Every month — and sometimes every week — I get emails with a common refrain: “I can’t find this issue addressed in the HUD Handbook 4350.3, Rev. 1.” I felt the time had come for me to devote a column to this, because I know how frustrating it can be when the major source for occupancy guidelines for privately-owned, project based HUD housing programs seems to be of no help.
(Although one of my colleagues thinks that I must sleep with the HUD Handbook 4350.3, REV-1 under my pillow, let me state for the record that I do NOT sleep with it under my pillow, as that would be very harmful to my neck and back. It’s on my nightstand.)
When you’re confronted with a situation in which the HUD Handbook 4350.3, Rev. 1 seemingly offers you nothing to resolve an issue, here are the steps I would suggest taking:
1. Determine whether the handbook really is “silent” on an issue. Usually, the handbook does address the issue you are grappling with, but you might have misidentified the core of the matter. For instance, your issue is fundamentally about assets at the time of Annual Recertification, but you’ve been looking in Chapter 7 on recertifications instead of Chapter 5 (Par. 5-7 and Ex. 5-2) which is is where assets are addressed.
2. If you’ve double checked and found nothing specific to your subject, perhaps there is a more general guideline that points the way. One example is reverse mortgages. Regular readers of this column know that HUD hasn’t put forward anything specific on how to deal with this, and the HUD staffers I’ve spoken with have suggested that they don’t need to do so. Perhaps their point of view is correct. Lisa Vercauteren, who is NCHM’s Vice President for Housing Programs, and myself put our heads together to work through how we think this would fit into existing guidance. We agreed that a reverse mortgage best fits into the provisions on “Withdrawal of Cash orr Assets from an Investment” (Par. 5-6P, page 5-19). Of course, NCHM cannot set policy for either HUD or your owner/agent, so always defer to your regulatory agency/contract administrator.
3. If an issue isn’t addressed in the Handbook,, is it addressed somewhere else? There are multiple examples of this:
• Lifeline not considered a medical expense deduction. This is found in HUD’s “Frequently Asked Questions” on the HUD Handbook 4350.3, and Management and Occupancy Reviews.
• Medical marijuana not counted as a medical expense or treated as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act. This is found in a memo from former HUD General Counsel Gail Laster (“The Laster Memo”) as well as an opinion from the HUD Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. An Internet search will give you several URLs for this information.
• Equal Access to HUD programs without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity isn’t yet in the handbook, but can be found in the Federal Register along with other matters not currently in the handbook.
And, of course, if you are a NCHM-certified professional, you can ask go to our website (www.nchm.org) and submit your question through eHotline. All inquiries receive a response within 24 hours.