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THDA adopts emergency rule to align Housing Choice Voucher program with HUD HOTMA and NSPIRE
Summary
Tennessee Housing Development Agency presented an emergency rule to revise its Housing Choice Voucher administrative plan to comply with HUD's HOTMA and transition inspections to NSPIRE; officials said the changes mirror federal requirements and are necessary to avoid noncompliance that could interrupt federal assistance.
The Tennessee Housing Development Agency filed an emergency rule to update its Housing Choice Voucher administrative plan so the state can meet mandatory federal requirements from HUD.
"This emergency rule is strictly to implement mandatory HUD requirements and allows THDA to proceed with permanent rule making while remaining compliant during the interim," said Jabaria Scott, director of rental assistance at Tennessee Housing.
Scott and Charity Williams, assistant chief legal counsel at THDA, told the committee the revisions respond to HOTMA (Housing Opportunities through Modernization Act) with a primary compliance deadline of 07/01/2025 and also move forward with NSPIRE inspection standards even though HUD extended its compliance date for NSPIRE to 02/01/2027. Scott listed substantive changes including updates to income and asset definitions, revisions to income inclusions and exclusions, updated deductions and allowances, verification and consent forms, recertification procedures, and codification of the sunset for the Earned Income Disallowance consistent with federal timelines.
Committee members asked for specifics on income changes and verification practices. Scott said the federal requirements add or clarify medical deductions and childcare supports, and that the rule mirrors the federal statutory and regulatory text. Representative Hardaway asked if the changes could help specific groups of workers facing housing instability; Williams responded the rule applies to the voucher program broadly and THDA will refer individual situation concerns back to the board for review.
With no public comments, the Senate motion (Senator Rose moved; Senator Oliver seconded) passed on a Senate roll call and the rule moved out of the Senate with a positive recommendation.
Next steps: THDA will proceed with permanent rulemaking to implement the emergency changes while preserving continuity of federal housing assistance.
