The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued a proposed rule for the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE).
This new approach incorporates extensive stakeholder input to redesign the methods HUD uses to ensure properties are in a safe, decent, and sanitary condition.
“Despite us learning more as a society about the consequences of health and housing, the way HUD evaluates housing quality has basically remained unchanged for over 20 years,” then-HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a news release. “NSPIRE brings much needed updates to our programs and provides consistency to the families we serve. Families in HUD programs shouldn’t have to worry about the safety or healthiness of their home depending on the program that’s providing the assistance.”
To establish the new inspection approach, HUD assembled a team of researchers, scientists, academics, inspectors, analysts and HUD professionals with decades of affordable housing inspection experience. By drawing on this experience, NSPIRE, as implemented by the new rule, will significantly enhance HUD’s ability to focus on affordable housing properties that are not meeting quality expectations, the agency said.
NSPIRE’s approach improves processes directly impacting U.S.-assisted, and affordable housing resources to provide decent, safe, and habitable homes for millions of transitioning and low-income families.
The NSPIRE rule would strengthen HUD’s affordable housing oversight by identifying substandard housing, streamlining the current array of regulations, and reducing historically complex affordable housing procedures, HUD said.
Small and rural housing providers, for example, face unique challenges. As part of the overall set of regulatory changes being proposed in the NSPIRE rule, HUD would implement regulatory relief for small, rural housing providers to reduce unnecessary burdens and costs.
“Small and rural providers manage incredibly difficult processes, and this rule will allow them to see specific measurable changes to aid in improving effectiveness of inspections while reducing the operational burdens to manage these important processes,” Secretary of Public and Indian Housing General Deputy Assistant Secretary Dominique Blom said.
NSPIRE components will fuse data and information from many sources to determine areas to reduce risk and provides that information to decision makers and stakeholders so that they can take timely action to improve the conditions of the properties.
The NSPIRE rule introduces an innovative and robust framework to ensure NSPIRE remains responsive to changes in the housing industry, stakeholder needs, and advances in technology. The provisions in the rule lay out regular and repeated input from stakeholders, including technical experts, leading to updates at least once every three years —including opportunities for public comments.
HUD seeks public comment on all aspects of the proposed rule.
To be considered, comments should be submitted in accordance with guidance published in the Federal Register notice. It is open to comments until March 15.