CARH’S BROADCAST E-MAIL – Regulatory Update

November 17, 2022

Rural Development posted a recent Unnumbered Letter entitled, Multifamily Housing Temporary Exception to Tenant Recertification Requirements. Specifically, the Agency is waiving the recertification requirements for tenants whose household income, regardless of income type, has increased by more than $100 but less then $200. This is a temporary waiver that will be in place through calendar year 2023, expiring on December 31, 2023.

For background, on October 13, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced there would be a 8.7% increase in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits in 2023. According to SSA, the benefits will increase by an average of more than $140 per month starting in January. The regulation at 7 CFR 3560.152(e) requires that tenant households must be recertified and must execute a tenant certification form at least annually or whenever a change in household income of $100 or more per month occurs. This temporary waiver will alleviate the unnecessary work for management companies and tenants to recertify in response to the SSI benefits increase.

Please note, during the waiver period tenant households must still be recertified annually or whenever a change in household income of $200 or more per month occurs. Additionally, the requirement that borrowers must certify for changes of $50 per month, if the tenant requests that such a change be made, is still in effect.

We want to thank those CARH members who also reached out to us when it became apparent there could be an issue regarding the increase in SSI benefits. We also thank RD for responding so quickly to the industry concerns.

Please contact the CARH national office at carh@carh.org or 703-837-9001 should you have questions or concerns. For other news and information affecting the affordable rural housing industry, please visit the Newsroom on CARH’s website, www.carh.org.