HACM reports fewer late recertifications but hits high failure rate after HUD INSPIRE rollout
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Summary
HACM and contracted HCV staff said late recertifications fell to under 1,300 from more than 2,000, and that PBV reconciliation recovered roughly $260,000 in owed payments. Staff warned that the Oct. 1 switch to HUD's INSPIRE inspection standard produced a 53.47% failure rate and asked landlords to act on safety items such as GFCI outlets and bedroom smoke detectors.
HACM staff and CDR Associates told commissioners Feb. 18 that the housing authority has made measurable progress on HCV recertifications but faces a large operational challenge following a change to HUD’s INSPIRE inspection standards.
Tracy Sheffield of CDR Associates said HACM’s late recertification backlog fell from over 2,000 last fall to under 1,300 as staff implemented RentCafe workflows and stepped up coordination with property managers. Sheffield cautioned that confusion remains for some project‑based voucher tenants, who must complete both property and HACM recertifications.
On project‑based vouchers, staff said a multi‑month reconciliation in 2025 identified families who were physically in units but not in the system; HACM paid just over $260,000 in retroactive housing assistance payments to affected landlords and tenants and is close to completing the remaining ~15 cases.
But Sheffield said the agency’s move to HUD’s INSPIRE inspection standard (effective Oct. 1) resulted in a sharp rise in failed inspections. Citing the report in the board packet, staff said 53.47% of inspections failed and 8.48% did not show either a property manager or tenant. Common emergency fails included missing GFCI outlets at water sources and missing bedroom smoke detectors — both items that require 24‑hour correction and reinspection under HUD rules. Nonemergency fails require reinspection within roughly 28 days.
Commissioners pressed staff on communication and enforcement: HACM has been sending checklists, holding landlord information sessions and is considering robocalls and reminder emails to reduce failures. Staff described enforcement steps for landlord‑caused deficiencies: abatement of housing assistance payments the first full month after the cure period and possible cancellation of HAP contracts after 90 days if repairs are not made, at which point tenants would receive vouchers to move.
The board also discussed resident communications and call handling tied to RentCafe: staff added two call‑center representatives and established remote processing support to reduce backlog, and agreed to revise RentCafe messaging so 'complete' indicates the workflow is 'submitted and pending review.' Commissioners requested a communications plan and weekly metrics showing response times and aging of open items.
Next steps: Staff will provide updated dashboards on recertification progress, PBV reconciliation status and a plan to reduce INSPIRE fails, plus a requested data report on landlord payments and any abated amounts.