Legislative Update

CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR DEADLINE

HUD to require carbon monoxide detectors by the end of 2022.

By STEPHANIE GRAVES, HAA Legislative Chair, with BRADLEY PEPPER, Vice President of Government Affairs

AS WE HAVE previously noted, earlier this year HUD announced that all federally assisted units must be equipped with carbon monoxide detection systems no later than December 27, 2022. This requirement applies to units covered under Public Housing (PH), Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Project Based Voucher (PBV), Project Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly (Section 202) and Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Section 811).

This new federal requirement comes after the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The Act set aside funds to assist in keeping Americans safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. A portion of those funds will be dedicated to landlord and tenant outreach and education about the dangers of carbon monoxide.

According to the National Center for Housing Management, public housing agencies and authorities may use their Operating Funds or Capital Funds to purchase and install carbon monoxide detectors. Owners of properties with units subsidized by either Project-Based or Tenant-Based Vouchers are responsible for covering the expense on their own. Projects covered under a Project-Based Rental Assistance contract or under the Section 202 or 811 programs can use their reserves for replacement, residual receipts, general operating reserves, owner contributions, or choose to seek secondary financing to fund the installation project.

The notice emphasizes the importance owners, agents, landlords and other public housing officials must place on properly installing and maintaining carbon monoxideproducing fixtures. A flyer on resident education is forthcoming, and additional materials will continue to be made available on HUD’s website for free.

Harris County Adopting New Pool Permit Fees

Starting on January 1, 2023, Harris County will institute new pool permit fees for pools at multifamily properties in unincorporated Harris County.

For new pools and for properties with a change of ownership, management will be required to go through the plan review and inspection process and pay for an annual permit. Existing pools and properties without ownership changes will receive the annual permitting inspection and pay the permit fee each year. If a pool fails the permitting inspection, a reinspection will occur and the applicable fees will apply.

When initially approached by Harris County, the proposed annual permit fee was $150. After several meetings and discussions, HAA was successful in getting the county to reduce that fee to $125. The fee for new pools and change of ownership will be also be $125.

While this is a new fee designed to cover the cost of service, it is of note that it is lower than the city of Houston plan review/inspection/ permit fees which can range from $180 to $200.

Still Time to Vote

If you are reading this before November 8, there is still time to vote! If you are reading it before November 4, there is even time left to Early Vote!

With rising crime rates and property taxes, this election is critical for our industry and will see us elect nearly every state office from Governor to State Representative, as well as every member of our Congressional delegation. In addition, and of particular interest to us, we will vote on all Judges of County Commissioners Court, including Harris County, County Commissioners for Precincts 2 and 4, criminal and civil court Judges and Justices of the Peace.

We encourage you to vote all the way down ballot. Most voters are generally educated about who is running at the top of the ticket, whether that’s for president, members of Congress or the Senate or the Governor.

But for our industry, the important races start in the middle of your ballot at the earliest. Some of you will see ballots upwards of 10 pages long, meaning that to get to these important races for County Judge or Commissioner or County Civil Court Judge or Justice of the Peace, you will need to go to page five in some cases.

The HAA PAC has interviewed and endorsed candidates that are pro-housing and industry and have a list of those candidates and elected officials. If you need any information on voting, please reach out to Bradley Pepper at bpepper@haaonline.org.

These down ballot races can directly influence your everyday life and your business. We all know how important our Justices of the Peace are in conducting trials fairly and efficiently, but we also need judges on those last pages of the ballot that will uphold the law and help reduce crime.

If you have a regulatory problem or question, call the HAA main line at 713-595-0300 and ask for Government Affairs. If a particular code requirement or issue concerns you, let us know by emailing Bradley at bpepper@haaonline.org.