Rising Utility Costs and the Impact on

Residents of Multifamily Housing Programs

The U.S. Department of Energy forecasts a three-year high in 2022 for average residential utility costs across the U.S. that may affect families who pay for some or all of their household’s utility bills.

Who is affected by rising utility costs? 
Rapidly rising utility costs, especially for heat, may impact residents of Multifamily-assisted properties who are responsible for paying for some or all the household’s utility bills.

What should owners/agents do? 
Owners of Multifamily-assisted properties for which HUD provides a utility allowance are reminded they are required to adjust their properties’ utility allowances every year at the time of the annual and special adjustments of contract rents.

HUD's Office of Multifamily Housing has developed a flyer with helpful resources for owners and agents of multifamily properties to maintain compliance with HUD’s utility allowance calculation requirements and to improve energy efficiency.

Click here to learn more.

Special Claims Tips

As a reminder, please review some of the more common issues with Special Claims submissions:

• Make sure all signature and date lines are complete.
• Ensure that the “Ready for Occupancy Date” is the day after work was completed on the unit.
• Ensure the contract rent listed on the Special Claims form is the same as contract rent listed on the move-out certification.
• Ensure that the relevant certifications (move-outs and move-ins) have been submitted to TRACS prior to submitting the claim.
• To appeal a denied or reduced claim, send a brief explanation of why the claim should be paid along with supporting documentation to Karen Slavin via email at kslavin@rihousing.com within 30 days from the date of the denial letter.

National Fair Housing Training Academy Event Calendar

Through March 2023

The National Fair Housing Academy has released its event calendar of instructor led courses and forums through March 2023. Here are several upcoming trainings:

The full training schedule and registration can be found on HUD Exchange.

See the links below for additional Training Resources:

• NCSHA
• RBDNOW
• NEAHMA
• NCHM
• IREM

Releases & Reminders

• Fiscal Year 2023 Utility Allowance Factors can be found here.

• Fiscal year 2023 Fair Market Rents can be found here.

• The 2023 Social Security COLA can be found here.
• The 2023 OCAFs can be found here.
• HUD's updated 9250 form for reserve requests can be found here.
• Section 8 Contract Administration Program Forms & Manuals can be found here.
• RIHousing has several open positions – learn more here.

We'd love to hear from you!

To provide suggestions for information you would you like to see in future Property Matters E-News, please email Karen Slavin at kslavin@rihousing.com.