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HUDBlast April 3, 2006 The TRACS Discussion Forum Has Moved. |
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The following information was posted on the TRACS/Announcements web page at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/trx/announcements.pdf.
The TRACS Discussion Forum is moving to a new platform. HUD’s “Let’s Talk” Discussions allow people across the country to talk in one of HUD’s online forums. The facility was created to allow interested people to talk with others about national or local public policies as it pertains to HUD’s business. There are two types of forums: those that require a password and those that are open or un-moderated.
The new TRACS Discussion Forum, which will be a part of the “Let’s Talk” Discussions, is a password forum with a moderator ready to interject or respond to issues and questions when necessary. The intent of this new forum has not changed. This new TRACS Discussion Forum is designed to facilitate communications between the industry and TRACS.
The new TRACS Discussion Forum is ready for immediate use. As of April 3, the old TRACS Discussion Forum will no longer be available. Unfortunately, because of the differences in technology, postings from the old TRACS Discussion Forum cannot be transferred to the new discussion forum. If there is some information that you wish to retain, either print the needed information or download the information to a personal medium.
If there are any issues or questions pertaining to the new forum, please email them to
To access the new TRACS Discussion forum: As in the past, click on the Discussion Forum link on the TRACS main page at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/trx/trxsum.cfm. The HUD’s Discussion Group main page lists a variety of existing HUD system forums. To access the TRACS forum, cursor down the discussion forum list and click on the Discussion Forum link. The HUD’s Discussion Group user registration login screen should appear.
At the HUD's Discussion Groups user registration page for: a. First Time User
q Enter your full name and current E-mail address q Enter a Username and password of your choosing and click on “OK”.
Note: There’s no limitation on formatting or number of characters for your password.
q Confirm your password by entering it again. q At the HUD’s Discussion Groups screen for TRACS, re-enter your user name and password and click on “OK”. q You are now at the TRACS Discussion Forum main page.
b. Already Registered User
q Click on the Login page link. q Enter your Username and password and click on “OK”. q You are now at the TRACS Discussion Forum main page.
Compliance Percentage Increases to 90%Don’t forget!! On April 1, the Minimum Tenant Compliance Percentage increased from 85% to 90%. All vouchers (even vouchers for previous months) must meet the 90% compliance requirement before payment will be approved through LOCCS. The current compliance percentage is included on the VSP10 message (Voucher has been conditionally accepted by HUD for payment) received when vouchers are submitted through TRACS. If you do not know the compliance percentage for your property, access TRACS through Secure System and check. If you do not have access to TRACS, ask your property coordinator to provide access or check with the Multi-family Help Desk. HUD Releases Final Rule Clarifying Resident Rent for Properties Accepting Section 8 Project Based Vouchers and Tax CreditsOn March 29, 2006, HUD issued Notice PIH 2006-16 which clarifies the issues on rents for Tax Credits properties accepting Section 8 project-based vouchers. The rule applies only to units assisted under the Project-based voucher program. On November 14, 2005, the HUD final rule for Project-based vouchers became effective. The final rule states that Project-based voucher rents in Tax Credits properties could not exceed tax credit rents. This is a change from what HUD permitted in PIH Notice 2002-22 and a change from the proposed rule. Previously, HUD permitted the Section 8 Project-based voucher rents in Tax Credits projects to be the applicable Section 8 rent even if such Section 8 rent was higher than the LIHTC rent limits. Properties outside of a LIHTC Qualified Census Tract where the Tax Credit rents were above the Section 8 rent, the rents for the Section 8 units could be set at the LIHTC rent. PIH 2006-16 states that the final Project-based voucher rule will not be applied retroactively and continues the applicability of the Notices for projects selected by a PHA before November 14, 2005 for Project based vouchers. For units under the project-based voucher program for which a PHA issued a written notice of owner selection prior to November 14, 2005, and to which LIHTCs have also been allocated, Notice PIH 2002-22, as extended by Notice 2005-20 and any subsequent extension notices, continues to apply in determining the rent amount for such units. For units under the project-based voucher program for which a PHA issued a written notice of owner selection on or after November 14, 2005, and to which LIHTCs have also been allocated, Notice PIH 2002-22, as extended by Notice 2005-20, does not apply to such units. Rents for units under this paragraph must be calculated in accordance with the final rule published on October 13, 2005 in its entirety. The notice can be found on the HUDclips web site at: New Information on MedicareThe Department of Health and Human Services recently sent
HUD an email with the following information: CMS will begin mailing letters to approximately 1.2 million people who are enrolled in other federal assistance programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicare Savings Programs, as well as beneficiaries who have applied for and been approved for the extra help. The letters let the beneficiary know in which Medicare prescription drug plan they will be enrolled by CMS if they take no action before April 30. Unless they enroll on their own during March, these beneficiaries will have their prescription drug coverage begin on May 1. CMS is enrolling these beneficiaries earlier to make sure that they receive the benefit of the extra help immediately, and without having to pay a penalty. These beneficiaries can still decline the enrollment before it becomes effective. All of the plans that qualify for the automatic enrollment must meet Medicare's standards for access to medically necessary drugs at a convenient local pharmacy. Beneficiaries also have the option to change plans if they are unhappy with the plan into which CMS facilitated them. The letters make it clear to beneficiaries that they can choose a different approved plan in their area. The facilitated enrollment letter will list all the prescription drug plans available in their region with premiums at or below the low-income premium subsidy amount. It also recommends calling 1-800-MEDICARE to find out more about these plans. Fact sheets with more information about facilitated enrollment and copies of the facilitated enrollment letters will be available on-line at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=1806. RHIIP ListservRBD encourages all industry stakeholders to sign-up for the
RHIIP Listserv (made available by HUD’s Rental Housing Integrity Improvement
Project) to receive current RHIIP related information from HUD
http://www.hud.gov/subscribe/mailinglist.cfm |
