HUD is thrilled to rollout of the expansion of the Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program with the publication of the final MTW Operations Notice and by inviting eligible PHAs to submit complete applications for the first two cohorts of the MTW expansion. To view the press announcement, click here. You can also view Secretary Carson's announcement of the rollout of the MTW Expansion.

HUD understands the importance of thinking outside the box, focusing on best practices and providing creative housing solutions for those serving the most vulnerable by allowing agencies to merge their funding streams and design creative policies. The most important lesson HUD has learned from MTW is that local agencies and their stakeholders are in the best position to assess the needs and challenges of their communities and rental markets. It is important that local leaders have the flexibility to utilize and leverage their strengths, resources and partnerships in a way that best serves their communities. MTW is key in moving away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to affordable housing and in allowing communities to effectively address the specific issues they face. The innovative and locally tailored policies adopted by current and future MTW Agencies will be a part of solving the challenges faced by PHAs, particularly through their ability to inform the Department about “what works” in housing.

The key principles for the expansion are to: simplify, learn, and apply. The vision for the MTW expansion is to learn from MTW interventions in order to improve the delivery of federally assisted housing and promote self-sufficiency for low-income families across the nation. In order to do this, HUD has developed a program delivery model that simplifies and streamlines HUD oversight and provides flexibility to high-performing PHAs in the delivery of housing services.

If you are interested in learning more about the MTW Demonstration Program, please visit the HUD MTW website.

MTW Expansion – Cohorts

Eligible PHAs interested in joining the MTW Demonstration Program can find everything they need to know by going to the webpages dedicated to each of the Expansion Cohorts listed below. These pages include applicable notices, webinars, and more.

• Cohort #1 - MTW Flexibility

In October 2018, PHAs were invited to submit letters of interest for Cohort 1, which will evaluate the overall impact of MTW flexibilities on PHAs will less than 1,000 units. On August 28, 2020, HUD invited 33 of the PHAs that submitted letters of interest to submit full applications. These eligible PHAs were selected through a geographic-based lottery and will be designated as MTW after going through a robust public process and submitting complete applications.

• Cohort #2 - Rent Reform

In March 2019, PHAs were invited to submit letters of interest for Cohort 2, which will study rent reform alternatives. On August 28, 2020, HUD published PIH Notice 2020-21 to invite 36 eligible PHAs that submitted letters of interest to work with their residents and communities to submit full applications. These applications will be competitively reviewed, and HUD estimates that 10 PHAs will be selected.

• Cohort #3 - Work requirements

HUD anticipates publishing the Selection Notice for Cohort 3 in January 2021. Please check back for more details.

• Cohort #4 - Landlord Incentives

HUD anticipates publishing the Selection Notice for Cohort 4 in January 2021. Please check back for more details.

• Cohort #5 - MTW Flexibility

HUD anticipates publishing the Selection Notice for Cohort 5 in Fall 2021. Please check back for more details.

Expansion Timeline - Updated September 2020

HUD’s anticipated timeline for the expansion is as follows. Additional cohorts of MTW PHAs will be added, based on the advice of the advisory committee, through 2022.

MTW Operations Notice

The Operations Notice for the Expansion of the Moving to Work Demonstration Program (MTW Operations Notice) establishes requirements for the implementation and continued operation of the MTW demonstration program pursuant to the 2016 MTW Expansion Statute. The official version of the MTW Operations Notice is found in the Federal Register, Docket No. FR 5994-N-05, and can be accessed here. For ease of review, HUD has reformatted the official version of the MTW Operations Notice from the Federal Register into two files, Sections I-V and Section VI.

A companion piece to the MTW Operations Notice is the MTW Expansion On-line Manual and interactive training which describes concepts such as MTW funding flexibilities, waivers and more, plus a “How To” get started as an MTW agency.

You can view the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the MTW Operations Notice here. These FAQs should assist agencies with questions they may have about the MTW Operations Notice.

MTW Amendment to the Annual Contributions Contract

The MTW Amendment to the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) has been amended for the PHA’s designation as an MTW agency. The amendment sets the term of participation, details the requirements and covenants for a PHA to follow in the MTW Operations Notice and the PHA's respective Selection Notice, which will detail cohort study obligations; and outlines the possibility of a transition out of the demonstration. The amendment also contains HUD’s recourse provisions in the case of a PHA’s default.

MTW Supplement to the PHA Plan – for MTW Expansion PHAs

On December 11, 2020, the MTW Supplement to the PHA Plan (MTW Supplement) was published in the Federal Register for a 30-day comment period. This publication incorporates feedback from comments received during the 60-day comment period, which was published on October 9, 2018. The MTW Supplement describes the reporting requirements for MTW Expansion PHAs and will be submitted once per year as part of the standard PHA Plan process. MTW Expansion PHAs will indicate the MTW activities they intend to implement from the list of MTW Waivers provided in the MTW Operations Notice. In response to stakeholder feedback, HUD has attempted to simplify and streamline the reporting process, eliminate the standard metrics, and provide the same level of flexibilities through the MTW Waivers, Agency-Specific Waivers, and Safe Harbor Waivers. We welcome any comments that you may have, which must be submitted per the instructions in the Federal Register notice, by January 11, 2021.

HUD-50058 MTW Expansion

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the HUD-50058 MTW Expansion. The HUD-50058 MTW Expansion will be used by MTW Expansion PHAs to submit tenant-level data to HUD in PIC-NG, since certain MTW flexibilities preclude MTW PHAs from being able to submit tenant-level data on the HUD-50058. This new form is a derivative of the HUD-50058 and HUD-50058 MTW. The HUD-50058 MTW Expansion form was developed so that HUD will be able to collect the information that will be needed to evaluate each of the MTW expansion PHAs and cohorts, as required by Congress.

2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act

In Section 239 of the 2016 Appropriations Act, Congress authorized HUD to expand the MTW Demonstration Program by 100 additional agencies over seven years. Each cohort will experiment with a specific policy change, which HUD determined based on the advice of the Research Advisory Committee. This Committee consists of MTW agencies and residents, expert researchers, and HUD staff. HUD will evaluate and learn from these MTW expansion agencies to identify successful MTW innovations to improve the future delivery of federally assisted low-income and affordable housing.

Selection Requirements Required by Statute

Of the 100 PHAs selected under the expanded MTW demonstration:

• No less than 50 PHAs shall administer 1,000 or fewer aggregate voucher and public housing units;
• No less than 47 PHAs shall administer 1,001-6,000 aggregate voucher and public housing units;
• No more than 3 PHAs shall administer 6,001-27,000 aggregate voucher and public housing units;
• No PHA shall be granted this designation if it administers in excess of 27,000 aggregate voucher and public housing units;
• Five of the PHAs selected shall be agencies with a Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) portfolio award that converts a PHA’s entire public housing inventory to RAD

One or more adjacent PHAs may be designated as a regional MTW PHA, and HUD is determining the parameters for a regional MTW PHA designation.