(a) Purpose. The purpose of the Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) is to improve the delivery of services in public housing and enhance trust in the public housing system among public housing agencies (PHAs), public housing residents, and the general public, by providing a management tool for effectively and fairly measuring the performance of a PHA in essential housing operations of projects, on a program-wide basis and individual project basis, and providing rewards for high performers and remedial requirements for poor performers.

(b) Scope. PHAS is a strategic measure of the essential housing operations of projects and PHAs. PHAS does not evaluate the compliance of a project or PHA with every HUD-wide or program-specific requirement or objective. Although not specifically evaluated through PHAS, PHAs are responsible for complying with nondiscrimination and equal opportunity requirements, including but not limited to those specified in 24 CFR 5.105, for affirmatively furthering fair housing, requirements under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), and requirements of other federal programs under which the PHA is receiving assistance. A PHA's adherence to these requirements will be monitored in accordance with the applicable program regulations and the PHA's Annual Contributions Contract (ACC).

(c) PHAS indicators. HUD will assess and score the performance of projects and PHAs based on the indicators, which are more fully addressed in § 902.9: Physical condition, financial condition, management operations, and the Capital Fund program.

(d) Assessment tools. HUD will make use of uniform and objective criteria for the physical inspection of projects and PHAs and the financial assessment of projects and PHAs, and will use data from appropriate agency data systems to assess management operations. For the Capital Fund program indicator, HUD will use information provided in the electronic Line of Credit Control System (eLOCCS), the Public Housing Information Center (PIC), or their successor systems. On the basis of this data, HUD will assess and score the results, advise PHAs of their scores, and identify low-scoring and poor-performing projects and PHAs so that these projects and PHAs will receive the appropriate attention and assistance.

(e) Small PHAs. A PHA with fewer than 250 units that does not convert to asset management will be considered as one project by HUD.

(f) HUD's scoring procedures will be published from time to time in the Federal Register for public comment.

Link to an amendment published at 88 FR 30500, May 11, 2023.

As used in this part:

Act means the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.)

Alternative management entity (AME) is a receiver, private contractor, private manager, or any other entity that is under contract with a PHA, under a management agreement with a PHA, or that is otherwise duly appointed or contracted (for example, by court order or agency action), to manage all or part of a PHA's operations.

Assessed fiscal year is the PHA fiscal year that has been/is being assessed under PHAS.

Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.

Capital Fund-troubled refers to a PHA that does not meet the minimum passing score of 5 points or 50 percent under the Capital Fund indicator.

Corrective Action Plan means a plan, as provided in § 902.73(a), that is developed by a PHA that specifies the actions to be taken, including timetables, that shall be required to correct deficiencies identified under any of the PHAS indicators and subindicators, and identified as a result of a PHAS assessment, when a memorandum of agreement (MOA) is not required.

Days mean calendar days, unless otherwise specified.

Decent, safe, sanitary housing and in good repair (DSS/GR) is HUD's standard for acceptable basic housing conditions and the level to which a PHA is required to maintain its public housing.

Deficiency means any finding or determination that requires corrective action, or any score below 60 percent of the available points for the physical condition, financial condition, or management operations indicators, and any score below 50 percent for the Capital Fund indicator. In the context of physical condition and physical inspection in subpart B of this part, “deficiency” means a specific problem, as described in the Dictionary of Deficiency Definitions, such as a hole in a wall or a damaged refrigerator in the kitchen that can be recorded for inspectable items.

Dictionary of Deficiency Definitions means the documents published in the Federal Register that contain the inspection standards and scoring values pursuant to 24 CFR part 5, subpart G.

Direct Funded RMC (DF-RMC) means a Resident Management Corporation to which HUD directly provides operating and capital assistance under the provisions of 24 CFR 964.225(h).

Inspectable areas (or area) mean any of the three major components of public housing that are inspected, which are: inside, outside, and unit.

Inspectable item means the individual parts, such as walls, kitchens, bathrooms, and other things, to be inspected in an inspectable area.

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is defined in § 902.75(b).

Resident Management Corporation (RMC) is defined in 24 CFR 964.7.

Unit-weighted average means the average of the PHA's individual indicator scores, weighted by the number of units in each project, divided by the total number of units in all of the projects of the PHA. In order to compute a unit-weighted average, an individual project score for a particular indicator is multiplied by the number of units in each project to determine a “weighted value.” For example, for a PHA with two projects, one with 200 units and a score of 90, and the other with 100 units and a score of 60, the unit-weighted average score for the indicator would be (200 × 90 + 100 × 60)/300 = 80.

[76 FR 10149, Feb. 23, 2011, as amended at 88 FR 30500, May 11, 2023]

(a) PHAs, RMCs, AMEs. This part applies to PHAs, Resident Management Corporations (RMCs), and AMEs. This part is also applicable to RMCs that receive direct funding from HUD in accordance with section 20 of the 1937 Act (DF-RMCs).

(1) Scoring of RMCs and AMEs. (i) RMCs and DF-RMCs will be assessed and issued their own numeric scores under PHAS based on the public housing or portions of public housing that they manage and the responsibilities they assume that can be scored under PHAS. References in this part to PHAs include RMCs, unless stated otherwise. References in this part to RMCs include DF-RMCs, unless stated otherwise.

(ii) AMEs are not issued PHAS scores. The performance of the AME contributes to the PHAS score of the project(s)/PHA(s) for which they assumed management responsibilities.

(2) ACC. The ACC makes a PHA legally responsible for all public housing operations, except where DF-RMC assumes management operations.

(i) Because the PHA and not the RMC or AME is ultimately responsible to HUD under the ACC, the PHAS score of a PHA will be based on all of the projects covered by the ACC, including those with management operations assumed by an RMC or AME (including a court-ordered or administrative receivership agreement, if applicable).

(ii) A PHA's PHAS score will not be based on projects managed by a DF-RMC.

(3) This part does not apply to Moving-to-Work (MTW) agencies that are specifically exempted in their grant agreement.

(b) Implementation of PHAS. The regulations in this part are applicable to PHAs beginning with the first fiscal year end date after the effective date of this rule, and thereafter.

(a) Indicators and subindicators. Each PHA will receive an overall PHAS score, rounded to the nearest whole number, based on the four indicators: Physical condition, financial condition, management operations, and the Capital Fund program. Each of these indicators contains subindicators, and the scores for the subindicators are used to determine a single score for each of these PHAS indicators. Individual project scores are used to determine a single score for the physical condition, financial condition, and management operations indicators. The Capital Fund program indicator score is entity-wide.

(b) Overall PHAS score and indicators. The overall PHAS score is derived from a weighted average of score values for the four indicators, as follows:

(1) The physical condition indicator is weighted 40 percent (40 points) of the overall PHAS score. The score for this indicator is obtained as indicated in subpart B of this part.

(2) The financial condition indicator is weighted 25 percent (25 points) of the overall PHAS score. The score for this indicator is obtained as indicated in subpart C of this part.

(3) The management operations indicator is weighted 25 percent (25 points) of the overall PHAS score. The score for this indicator is obtained as indicated in subpart D of this part.

(4) The Capital Fund program indicator is weighted 10 percent (10 points) of the overall PHAS score for all Capital Fund program grants for which fund balances remain during the assessed fiscal year. The score for this indicator is obtained as indicated in subpart E of this part.

All PHAs that receive a PHAS assessment shall receive a performance designation. The performance designation is based on the overall PHAS score and the four indicator scores, as set forth below.

(a) High performer. (1) A PHA that achieves a score of at least 60 percent of the points available under the financial condition, physical condition, and management operations indicators and at least 50 percent of the points available under the Capital Fund indicator, and achieves an overall PHAS score of 90 percent or greater of the total available points under PHAS shall be designated a high performer. A PHA shall not be designated a high performer if it scores below the threshold established for any indicator.

(2) High performers will be afforded incentives that include relief from reporting and other requirements, as described in § 902.71.

(b) Standard performer. (1) A PHA that is not a high performer shall be designated a standard performer if the PHA achieves an overall PHAS score of at least 60 percent, and at least 60 percent of the available points for the physical condition, financial condition, and management operations indicators, and at least 50 percent of the available points for the Capital Fund indicator.

(2) At HUD's discretion, a standard performer may be required by the field office to submit and operate under a Corrective Action Plan.

(c) Substandard performer. A PHA shall be designated a substandard performer if the PHA achieves a total PHAS score of at least 60 percent and achieves a score of less than 60 percent under one or more of the physical condition, financial condition, or management operations indicators. The PHA shall be designated as substandard physical, substandard financial, or substandard management, respectively. The HUD office with jurisdiction over the PHA shall require a Corrective Action Plan if the deficiencies have not already been addressed in a current Corrective Action Plan.

(d) Troubled performer. (1) A PHA that achieves an overall PHAS score of less than 60 percent shall be designated as a troubled performer.

(2) In accordance with section 6(j)(2)(A)(i) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1437d(j)(2)(A)(i)), a PHA that receives less than 50 percent under the Capital Fund program indicator under subpart E of this part will be designated as a troubled performer and subject to the sanctions provided in section 6(j)(4) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1437(d)(j)(4)).

The frequency of a PHA's PHAS assessments is determined by the size of the PHA's Low-Rent program and its PHAS designation. HUD may, due to unforeseen circumstances or other cause as determined by HUD, extend the time between assessments by direct notice to the PHA and relevant resident organization or resident management entity, and any other general notice that HUD deems appropriate.

(a) Small PHAs. HUD will assess and score the performance of a PHA with fewer than 250 public housing units, as follows:

(1) A small PHA that is a high performer may receive a PHAS assessment every 3 years;

(2) A small PHA that is a standard or substandard performer may receive a PHAS assessment every other year; and

(3) All other small PHAs may receive a PHAS assessment every year, including a PHA that is designated as troubled or Capital Fund-troubled in accordance with § 902.75.

(b) Frequency of scoring for PHAs with 250 units or more. (1) All PHAs, other than stated in paragraph (a) of this section, may be assessed on an annual basis.

(2) The physical condition score for each project will determine the frequency of inspections of each project in accordance with the inspection cycle laid out in 24 CFR 5.705(c). The PHAS physical condition indicator score for an assessment period shall be calculated by taking the unit-weighted average of the most recent physical condition score for each project, except that, starting July 1, 2023, no new physical condition indicator will be issued for a PHA until every project under the PHA has been inspected on or after July 1, 2023.

(3) If a PHA is designated as a troubled performer, all projects will receive a physical condition inspection regardless of the individual project physical condition score.

(4) In the baseline year, every PHA will receive an overall PHAS score and in all four of the PHAS indicators: Physical condition; financial condition; management operations; and Capital Fund program. This will allow a baseline for the physical condition inspections and the 3-2-1 inspection schedule, as well as a baseline year for the small deregulated PHAs.

(c) Financial submissions. HUD shall not issue a PHAS score for the unaudited and audited financial information in the years that a PHA is not being assessed under PHAS. Although HUD shall not issue a PHAS score under such circumstances, a PHA shall comply with the requirements for submission of annual unaudited and audited financial statements in accordance with subpart C of this part and 24 CFR 5.801.

[76 FR 10149, Feb. 23, 2011, as amended at 88 FR 30500, May 11, 2023]