Homeowner Assistance Fund

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
Interim Reporting Form and Instruction	Modified
HAF Title VI Assurances Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Recipient Payment Information Form Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Notice of Funds Request Form Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Acceptance of Award Terms Form Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Emergency Justification Memo-HAF Updated Reporting Guidance-2.10_signed.pdf Supplementary Document	2022-02-15
Emergency Justification Memo-HAF Updated Reporting Guidance_signed.pdf Supplementary Document	2021-12-09
1505-0269 Emergency Justifcation Memo_HAF Plans 2021-07-20_Signed.pdf Supplementary Document	2021-07-22
HAF - Emergency Justifcation Memo FINAL_signed.pdf Supplementary Document	2021-05-25
HAF - Emergency Justifcation Memo FINAL.pdf Supplementary Document	2021-04-13
1505-0269 - HAF Supporting Statement - HAF Interim Report User Guide.docx Supporting Statement A	2022-02-15

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
250731	Interim Reporting Form and Instruction	Modified
248644	HAF Term Sheet - sample Other-sample	Unchanged
248510	Grantee Plan Templates Other-template	Unchanged
247619	HAF Title VI Assurances Form and Instruction	Unchanged
246805	Recipient Payment Information Form Form and Instruction	Unchanged
246804	Notice of Funds Request Form Form and Instruction	Unchanged
246803	Acceptance of Award Terms Form Form and Instruction	Unchanged

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1505-0269	ICR Reference No: 202202-1505-003
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202112-1505-001
Agency/Subagency: TREAS/DO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Homeowner Assistance Fund
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Emergency	Approval Requested By: 02/16/2022
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 02/15/2022
	Date Received in OIRA: 02/15/2022
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	05/31/2022	6 Months From Approved	05/31/2022
Responses	4,557	0	4,557
Time Burden (Hours)	4,070	0	4,070
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

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Abstract: On March 11, 2021, the President signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Act”), Pub. L. No. 117-2. Title III, Subtitle B, Section 3206 of the Act established the Homeowner Assistance Fund and provides $9.961 billion for the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to make payments to States (defined to include the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa), Indian tribes or tribally designated housing entities, as applicable, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (collectively the “eligible entities”) to mitigate financial hardships associated with the coronavirus pandemic, including for the purposes of preventing homeowner mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, loss of utilities or home energy services, and displacements of homeowners experiencing financial hardship after January 21, 2020, through qualified expenses related to mortgages and housing. Section 3206(c)(1) requires the eligible entities to use the funds for the purpose of preventing homeowner mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, loss of utilities or home energy services, and displacements of homeowners experiencing financial hardship after January 21, 2020, through qualified expenses related to mortgages and housing. Section 3206(e)(1) provides that not later than 45 days after March 11, 2021, the Secretary shall pay each eligible entity. Treasury intends to begin making payments as soon as possible given the urgent need for the funds being disbursed.

Emergency Justfication: Pursuant to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 C.F.R. § 1320.13, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) requests emergency processing for the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) program’s Interim Report User Guide, revising OMB Control Number 1505-0269. On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law, and established the Homeowner Assistance Fund program. This program is intended to mitigate financial hardships associated with the coronavirus pandemic by providing funds to eligible entities for the purpose of preventing homeowner mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, loss of utilities or home energy services, and displacements of homeowners experiencing financial hardship after January 21, 2020, through qualified expenses related to mortgages and housing. On April 14, 2021, Treasury published the Homeowner Assistance Fund Guidance that HAF participants need to comply with to fulfill their reporting requirements. Treasury has directly engaged with various interested agencies and stakeholders as well as required HAF Participants submitting plans to provide input on reporting and metrics. In recognition of open questions from recipients and external stakeholders on HAF eligible uses, the HAF program, in coordination with policy, Office of General Counsel (OGC) and Office of Recovery Programs (ORP) leadership, recommended a series of updates to reporting requirements and timelines included in the FAQs and Reporting Guidance. Treasury is currently finalizing development of the interim reporting portal that is expected to go live around February 17, 2022 but will also require outreach and communication with recipients throughout the remainder of December and January. Recipients will use this portal to transmit the necessary reporting information. As a result, Treasury is requesting a waiver from the requirement to publish notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment for the following reasons: • Treasury will need to provide the Interim Report User Guide to recipients along with the Portal launch date and provide a high degree of certainty that it will not change, so that recipients can gather the necessary information and build their own tools/processes to comply. • The Interim Report is intended as a one-time, preliminary report that will include information that will also be collected as part of the upcoming Quarterly Reports expected to launch in April, 2022. Given the overlap in information collected and the timeframe for interim reporting, Treasury believes it will be more constructive to seek public comment on the Quarterly Report. For these reasons, Treasury requests emergency processing and approval as soon as possible for the User Guide, which set forth substantially all the information collections of the interim reporting. Treasury plans to publish the User Guide on February 16, 2021.

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Authorizing Statute(s): PL: Pub.L. 117 - 2 3206 Name of Law: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments

Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 7

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Acceptance of Award Terms Form	n/a	Acceptance of Award Terms Form
Grantee Plan Templates
HAF Term Sheet - sample
HAF Title VI Assurances	n/a	ASSURANCES OF COMPLIANCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS REQUIREMENTS
Interim Reporting	n/a	Interim Reporting
Notice of Funds Request Form	n/a	Notice of Funds Request
Recipient Payment Information Form	n/a	Recipient Payment Information Form

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	4,557	4,557	0	0	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	4,070	4,070	0	0	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement:

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $5,174,668

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection 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 language 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) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of 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 be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 02/15/2022

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