Section 8 Contract Administration
Iowa Finance Authority
2015 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA  50312
(515) 725-4879
Mr. Michael Johnson
Executive Vice President
Alco Management
35 Union Avenue – Suite 200
Memphis, TN  38103
(901) 544-1707
Ms. Cheryl Jett
Director
Section 8 Contract Administration
Tennessee Housing Development Agency
404 James Robertson Parkway – Suite 1200
Nashville, TN 37243-0900
(615) 815-2186

	Two of the persons listed above (Mr. Brown and Ms. Jett) represent Performance Based Contract Administrators (PBCAs), which is where owners/agents are required to submit their first appeal if they disagree with their Section 8 rent adjustment.  Mr. Brown has received no appeals.  Ms. Jett has received less than 10.  Mr. Johnson reports that the management company that manages a significant number of Section 8 properties has not submitted any appeals.  This may be due to their efforts to work closely with their PBCA in determining mutually agreed upon rents that can be fully supported by an approved budget.  It takes an owner no more than two hours to prepare an appeal letter to a Section 8 rent adjustment because all of the documentation needed to justify the appeal has previously been prepared; it just needs to be pulled together with a cover letter providing the justification for the appeal. Since there are fifty-two HUD Field offices and fifty-three Project Based Contract Administrators offices that would probably receive more than one appeal letter we allotted for 400 respondents.

9.	No payments or gifts are provided to the respondents.

10.	There are no assurances of confidentiality provided to respondents.

11.	The letters do not contain questions of a sensitive nature.

12.	Estimated Burden and Annual Cost to Respondents:

Information Collection
Number of Respondents
Frequency of Response
Responses Per Annum
Burden Hour Per Response
Annual Burden Hours
Hourly Cost Per Response
Annual Cost
Appeal Letter
400
1
400
2
800
$45.00
$36,000
The hourly rate is based on a blended estimate of project owner’s and clerical annual salaries, averaging $72,800 annually.

13.	There are no additional costs to the respondents.

14.	Estimated Burden and Annual Cost to the Federal Government:

Information Collection
Number of Responses
Burden Hour Per Response
Annual Burden Hours
Hourly Cost Per Response
Annual Cost
Appeal Letter
400
10
4,000
$46.00
$184,000
The hourly rate is based on the annual salary of a GS-13, step 1.

15.	This is an extension of a currently approved collection. That process encourages owners of eligible multifamily housing projects to restructure their FHA-insured mortgages and project-based assistance contracts before the year in which the contract expires.  Consequently, the number of appeals is steadily declining.

16.	The results of this information collection will not be published.

17.	HUD is not seeking approval to avoid displaying the expiration date.

18.	There are no exceptions to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of the OMB 83-I.


B.	Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

	This collection of information does not employ statistical methods.