Federal Rental Assistance Programs, Section 8 and Section 811 PRA, consist of 3 functional teams:
The Housing Management Officer collaborates with local HUD field office staff to help ensure that management practices, occupancy, physical conditions, and compliance with HUD and fair housing regulations are upheld.
The HAP Contract Officer works with Owners and Management Agents of Section 8 properties to process Initial and Subsequent Contract Renewals, annual funding renewals, budget-based rent adjustments, AAF rent adjustments and special rent adjustments.
The TRACS Data Analyst works with Project Based Section 8 Owner/Agents to approve payment of the monthly Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Voucher. The TRACS Data Analyst reviews and approves Special Claims and Repayment Agreements as well as assists Owner/Agents on correction of TRACS errors and EIV discrepancies.
Expand All Important UpdatesAt this time, the transition from TRACS 202D to 203A has been postponed indefinitely. We will communicate the updated timeline as soon as it's available.
Questions? Visit HUD's TRACS webpage or contact your TRACS Data Analyst.
On November 30, 2020, HUD released a Memorandum regarding the treatment of benefits received through the Minnesota Supplementary Assistance Program (MSA) that are provided for “medically prescribed diets if the cost of such dietary needs cannot be met through some other maintenance benefit”. This is often referred to as a special diet allowance.
Because Minnesota makes MSA special diet allowance available specifically for the cost of state determined medical expenses, HUD has determined that the MSA special diet allowance meets the income exclusion found in HUD Handbook 4350.3 Exhibit 5-1, Income Exclusions (4):
HUD instructs owners to exclude this MSA special diet benefit from income calculations and to correct any previous certifications in which this benefit was included in income. Any underpaid subsidy will be credited to the tenant.
Management ReviewsMinnesota Housing performs performance-based contract administration (PBCA) duties on behalf of HUD for 359 project-based Section 8 projects throughout Minnesota. The agency’s responsibilities are described in the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) awarded by HUD. PBCA staff collaborates with local HUD field office staff to help ensure that management practices, occupancy, physical conditions, and compliance with HUD and fair housing regulations are upheld. The work of PBCA aligns with Minnesota Housing’s strategic priority to preserve federally-subsidized rental housing.
Minnesota Housing's Housing Management Officers (HMOs) annually, at a minimum, perform MORs for each property and use HUD Form 9834 to conduct the review. The role of the HMO is to detect and reduce errors in income and rent determinations, to reduce rent underpayments and/or overpayments by tenants, and to maximize HUD’s housing resources, thereby helping ensure as many households as possible participate in HUD’s housing programs.
Once completed, PBCA staff sends the MOR report to the owner/management agent (owner/agent) using Minnesota Housing’s Multifamily Secure Upload Tool. PBCA staff also sends the MOR report to the HUD field office. The owner/agent has 30 days to remedy deficiencies identified in the MOR, as applicable, and will send responses via Minnesota Housing’s Multifamily Secure Upload Tool (include the name of the assigned housing management officer (HMO) and property name in the subject line). If Minnesota Housing does not receive a compliant response, PBCA staff continues to work with the owner/agent until full compliance is reached, at which point the MOR will be closed. View instructions to learn how to use the Multifamily Secure Upload Tool.
The following resources are available to further assist the owner/agent in preparing for the MOR:
Suggested Outline for Project Based Section 8 Tenant Files - This outline is recommended to help ensure maximum compliance with HUD’s tenant file review requirements.
HUD 4350.3 - HUD 4350.3 is the governing HUD Handbook for Project-based Section 8 and contains regulations and guidance on all aspects of the program. Owner/agents should refer to this handbook when making management and occupancy decisions.
Preparing for a REAC Inspection – This document offers guidance for multifamily properties that are preparing for a Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) inspection.