Section 239 of the Fiscal Year 2016
Appropriations Act, P.L. 114-113 (2016 MTW Expansion Statute),
authorizes HUD to expand the Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration
program from the current size of 39 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs)
to an additional 100 agencies over a period of 7 years. The Statute
directs HUD to add new MTW PHAs in cohorts, with each cohort
testing a specific policy change so that HUD can conduct a rigorous
evaluation of that policy’s effects. A copy of the relevant section
of law authorizing the Department to undertake “such programs of
research, studies, testing, and demonstration relating to the
mission and programs of the Department” (12 USC 1701z-1 et seq.) is
included as Appendix H. The second cohort of MTW Expansion PHAs
will test alternative ways of setting rents in the public housing
and housing choice voucher programs. The traditional rent policy
(the Brooke rent) typically sets each household’s rent at 30
percent of their adjusted monthly income. This rent policy is
administratively complex and burdensome for PHAs and assisted
households. The Brooke rent is hypothesized to be a disincentive
for households to increase their earnings, as $100 dollars of
increased income would result in $30 of increased rent. In this
project—the Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration (STRD)—PHAs will
implement alternative rents that might be easier to administer and
might incentivize assisted households to increase their earnings.
Five PHAs will implement a stepped rent, under which a household’s
rent will increase modestly each year regardless of their income.
Five PHAs will implement a tiered rent, under which households are
assigned to income-based tiers and rents are set based on the tier.
Both policies will enable households to increase their income
without causing an immediate rent increase. Both policies include
hardship provisions to prevent high rent burdens. And both policies
include less frequent income reexaminations, to reduce the amount
of PHA staff time required to administer the program. The STRD will
be implemented as a randomized controlled trial (RCT); eligible
households (limited to non-elderly, non-disabled households) will
be randomly assigned to the new rent policy, or to remain on the
traditional rent policy. This design is the gold standard for
program evaluation and will enable HUD to conclude whether the new
rent policies caused any differences observed between the two
groups over time. HUD’s evaluation is expected to last 6 years. HUD
has contracted with MDRC to carry out the first phase of HUD’s
evaluation, to launch the STRD and lay the foundation for a
long-term evaluation. HUD has also allocated resources to support
software modifications required by the PHAs to implement the STRD
Demonstration. This new information collection has the following
components in this collection, all of which are necessary for the
evaluation to succeed.
US Code:
12
USC 1701z-1 Name of Law: Research and Demonstrations
The second cohort of MTW
Expansion PHAs is testing alternative ways of setting rents in the
public housing and housing choice voucher programs. The traditional
rent policy (the Brooke rent) typically sets each household’s rent
at 30 percent of their adjusted monthly income. This rent policy is
administratively complex and burdensome for PHAs and assisted
households. The Brooke rent is hypothesized to be a disincentive
for households to increase their earnings, as $100 dollars of
increased income would result in $30 of increased rent. In this
project—the Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration (STRD)—PHAs are
implementing alternative rents that might be easier to administer
and might incentivize assisted households to increase their
earnings. Five PHAs are implementing a stepped rent, under which a
household’s rent will increase modestly each year regardless of
their income. Five PHAs are implementing a tiered rent, under which
households are assigned to income-based tiers and rents are set
based on the tier. Both policies enable households to increase
their income without causing an immediate rent increase. Both
policies include hardship provisions to prevent high rent burdens.
And both policies include less frequent income reexaminations, to
reduce the amount of PHA staff time required to administer the
program.
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:
(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;
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.
30-Day Notice Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration.pdf
Final - STRD Supporting Statement Part B.docx
Housing Specialist and Property Manager Interview Guide (Round 2)