Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Program for Single-Room Occupancy Dwellings for Homeless Individuals Fact Sheet

This fact sheet provides an overview of important information related to the Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) Program. For more detailed guidance, please select Additional Information.

Purpose
Beneficiaries
Eligible Applicants
Grant Size and Duration
Eligible Activities
Requirements and Responsibilities
Availability
Schedule/Process
Additional Information

Purpose

The Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Program provides rental assistance in connection with the moderate rehabilitation of residential properties that, when renovations are completed, will contain upgraded single occupancy units for individuals who are homeless. As a result, it is designed to move people into the permanent housing phase within the Continuum of Care.

Beneficiaries

The SRO Program assists unaccompanied homeless persons.

Eligible Applicants

Public housing agencies (PHAs) and private nonprofit organizations are eligible for the SRO Program. Nonprofit organizations, however, must subcontract with a PHA to administer the rental assistance.

Terms of Grants

Grantees administer rental assistance — which compensates building owners for some rehabilitation-related costs — for a period of 10 years. A maximum of 100 units can be rehabilitated via any one SRO-funded project.

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Eligible Activities

Eligible activities are restricted to rental assistance attached to the rehabilitated building.

Certain properties are strictly ineligible for the SRO Program, including: (1) Units receiving Federal funding for rental assistance or operating costs from other HUD programs; (2) Nursing homes; (3) Penal, reformatory, medical, or mental health institutions; and (4) Owner-occupied units.

Moreover, applicants may not amortize rehabilitation costs associated with luxury items (e.g., swimming pools), contingency fees, and owner labor (e.g., direct work or supervision).

Requirements and Responsibilities

Each unit must receive a minimum amount of rehabilitation, including the prorated share of materials and labor costs needed to bring the common areas or systems up to physical conditions standards.

After the Annual Contributions Contract is in place, the property owner has 12 months to complete the rehabilitation.

An owner may not terminate leases except for: serious and repeated violations of the terms and conditions of the lease; violations of applicable Federal, State, or local laws; or other just causes.

Availability

Grants under the SRO Program are awarded through a national competition held annually. A notice of funding availability, published in the Federal Register, establishes submission dates for applications. SRO projects should be submitted through the community Continuum of Care system.

Schedule/Process

Applicants passing the initial review and selection process will be required to submit additional information regarding financial resources and rehabilitation costs, as well as an administrative plan, which must describe procedures for establishing tenant outreach, a HUD-approved policy governing temporary relocation, and a mechanism to monitor the provision of supportive services.

All relevant submission deadlines are outlined in the notice of funding availability, available online at www.grants.gov.

Additional Information

For more detailed information about the SRO Program, please visit the following sources:

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