{"id":6177,"date":"2023-07-07T23:19:23","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T23:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/?post_type=blog_post&#038;p=6177"},"modified":"2023-07-08T02:32:35","modified_gmt":"2023-07-08T02:32:35","slug":"july-nspire-reac-newsletter-part-2-hud-publishes-final-notice-nspire-scoring","status":"publish","type":"blog_post","link":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/blog-post\/july-nspire-reac-newsletter-part-2-hud-publishes-final-notice-nspire-scoring\/","title":{"rendered":"July NSPIRE\/REAC Newsletter Part 2: HUD Publishes Final Notice \u2013  NSPIRE Scoring"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><u>ANNOUNCEMENTS<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Last Webinar at special discounted pricing!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u2018NSPIRE: What We Know So Far!\u2019 a 3-hour <u>live<\/u> webinar training. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Thursday, July 20<sup>th<\/sup> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>9 am \u2013 12 pm PST (12 pm \u2013 3 pm EST) <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Register here: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/hud-pre-reac-inspections\/hudreacwebinars\/\"><strong>NSPIRE Training &#8211; hosted by C4N6<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In this July (Part 2) 2023 issue of our HUD-REAC\/UPCS\/NSPIRE Monthly Newsletter, I will be going over the <u>BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS<\/u> and a few serious concerns with the published NSPIRE Scoring notice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>All the Final NSPIRE Documents:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>NSPIRE Final Rule &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/public-inspection.federalregister.gov\/2023-09693.pdf\">NSPIRE Overall Final Rule<\/a> (222 pages)<\/p>\n<p>NSPIRE Final Rule \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hud.gov\/sites\/dfiles\/PIH\/documents\/6086-N-05%20NSPIRE%20Standards%20Notice%206-8-23.pdf\">NSPIRE Final Rule &#8211; Standards<\/a> (35 pages)<\/p>\n<p>NSPIRE Final Rule \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hud.gov\/sites\/dfiles\/PIH\/documents\/6092-N-05nspire_final_standards.pdf\">NSPIRE &#8211; 3.0 Inspection Standards<\/a> (295 pages) or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hud.gov\/program_offices\/public_indian_housing\/reac\/nspire\/standards\">NSPIRE Standards &#8211; HUDs Site<\/a><\/p>\n<p>NSPIRE Final Rule \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hud.gov\/sites\/dfiles\/OCHCO\/documents\/2023-16pihn.pdf\">NSPIRE &#8211; Administrative Procedures<\/a> (18 pages)<\/p>\n<p>NSPIRE Final Rule &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/public-inspection.federalregister.gov\/2023-14362.pdf?utm_campaign=pi+subscription+mailing+list&amp;utm_source=federalregister.gov&amp;utm_medium=email\">NSPIRE &#8211; Scoring Notice<\/a> (27 pages)<\/p>\n<p><strong>The <u>GOOD<\/u> News:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Duplicate deficiencies will NOT be scored! <\/strong>You heard me right, \u201cHUD will continue citing a deficiency multiple times in all inspectable areas, but will deduct points ONCE per inspected Unit, Inside and Outside areas, respectively.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>My only concern here is they specifically mentioned only 5 deficiencies (blocked egress, damaged doors, damaged walls, sharp edges, and infestation) \u2013 I am hoping this is <u>not<\/u> an all-inclusive list because I can think of a lot more that should be on that list!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Letter grading has been REMOVED<\/strong> from the final Scoring notice! Although they might change their mind in the future, Grades A through F are gone and only the 0-100 score will be issued.<\/li>\n<li>NSPIRE inspection scores will be included in future PHAS (Public Housing Assessment System) scores <strong>once every public housing AMP (Asset Management Project) has been inspected under the final NSPIRE standards.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Only the buildings that contain a sample unit are to be inspected.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Smoke alarms will NOT be scored<\/strong> \u2013 the asterisk (*) will continued to be used after the score to denote identified smoke detector defects. For example \u2013 a score of 85* &#8211; you will be inspected in 2 years and have at least 1 smoke alarm deficiency.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Carbon Monoxide alarms will NOT be scored<\/strong> \u2013 the symbol will be a plus (+) sign. So you could have a score that looks like this: 85*+ (you will be inspected in 2 years and have at least 1 smoke AND carbon monoxide alarm deficiencies).<\/li>\n<li>This one is <strong>Good, Bad, AND Weird<\/strong>: \u201cHUD understands that it may take properties\u2019 ownership and management some time to comply with new affirmative requirements, hence, <strong>HUD will <u>NOT<\/u> score new affirmative requirements<\/strong>, which are defined as those standards that were expressly <u>NOT<\/u> in the UPCS <u>or in any way covered<\/u> by those standards, in at least the first 12 months of NSPIRE inspections.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">GOOD<\/span><\/strong> HUD tacks on <u>ALL<\/u> deficiencies under <strong>Fire Doors<\/strong> also <strong>will not be scored<\/strong> since many of the deficiencies are new\u2026even though it is <u>NOT<\/u> listed as an affirmative requirement.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WEIRD<\/span> HUD lists only 5 Affirmative Requirements<\/strong>: <strong>GFCI<\/strong> (not within 6 feet of water source), <strong>Guardrail<\/strong> (All defects\u2026although only Deficiency 1 is an Affirmative Standard), <strong>HVAC<\/strong> (Deficiencies 1, 2, 7 and 9), <strong>Interior Lighting <\/strong>(Deficiency #3), <strong>and the 5<sup>th<\/sup> one must be for HCV units only, \u201cAt least 2 working outlets or 1 working outlet and 1 permanently installed light fixture in each room.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>BAD<\/strong><\/span> The full list of Affirmative Requirements can be found here: <a href=\"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Affirmative-Habitability-Requirements.pdf\">Affirmative Habitability Requirements<\/a> \u2026looks like <strong><u>they missed mentioning 9 Affirmative Requirements<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">BAD<\/span> This does not take into account another approx. 40 brand new NSPIRE deficiencies never seen in UPCS! Will those also not be scored?!<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>New requirements that are not scored will be flagged on the inspection report with a caret (^) symbol.<\/li>\n<li>For at least the initial year, HUD will provide a \u201cpotential score\u201d if the new requirements were scored and the \u201cofficial score\u201d on the inspection report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The <u>BAD<\/u> News:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Although NOT included in the Final Scoring Notice as it was supposed to be, this is important enough to say again\u2026<strong>Infestation, Mold-Like Substance and Potential Lead Based Paint Hazards will be <u>SCORED<\/u> at the Life-Threatening level point deduction\u2026despite being defined in the Severe H&amp;S category! <\/strong>See page 33 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hud.gov\/sites\/dfiles\/PIH\/documents\/6086-N-05%20NSPIRE%20Standards%20Notice%206-8-23.pdf\">NSPIRE Final Rule &#8211; June <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Additionally, if cockroaches, bedbugs, or mice are observed in 2 Units\u2026the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> Unit AND <u>ALL SUBESEQUENT UNITS<\/u> with those infestations will be cited at the \u201cExtensive\u201d (Severe) deficiency level. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hud.gov\/sites\/dfiles\/PIH\/documents\/NSPIRE-Standard-Infestation_20230620.pdf\">NSPIRE Standard &#8211; Infestation (hud.gov)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Calculated scores will be rounded to the nearest whole number with one exception: For properties that score between 59.5 and 60, <strong>the score will be rounded DOWN to 59<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Per page 20, \u201cInspection scores are considered when determining whether a potential or existing HUD Multifamily business stakeholder may expand its involvement in HUD housing.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The <u>WEIRD<\/u> News: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Call-For-Aids (emergency call buttons\/strings)<\/strong> \u2013 this one <u>could<\/u> be good news and I almost listed it there\u2026but ultimately it is just too confusing. Here are the rules, page 20:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cSome items, such as call-for aid systems may be present in units but <strong><u>not<\/u> currently used<\/strong> <strong>by the building management<\/strong> and have been modified or damaged by the tenant or their cat and will not be scored.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Then it goes to LIST Call-for-Aids in the non-scoring section!<\/li>\n<li>However, it then states, \u201cOtherwise, call-for-aid systems that <strong>are in use by the building management<\/strong> will continue to be scored.\u201d This statement is on page 20 AND page 21\u2026although the second one looks to be a duplication\/error.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>On pages 5 and 14, HUD insists that 1 unit cannot fail an inspection. I fully agree that many people misunderstood that the \u201c30 points or more in Units\u201d meant 30 <u>SIZE-ADJUSTED<\/u> points (you had to <em>divide<\/em> the <em>defect points<\/em> in Units by <em>how many Units were inspected<\/em>!\u00a0 That being said, if each Life-Threatening defect equals 2 points, then 1 or 2 \u201cbad\u201d units with a total of 15 LT defects between them would, in essence, fail the inspection.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>HUD emphasizes in this section that the Unit Threshold of Performance applies to <u>ALL<\/u> the inspected units in a property collectively. I\u2019m not sure HUD is understanding our concern\u2026. but time will tell.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>On page 7, the Notice states, \u201cSome UPCS standards, such as <strong>overgrown vegetation<\/strong>, <strong>erosion<\/strong>, and graffiti are no longer <strong>standards<\/strong>.\u201d There are a few things wrong with this sentence:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Overgrown Vegetation and Erosion were never Standards.<\/li>\n<li>Overgrown Vegetation was <u>never<\/u> even a deficiency under NSPIRE (except if blocking a sidewalk)<\/li>\n<li><u>Erosion is still a deficiency<\/u> located under Site Drainage Standard.<\/li>\n<li>Graffiti was a Standard and is definitely gone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>Also on page 7, \u201cThe inspection will also <strong>include at least 2 non-dwelling area spaces<\/strong>, with a priority on spaces that residents can access or will spend time in, <strong><u>in addition to <\/u>those common areas within a building that includes sampled units. <\/strong>For example, residents are more likely to spend time in a community room as compared to a basement storage area or the management office.\u201d Per page 8, <strong>\u201cFurther, not all non-dwelling or other Inside areas will be inspected.\u201d <\/strong>Per page 24, \u201c<strong>Further, HUD is limiting the number of non-dwelling spaces inspected to those where residents spend more time<\/strong>.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the first I have heard of this, and I have absolutely no idea what any of it means or how it can be implemented \u2013 perhaps the future NSPIRE LMS training will provide insight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cheat-sheet Scoring Method<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Find out how many Units at your property will be inspected by referring to this chart:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6178\" src=\"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c1.png 520w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c1-406x433.png 406w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c1-325x346.png 325w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Divide EACH of the values in the table below by the number of Units that will be inspected (If you have 100 units at your property, 25 will be inspected).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6179\" src=\"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1114\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c2.png 1114w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c2-650x222.png 650w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c2-325x111.png 325w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c2-768x262.png 768w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c2-600x205.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1114px) 100vw, 1114px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>Your chart will look like this (remember to adjust the numbers per the Sample Size Chart in #1) \u2013 use it every time the inspector calls out a deficiency so you will know EXACTLY how many points you just lost!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6180\" src=\"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1215\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c3.png 1215w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c3-650x265.png 650w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c3-325x133.png 325w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c3-768x314.png 768w, https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/c3-600x245.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1215px) 100vw, 1215px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANNOUNCEMENTS Last Webinar at special discounted pricing! \u2018NSPIRE: What We Know So Far!\u2019 a 3-hour live webinar training. Thursday, July 20th \u00a0 9 am \u2013 12 pm PST (12 pm \u2013 3 pm EST) Register here: NSPIRE Training &#8211; hosted by C4N6 &nbsp; In this July (Part 2) 2023 issue of our HUD-REAC\/UPCS\/NSPIRE Monthly Newsletter, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"blog-category":[130],"class_list":["post-6177","blog_post","type-blog_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog-category-hud-assist"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_post\/6177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog_post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6177"},{"taxonomy":"blog-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4n6.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-category?post=6177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}