Signed Emergency Letter

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON, DC 20410-8000

OFFICE OF HOUSING

Ms. Jamie Dickinson
OMB Policy Analyst
Office of Management and Budget
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
New Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20503
RE:

Request for extension of emergency PRA approval for OMB Control Number 2502-0620
(FHA Catalyst: Multifamily Application Portal)

Dear Ms. Dickinson:
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Multifamily
Housing Programs (MFH) is requesting an extension of the emergency Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA) approval (OMB Control Number 2502-0620) granted on November 17, 2020 for the FHA
Catalyst: Multifamily Application Portal (“FHA Catalyst”), to allow MFH to continue to operate
and collect information through the FHA Catalyst system while completing the remainder of the full
PRA process.
The 60-Day Notice for the FHA Catalyst information collection was published on July 1,
2021 and comments are due by August 31, 2021. MFH will finish the remainder of the full PRA
process as expeditiously as possible once the comment period ends.
FHA Catalyst was developed by MFH to give FHA multifamily lenders the ability to submit
applications and related documents electronically and securely through a centralized, web-based
portal, as part of a larger effort to modernize FHA’s IT systems. FHA Catalyst is also part of
MFH’s solution to fully comply with the electronic records requirements of OMB Memorandum M19-21 by December 31, 2022.
Prior to FHA Catalyst, multifamily lenders mailed paper applications and electronic
applications on USB drives to HUD offices, and since the start of the COVID-19 national
emergency, MFH also been accepting electronic applications via Dropbox and similar cloud file
storage services utilized by lenders. Each of these existing submission methods present a security
risk, so FHA Catalyst was developed in response and has been in use optionally by multifamily
lenders since November 2020.
MFH will soon require the use of FHA Catalyst by multifamily lenders for application
submissions, and there is an urgent need to continue to collect information through the system to
reduce risk and continue operations electronically while full PRA approval is being obtained. Both
public and HUD users are very pleased with the FHA Catalyst system, and it has been allowed
MFH to operate more efficiently during the COVID-19 national emergency and simultaneous
record FHA multifamily application volume.

www.hud.gov

espanol.hud.gov

2
MFH appreciates your consideration of this request to extend the emergency PRA approval
of the FHA Catalyst: Multifamily Application Portal (OMB Control Number 2502-0620) while
MFH completes the remainder of the full PRA process as expeditiously as possible. If you have any
questions regarding this request, please contact Scott Greuel, Director, Program Administration
Division, Multifamily Production, at 202-402-5346 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Digitally signed by

ETHAN
ETHAN HANDELMAN
2021.07.19
HANDELMAN Date:
15:09:18 -04'00'

Ethan Handelman
Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Multifamily Housing Programs