Impact Evaluation of the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program v1 FY2022_NOFO.pdf

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Policy Development and Research

Impact Evaluation of the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program

FR-6600-N-83

07/28/2022

Table of Contents Summary

Overview

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Program Description

B. Authority

II. Award Information

A. Available Funds

B. Number of Awards

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information

D. Period of Performance

E. Type of Funding Instrument

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

B. Ineligible Applicants

C. Cost Sharing or Matching

D. Threshold Eligibility Requirements

E. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility

F. Program-Specific Requirements

G. Criteria for Beneficiaries

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Obtaining an Application Package

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

C. System for Award Management (SAM) and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number

D. Application Submission Dates and Times

E. Intergovernmental Review

F. Funding Restrictions

G. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

A. Review Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

B. Administrative, National and Department Policy Requirements and Terms for HUD Recipients Financial Assistance Awards

C. Reporting

D. Debriefing

VII. Agency Contact(s)

VIII. Other Information

APPENDIX

Program Office:

Policy Development and Research Funding Opportunity Title:

Impact Evaluation of the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program Funding Opportunity Number:

FR-6600-N-83

Assistance Listing Number:

14.536 Due Date for Applications:

07/28/2022 Summary The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Strategic Plan sets the direction and focus of our programs and staff to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality, affordable homes for all.

HUD's Strategic Goals HUD’s FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan lays out this administration’s strategy for ensuring everyone has an affordable, healthy place to live. Over the course of the next four years HUD will pursue two overarching priorities focused on increasing equity and improving customer experience across all HUD programs. Five strategic goals undergird the Plan as follows:

Strategic Goal 1: Support Underserved Communities Strategic Goal 2: Ensure Access to and Increase the Production of Affordable Housing Strategic Goal 3: Promote Homeownership Strategic Goal 4: Advance Sustainable Communities Strategic Goal 5: Strengthen HUD’s Internal Capacity

The five goals of the FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan present the core vision of what we hope to accomplish, the strategies to accomplish those objectives, and the indicators of success.

Overview The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issues this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to invite applications from eligible applicants for the program and purpose described within this NOFO. Prospective applicants should carefully read all instructions in all sections to avoid sending an incomplete or ineligible application. HUD funding is highly competitive. Failure to respond accurately to any submission requirement could result in an incomplete or noncompetitive proposal.

During the selection process HUD is prohibited from disclosing 1) information regarding any applicant’s relative standing, 2) the amount of assistance requested by an applicant, and 3) any information contained in the application. Prior to the application deadline, HUD may not disclose the identity of any applicant or the number of applicants that have applied for assistance.

For Further Information Regarding this NOFO: Please direct questions regarding the specific requirements of this NOFO to the office contact identified in Section VII.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement. The information collection requirements in this notice have been approved by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501- 3520). In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless the collection displays a valid OMB control number. Each NOFO will identify its applicable OMB control number unless its collection of information is excluded from these requirements under 5 CFR part 1320.

OMB Approval Number(s):

2528-0299

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION.

A. Program Description.

Purpose

Through this NOFO, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is announcing the availability of $2,000,000 for the research project titled "Impact Evaluation of the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program.” HUD expects to make approximately four awards from the funds available under this NOFO. The objective of the NOFO is to fund rigorous evaluations of the impact of ERA on housing stability outcomes. HUD’s primary outcome of interest is eviction, but applicants can propose other housing stability measures. The research funded under this NOFO will advance scientific knowledge and produce policy-relevant evidence on the impact of the ERA program on evictions and may inform the development of future approaches to helping families maintain housing stability and avoid eviction.1

Background Below is important information about the ERA program, recent evaluations of the ERA program, ERA data, and eviction and other potential housing instability outcomes.

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program Congress established the ERA program to provide emergency assistance for rental, utility, and other related expenses to households at risk of losing their rental units due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. A total of $46 billion was allocated through the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, enacted in December 2020 (ERA1) and the American Rescue Plan enacted in March 2021 (ERA2).

The funds were allocated to States (including the District of Columbia), U.S. Territories, Local Governments with more than 200,000 residents, and, in the case of ERA1, Tribes or their Tribally Designated Housing entities (TDHEs) and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) through a formula that considered the share of the population of eligible entities. The ERA2 allocation included a $2.5 billion set aside based on high needs. Initial ERA1 award funds will expire September 30, 2022, but ERA1 grantees that received reallocations of excess funds received an extension through December 29, 2022 to continue obligating reallocated funds.

ERA2 funds will expire September 30, 2025.

Although there are some small differences in ERA1 and ERA2 allowable uses, both allocations must be used for three primary purposes: direct financial assistance to households, housing https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-1320?toc=1 stability services, and administrative fees. ERA funds assist households that are experiencing a financial hardship, are at risk of housing instability, and meet certain income requirements.2 Combined ERA1 and ERA2 financial assistance to an eligible household is limited to 18 months.

The program requires states and localities to prioritize households below 50 percent of area median income (AMI) and those households with one or more members that have been unemployed for at least 90 days.

Treasury’s guidance prohibits the eviction of renters for nonpayment while ERA payments are being made on a renter’s behalf. Treasury also encourages grantees to require that landlords not evict tenants for 30 to 90 days longer than the period covered by the ERA as a condition of receiving payment.

State, local, and territorial ERA recipients are required to submit monthly and quarterly reports.

Tribes, TDHEs and DHHL are only required to submit partial Quarterly Reports (for example, Tribes, TDHEs and DHHL are not required to submit a Participant Household Payment Data File). ERA1 and ERA2 awards must be reported separately. For more information about the status of ERA implementation, see the monthly ERA spending data through March 31, 2022 and the quarterly data on the demographics of ERA recipients in 2021, or more recent reports.3

Recent evaluations of the ERA program There are several organizations conducting initial research on the ERA program.

Treasury and GSA’s Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES) conducted a series of rapid cycle evaluations to understand factors that affect program performance and to identify best practices in local program designs.4 Using reported data and interviews with grantees, Treasury identified program strategies that promise to speed up implementation, more efficiently deliver benefits, enhance program integrity, and improve access to programs, such as use of partnerships, simpler and user-friendly application processes, culturally competent outreach, intentional landlord engagement, partnership with eviction diversion programs, use of fact-specific proxies for eligibility, automation, collaboration with utility companies, and data-driven program strategies.

The Housing Initiative at Penn and the National Low Income Housing Coalition conducted a series of surveys of ERA administrators in April and July 2021 that identified program features affecting program spending.5 The study found that ERA administrators expected their program to serve a fraction of the applications it expects to receive. Programs with more flexibility that allowed, for example, categorical eligibility (participation in other means-tested programs), use of fact-specific proxy (geographic information, for example) for income, and self-attestation for at least one eligibility criteria had higher program expenditure rates. Surveyed programs that provided direct-to-tenant assistance had a higher program expenditure rate, but programs that added direct-to-tenant assistance later did not have better expenditure than programs that never provided direct-to-tenant assistance. Finally, partnering with non-profit organizations for some aspect of program implementation was associated with higher program expenditure rates.

The Connecticut Fair Housing Center conducted analysis of the eviction moratorium and ERA interventions and its effect on trends in eviction filings and executions in the state.6 It found that daily eviction filings were reduced from 54 before the eviction moratorium to 3 during the full moratorium. When a partial moratorium and the state ERA program were in effect, daily eviction filings climbed to 20, which is 63 percent below levels pre-moratorium. After the eviction moratorium ended but the state ERA program continued to operate, the daily eviction filings climbed to 28. The daily eviction executions follow a similar pattern. These results could indicate that the ERA program is having an effect on evictions, but without additional sites and a control, it is not possible to come to a definitive conclusion.

These early studies have been focusing primarily on program design features and program performance outcomes, such as the number of households served, the share of assistance that is meeting grantee’s goals, the expenditure rate, and the share of complete applications. Local studies have looked at housing stability outcomes, such as eviction, but results are anecdotal, and lack a counterfactual. Currently, there is no large and rigorous research that assesses ERA’s effect on housing stability, including eviction and homelessness.

ERA and HUD Administrative Data HUD is establishing a data sharing agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to receive ERA data. HUD will receive data collected from the following templates:

Participant Household Payment Data File (https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/ParticipantHouseholdPaymentData.xlsx)

Subrecipient Template (https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/subrecipientsERABulkUpload.xlsx)

Subaward Template (https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/subawardERABulkUpload.xlsx)

Subaward Expenditure Reporting Greater than $30,000 (https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/expenditureGT30000BulkUpload.xlsx)

Subaward Expenditure Reporting Less than $30,000 (https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/expenditureLT30000BulkUpload.xlsx)

Subaward Expenditure Reporting Less than $30,000 to Individuals (https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/paymentsIndividualsBulkUpload.xlsx)

ERA Programmatic Reporting (https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/demographicsBulkUpload.xlsx)

Performance Improvement Plans, as available.

The Participant Household Payment Data File contains individual level payment data for all households assisted by the ERA program. The file is the most granular reporting of the ERA program and includes: participant household physical address, type of payee, category of financial assistance provided, amount of payment, date of payment, and start and end date covered by the payment. The file does not include any other individual identifier, such as participant’s name, demographics, or social security number.

ERA grantees, with the exception of Tribes, DHHL, and TDHEs, are required to submit the Participant Household Payment Data File at the end of every calendar quarter. The file is submitted as an excel file, either as one file per quarter or as a single file with consolidated data for all quarters, with separate submissions for ERA1 and ERA2. As of March 11, 2022, Treasury received Participant Household Payment Data File from 329 of 405 ERA grantees required to https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/ParticipantHouseholdPaymentData.xlsx https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/subrecipientsERABulkUpload.xlsx https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/subawardERABulkUpload.xlsx https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/expenditureGT30000BulkUpload.xlsx https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/expenditureLT30000BulkUpload.xlsx https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/paymentsIndividualsBulkUpload.xlsx https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/demographicsBulkUpload.xlsx submit the data (81%), covering payments completed during calendar year 2021. There are about 2 million households with payment data in these files. Treasury has merged and cleaned the excel files and HUD expects to geocode addresses by September 2022. As new files are received at the end of each quarter, HUD will continue to receive and geocode addresses. See Appendix A for more detail about the current status of Participant Household Payment Data File submission by grantees.

Preliminary analysis of address data in the Participant Household Payment Data File suggests that the information is complete. In one file from one grantee, only 15 out of 21,109 records were missing address information. HUD and Treasury are still assessing the share of addresses that can be geocoded. When households (indicated by the same unit number at the same address) are repeated across different disbursements, their addresses appear to remain consistent across disbursements, such that payments can be tracked over time despite the lack of a clear household-level identifier. It is unclear if these findings will hold for all grantees and files submitted to Treasury. One additional area of potential issue is the duplication of addresses across grantees that cover overlapping jurisdictions.

Preliminary analysis of payment data in the participant household payment file suggests that information about payee type, amount of payment, and payment date are complete (based on the analysis of a single file from a single grantee).

Forms HUD-50058, HUD-50058 MTW, and HUD-50059 collect administrative data on HUD-assisted households. In addition, the Census Bureau Data Linkage Infrastructure includes HUD administrative data, which can be linked to other data sources using Person Identification Key (PIK) assignment and/or Master Address File identification number (MAFID).7 Data housed by the Census linkage infrastructure is only available via restricted access (Special Sworn Status), but includes federal data, state data, third party data, and locality data. The Census Bureau data includes the Household Pulse Survey (HPS), an experimental, longitudinal survey designed to quickly capture information about household social and economic experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other things, the HPS collects important information about housing circumstances, such as rent payment status and receipt of rental assistance through state or local governments.8 Starting in Week 34, the HPS asks renter respondents a series of questions about receipt of emergency rental assistance. It is important to note that Week 36 of the Census HPS was the first week to ask all renters about receipt of ERA. During Weeks 34-36, only renters who reported being behind on rent were asked this question.

Applicants should indicate if they plan to request and use ERA and/or any HUD administrative data in their proposals. Successful applicants to this solicitation will receive access to ERA or other HUD administrative data needed for the study through a Data Use Agreement (DUA).

Access to Census Household Pulse Survey or other Census data will require the applicant to have or request Census Special Sworn Status directly.

Eviction and Other Housing Instability Outcomes Eviction is broadly defined as the processes and means by which landlords remove tenants from their rental properties. It includes court-ordered evictions, extra-legal evictions, and evictions that result from administrative action by PHAs. Non-payment of rent is the most common cause https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/50058.PDF https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/DOC_10236.PDF https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/50059.pdf of evictions. Several analyses of large municipalities found that evictions were filed for relatively small amounts.9 The most recent comprehensive analysis indicates that 3.7 million evictions were filed in 2016, resulting in a quarter of those households being evicted.10 An analysis of evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic found that evictions were reduced by 65% from March 15 to December 31, 2020 when many eviction moratoria were active.11 Eviction filing rates increased in late 2020, still ending the year lower than typical pre-pandemic levels. Eviction filings increased relative to typical monthly averages as 2021 progressed, but ended the year more than one-third below normal levels.12

Evictions have widespread negative effects for households and communities. Households may experience job loss; homelessness or difficulty securing new housing; negative effects on physical and mental health; and education disruptions for children.13 Evictions can also exacerbate historical patterns of racial segregation and destabilize neighborhoods.

All fifty states and the District of Columbia have laws regulating residential evictions.14 The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) compiled a database of state and local eviction laws at the direction of Congress. Several analyses by LSC and Princeton’s Eviction Lab indicate that state and local eviction regulations affect the number of eviction filings by landlords.15 The cost to file an eviction in court varies drastically across the country, and research indicates that lower filing fees result in higher eviction filing rates. Similarly, fast eviction processes lower costs for landlords and give tenants less time to arrange legal aid or rental assistance.

One of the most common methods to measure evictions is utilizing municipal court records to track eviction filings and outcomes. Legal Services Corporation and the Eviction Lab have two of the most comprehensive accountings of evictions in the United States. However, variances in local court documentation and the lack of national reporting infrastructure lead to incomplete or fragmented data. Congress has begun exploring options to improve eviction data collection;

HUD published a report in 2021 examining existing measurement efforts and strategies to enhance national data collection.16 Extra-legal evictions are arguably more difficult to measure as they aren’t recorded in any official records except occasionally police reports. Legal or extra-legal evictions can also be captured through surveys.

Additional measures of housing instability could also be considered. Households experiencing housing instability may live in group quarters, overcrowded housing, or substandard housing either to prevent eviction or due to difficulty finding affordable housing. People who are experiencing homelessness or who have moved voluntarily to avoid eviction may not be reflected in eviction filings. Housing burden, or the percentage of household income spent on housing costs, is another important measure of housing stability. Census data and other survey data also captures information about neighborhood quality and local housing market conditions reflective of housing instability.17

Research Objectives and Priorities The objective of this NOFO is to fund research projects that can assess, with as much rigor as possible, the impact of ERA on housing stability outcomes, especially on evictions.

https://www.lsc.gov/initiatives/effect-state-local-laws-evictions/lsc-eviction-laws-database

In addition to assessing the impact of ERA on housing stability outcomes, the proposed projects may also seek to answer additional research questions, such as these ones:

1. To what extent did households who received ERA remain stably housed and for how long? To what extent did households who received ERA avoid a public eviction record?

Does ERA receipt and impact vary between federally-assisted and non-assisted households?

2. Were the impacts of ERA on outcomes equitable across racial/ethnic groups? Did ERA impacts and outcomes differ by household income? Did the impacts vary across other types of household composition, for example the presence of children, single-headed households, female-headed households? Did the impacts vary across different types of communities?

3. How did the federal, state, and local eviction moratoria and other eviction prevention laws and policy (e.g., right to counsel) affect ERA's impact on housing stability? How did state and local ERA program design features, such as providing rental assistance directly to tenants, affect the program's impact on housing stability? To what extent did ERA impact vary based on the amount of the allocation to grantees? To what extent did impact vary based on the robustness of the ERA implementation (e.g., adoption of Treasury’s best practices)? How did implementation and speed of assistance vary between grantees that had preexisting rental assistance programs and those that started programs after the receipt of ERA funds?

4. What was the impact of ERA on small landlords? Did ERA prevent or delay mortgage defaults? Did ERA prevent greater concentration of ownership of rental units post-

COVID?

5. How did ERA interact with other federal, state, and local rental assistance, receipt of economic impact payments, monthly advance child tax credit payments, and eviction diversion programs in promoting housing stability? To what extent did ERA benefit households not already participating in federal, state, and/or local rental assistance programs prior to March 2020?

6. What effect did the availability of ERA funds have on local rents?

HUD expects each research grant to address the overall research question on the impact of ERA on housing stability, but HUD does not expect each research grant to necessarily address the additional research questions in the preceding list. Furthermore, this list is not exhaustive; there may be other interesting and important questions to explore in conjunction with the impact study.

Applicants may propose their own specific research questions to meet the NOFO objectives.

Additional Research Considerations HUD intends to fund proposals that use rigorous methods to measure the impact of ERA on housing stability. The proposal should discuss how it plans to control for other factors that affect housing stability, such as federal and local eviction moratoria, differences in local eviction laws and policies, and other forms of rental assistance. The proposal may need to control for applicant bias (self-selection), regional rental costs, and household demographics. If the proposal takes advantage of the timing of ERA rental assistance payments in the Participant Household Payment dataset and uses an interrupted time series (ITS) study design, applicants must demonstrate that they have outcome data for the pre- and post-intervention period.

Proposals can be limited to a set of jurisdictions, but the applicant must demonstrate that the proposed jurisdictions are sufficient for a robust design, with sufficient data points to allow for robust statistical power, and for the establishment of a counterfactual. The study should describe the method and design specification for estimating the relevant counterfactual outcomes.

Applicants are expected to demonstrate that they have or will likely have access to eviction data or to any other housing stability measure included in the study. Applicants should discuss their experience using the proposed data and matching it to other data sources. Applicants should discuss any additional data sources that will be included in the study and the feasibility of obtaining the data. Applicants shall identify major methodological issues and data limitations and ways the study will address them.

HUD will not prescribe specific information collection approaches, protocols, or instruments.

Any information collection efforts conducted by a grantee to address the NOFO objectives will not be subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Eligible Activities Eligible activities include all research, regulatory, and project management activities that contribute to meeting the NOFO objectives and research needs at a high-quality level, and specifically to complete the funded research. Eligible activities include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

All research activities required to complete the funded research, from the articulation of research questions (including literature review) through the development of research design, data collection and analysis plans, to the analysis of data, and finally including the writing of publication-quality research reports and formal presentations and briefings on findings.

Regular communication with HUD staff on all project deliverables, as required by HUD’s substantial involvement under the cooperative agreement.

Consulting with experts on any aspect of the research as needed to bring expertise to enhance the research team’s knowledge in critical areas.

Project management activities, including required project management tools (Opening Meeting, Management and Work Plan and Budget, Quality Control Plan, and Quarterly Progress Reports) and regular communication with HUD staff for monitoring purposes.

Data acquisition costs.

Dissemination of research findings.

Project Deliverables HUD’s Cooperative Agreements require certain deliverables as part of the project management system, including the following: (1) Opening meeting with HUD; (2) a Management and Work Plan providing a detailed outline of specific tasks, a project timeline, staffing and management responsibilities, and the allocation of resources; (3) a Quality Control Plan that documents all necessary measures taken by the Awardee to assure that the quality of end products of service shall meet the requirements outlined in the Cooperative Agreement; and (4) Quarterly Progress Reports. Please note that the Management and Work Plan is the document that will govern HUD’s monitoring of project activities.

Project deliverables shall also include the following documents, each of which shall be approved by the Government Technical Representative assigned to the project:

1. Research Design, Data Collection and Analysis Plan (RD/DCAP): The Research Design will serve as a technical blueprint for all research activities undertaken to address the research objectives. The Data Collection and Analysis Plan will provide detail on the data sources, the types of analytic methods that will be used, and the schedule for accomplishing these tasks. The RD/DCAP must demonstrate how the analysis plan will address the research questions and hypotheses proposed.

2. Interim Report: The Interim Report will be released near the midpoint of the project and provide a summary of the project up to that point. The Interim Report should be considered an opportunity to evaluate the state of the project.

3. Draft and Final Report: The Final Report must summarize the work conducted over the course of the project, present the study objectives, data sources, analysis methods, and results. The Final Report is the key deliverable of the study and must serve as a stand-alone document that meets the overall objective of this project. The Final Report should be edited and prepared for publication in accordance with HUD’s Guidelines for Preparing a Report for Publication.

4. Briefings to HUD and Treasury: Awardees will be asked to provide briefings to HUD and Treasury near the midpoint of their project and after the Final Report is submitted.

5. Data Files. Awardees must submit individual or aggregate data files and documentation, including code and syntax, such that HUD or HUD contractors would be able to conduct a meta-analysis integrating the findings from different impact studies on ERA.

The Governmental Technical Representative (GTR) and other HUD and Treasury staff will work closely with grantees to define deliverables. Final work products shall be well-written and the final research report must be of publishable quality and shall conform to HUD’s formatting requirements. HUD intends to publish the final research report on HUD’s website, HUD USER, at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/home.html.

References 1 Source: Eviction Lab, National Estimates: Eviction in America, May 11, 2018, retrieved on 3- 7-2022 from: https://evictionlab.org/national-estimates/ 2 U.S. Department of the Treasury. Emergency Rental Assistance Frequently Asked Questions.

August 25, 2021. https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/ERA-FAQ-8-25-2021.pdf 3 U.S. Department of the Treasury. Emergency Rental Assistance Monthly Compliance Report:

January 1-31, 2022. https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/January-2022-ERA-Monthly- Data.xlsx ______. Emergency Rental Assistance Quarterly Demographic Data: Q1-Q4, 2021 https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Q1-Q4-2021-ERA-Demographic-Data.xlsx 4 https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/emergency-rental-assistance-program/promising-practices 5 Aiken, C., I. Harner, V. Reina, Housing Initiative at Penn, A. Aurand, R. Yae, National Low Income Housing Coalition. 2021. Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance Programs in 2021:

Preliminary Analysis of Program Features and Spending Performance. Research Brief.

December 2021.

6 Analysis presented at a NLIHC ERASE listening session on January 6, 2022. Analysis and results not published yet.

7 For Census Bureau restricted data, see: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces/data/restricted-use-data.html https://www.huduser.gov/portal/about/guidelines_and_brochures.html https://www.huduser.gov/portal/about/guidelines_and_brochures.html https://www.huduser.gov/portal/home.html https://evictionlab.org/national-estimates/ https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/ERA-FAQ-8-25-2021.pdf https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/January-2022-ERA-Monthly-Data.xlsx https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/January-2022-ERA-Monthly-Data.xlsx https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Q1-Q4-2021-ERA-Demographic-Data.xlsx https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/emergency-rental-assistance-program/promising-practices https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/emergency-rental-assistance-program/promising-practices https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces/data/restricted-use-data.html https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces/data/restricted-use-data.html

8 The Pulse Survey data are available at: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/data.html 9 Office of Policy Development & Research. Report to Congress on the Feasibility of Creating a National Evictions Database. November 16, 2021.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress- 2021.html 10 The Eviction Lab at Princeton University. National Estimates: Eviction in America. May 11, 2018. https://evictionlab.org/national-estimates/ 11 Hepburn, Peter, et al. “U.S. Eviction Filing Patterns in 2020.” Socius, Jan. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1177%2F23780231211009983 12 Hepburn, P., O. Jin, J. Fish, E. Lemmerman, A. Kat Alexander, M. Desmond. 2022, Eviction Lab Updates: Preliminary Analysis: Eviction Filing Patterns in 2021. https://evictionlab.org/us-eviction-filing-patterns-2021/.

13 Office of Policy Development & Research. Report to Congress on the Feasibility of Creating a National Evictions Database. November 16, 2021.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress- 2021.html 14 Legal Services Corporation. 2021. Eviction Laws Database: State/Territory Dataset. Prepared by the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law for Legal Services Corporation. Washington, DC.

15 Sarah Abdelhadi and Ranya Ahmed. 2021. Fast & Cheap: The speed and cost of evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent. Legal Services Corporation.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f644d5b4deb04a158f6929d928035af9 16 Office of Policy Development and Research. Report to Congress on the Feasibility of Creating a National Evictions Database. October 2021.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to- Congress-2021.pdf 17 The Urban Institute. Improving Measures of Housing Insecurity: A Path Forward. November 23, 2016. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/improving-measures-housing-insecurity-path-forward

Changes from Previous NOFO.

This is a new NOFO.

Definitions.

a. Standard Definitions

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination to overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunities, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. The duty to affirmatively further fair housing extends to all program participant’s activities and programs relating to housing and urban development.

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/data.html https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/data.html https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress-2021.html https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress-2021.html https://evictionlab.org/national-estimates/ https://doi.org/10.1177%2F23780231211009983 https://evictionlab.org/us-eviction-filing-patterns-2021/ https://evictionlab.org/us-eviction-filing-patterns-2021/ https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress-2021.html https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress-2021.html https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f644d5b4deb04a158f6929d928035af9 https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress-2021.pdf https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress-2021.pdf https://www.urban.org/research/publication/improving-measures-housing-insecurity-path-forward https://www.urban.org/research/publication/improving-measures-housing-insecurity-path-forward

Assistance Listing number refers to the publicly available listing of Federal assistance programs managed and administered by the General Services Administration, formerly known as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). Assistance Listing is a unique number assigned to identify a Federal Assistance Listings, formerly known as the CFDA

Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) is the person authorized to submit applications on behalf of the organization via Grants.gov. The AOR is authorized by the E-Biz point of contact in the System for Award Management. The AOR is listed in item 21 on the SF- 424.

Consolidated Plan is a document developed by states and local jurisdictions. This plan is completed by engaging in a participatory process to assess their affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions with funding from formula grant programs. (See 24 CFR part 91 for HUD’s requirements regarding the Consolidated Plan and related Action Plan).

Contract means, for the purpose of Federal financial assistance, a legal instrument by which a recipient or subrecipient purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a federal award. For additional information on contractor and subrecipient determinations, see 2 CFR 200.331.

Contractor means an entity that receives a contract as defined above and in 2 CFR 200.1.

Deficiency is information missing or omitted within a submitted application. Examples of deficiencies include missing documents, information on a form, or some other type of unsatisfied information requirement. Depending on specific criteria, deficiencies may be either Curable or Non-Curable.

Curable Deficiencies may be corrected by the applicant with timely action. To be curable the deficiency must:

Not be a threshold requirement, except for documentation of applicant eligibility;

Not influence how an applicant is ranked or scored versus other applicants; and Be remedied within the time frame specified in the notice of deficiency.

Non-Curable Deficiencies cannot be corrected by an applicant after the submission deadline.

Non-curable deficiencies are deficiencies that, if corrected, would change an applicant’s score or rank versus other applicants. Non-curable deficiencies may result in an application being marked ineligible, or otherwise adversely affect an application’s score and final determination.

Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fair treatment means that no population bears a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or from the execution of federal, state, and local laws; regulations; and policies. Meaningful involvement requires effective access to decision makers for all, and the ability in all communities to make informed decisions and take positive actions to produce environmental justice for themselves.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-A/part-91 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR031321e29ac5bbd/section-200.331 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200

DUNS Number is the nine-digit Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Number System identification number assigned to a business or organization by Dun & Bradstreet and provides a means of identifying business entities on a location-specific basis.

E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) A user registered as an organization applicant who is responsible for the administration and management of grant activities for his or her organization.

The E-Biz POC is likely to be an organization's chief financial officer or authorizing official. The E-Biz POC authorizes representatives of their organization to apply on behalf of the organization (see Standard AOR and Expanded AOR). There can only be one E-Biz POC per DUNS Number.

Eligibility requirements are mandatory requirements for an application to be eligible for funding.

Expanded Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) An AOR is a member of your organization authorized by the EBiz POC to submit applications in Grants.gov on behalf of the organization. An applicant user with the Expanded AOR role is authorized to submit any applications on behalf of the organization and has privileges that allow the user to modify organization-level settings in Grants.gov.

Federal Financial Assistance means assistance that entities received or administer in the form of:

1. Grants;

2. Cooperative agreements (which does not include a cooperative research and development agreement pursuant to the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986, as amended (15 U.S.C. 3710a)).

3. Loans;

4. Loan guarantees;

5. Subsidies;

6. Insurance;

7. Food commodities;

8. Direct appropriations;

9. Assessed and voluntary contributions; and

10. Any other financial assistance transaction that authorizes the non-Federal entity's expenditure of Federal funds.

11. Federal financial assistance does not include amounts received as reimbursement for services rendered to individuals as described in section 200.502(h) and (i). (2 CFR 200.1)

Federal award, has the meaning, depending on the context, in either paragraph (i) or (ii) of this definition:

1. (i) The Federal financial assistance that a recipient receives directly from a Federal awarding agency or a subrecipient receives indirectly from a pass-through entity, as described in 2 CFR §200.101; or

ii. The cost-reimbursement contract under the Federal Acquisition Regulations that a non- Federal entity receives directly from a federal awarding agency or indirectly from a pass- through entity, as described in 2 CFR §200.101.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-F/subject-group-ECFRfd0932e473d10ba/section-200.502 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 http://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200

2. The instrument setting forth the terms and conditions. The instrument is the grant agreement, cooperative agreement, other agreement for assistance covered in paragraph (2) of the definitions of Federal financial assistance in 2 CFR §200.1, and this NOFO, or the cost-reimbursement contract awarded under the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

3. Federal award does not include other contracts that a Federal agency uses to buy goods or services from a contractor or a contract to operate Federal Government owned, contractor operated facilities (GOCOs).

4. See also definitions of Federal financial assistance, grant agreement, and cooperative agreement in 2 CFR 200.1.

Grants.gov is the website serving as the Federal government’s central portal for searching and applying for Federal financial assistance throughout the Federal government. Registration on Grants.gov is required for submission of applications to prospective agencies unless otherwise specified in this NOFO.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as: “…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary of Education to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.” HBCUs offer all students, regardless of race, an opportunity to develop their skills and talents.

Non-Federal Entity (NFE) means a state, local government, Indian tribe, Institution of Higher Education (IHE), or non-profit organization that carries out a federal award as a recipient or subrecipient.

Point of Contact (POC) is the person who may be contacted with questions about the application submitted by the AOR. The POC is listed in item 8F on the SF-424.

Recipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that receives a federal award directly from HUD. The term recipient does not include subrecipients or individuals that are beneficiaries of the award.

Small business is defined as a privately-owned corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship that has fewer employees and less annual revenue than a corporation or regular-sized business.

The definition of “small”—in terms of being able to apply for government support and qualify for preferential tax policy—varies by country and industry. The U.S. Small Business Administration defines a small business according to a set of standards based on specific industries. See 13 CFR Part 121.

Standard Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) An AOR is a member of your organization authorized by the EBiz POC to submit applications in Grants.gov on behalf of the organization. An applicant user with the Standard AOR role can only submit applications when they are a Participant of that workspace.

Subaward means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-121?toc=1 federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract.

Subrecipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that receives a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a federal award but does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such award. A subrecipient may also be a recipient of other federal awards directly from a federal awarding agency.

System for Award Management (SAM) is the Federal Repository into which an entity must provide information required for the conduct of business as a recipient. Registration with SAM is required for submission of applications via Grants.gov. You can access the website at https://www.sam.gov/SAM/. There is no cost to use SAM.

Threshold Requirements are an eligibility requirement that must be met for an application to be reviewed. Threshold requirements are not curable, except for documentation of applicant eligibility and are listed in Section III.D Threshold Eligibility Requirements. Similarly, there are eligibility requirements under Section III.E, Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility.

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) means the identifier assigned by SAM to uniquely identify business entities.

Program Definitions.

Government Technical Representative (GTR): As defined by HUD, the individual who is responsible for the technical direction and evaluation of a successful applicant’s performance.

The GTR is responsible for review and approval of work plans, status reports, invoices, and products. GTRs serve as representatives of the Cooperative Agreement Officer who has responsibility for the management and fiscal oversight of the cooperative agreement awards.

B. Authority.

This program is authorized by Sections 501 and 502 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 (12 U.S.C. §1701z-1 and §1701z-2) and funding is provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103, approved March 15, 2022).

II. Award Information.

A. Available Funds Funding of approximately $2,000,000 is available through this NOFO.

Additional funds may become available for award under this NOFO. Use of these funds might be subject to statutory constraints or other requirements. All awards are subject to the funding restrictions contained in this NOFO.

B. Number of Awards.

HUD expects to make approximately 4 awards from the funds available under this NOFO.

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information Estimated Total Funding:

$2,000,000 Minimum Award Amount:

https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

$250,000 Per Project Period

Maximum Award Amount:

$1,000,000 Per Project Period

D. Period of Performance Estimated Project Start Date:

10/12/2022 Estimated Project End Date:

10/12/2024 Length of Project Periods:

24-month project period and budget period

Length of Periods Explanation of Other:

E. Type of Funding Instrument.

Funding Instrument Type:

CA (Cooperative Agreement) III. Eligibility Information.

A. Eligible Applicants.

00 (State governments)

01 (County governments)

02 (City or township governments)

04 (Special district governments)

06 (Public and State controlled institutions of higher education)

07 (Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized))

08 (Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities)

11 (Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments))

12 (Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education)

13 (Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education)

20 (Private institutions of higher education)

22 (For profit organizations other than small businesses)

23 (Small businesses)

Additional Information on Eligibility

B. Ineligible Applicants.

Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorship organizations are not eligible to compete for, or receive, awards made under this announcement.