Section F: Important Dates

In this section...

Track important dates and implementation milestones using the Grant Life & Milestones Worksheet in Supportive Housing Program Self-Monitoring Tools.

In implementing an SHP project, the grantee or project sponsor must comply with certain requirements at specific times. Some of these requirements are specified in the McKinney-Vento Act and SHP program regulations; others are specified in the NOFA and grant agreement. Critical dates are outlined below.

Critical Project Milestone Timeframe
SuperNOFA Application Deadline set by HUD Annually. The local CoC will have an earlier deadline for local prioritization purposes.
Conditional Award Letter Following official funding announcements by HUD, the selectee (conditionally awarded grantee) will be notified of conditional award and will be provided technical submission forms required for the second phase of the application process (if needed).
Technical Submission Due within one month of the date received from local HUD field office for new projects only, and for renewals with changes. Selectee sets milestones during the technical submission process. Significant delay from these milestones may result in deobligation of funds. HUD will enter into a grant agreement with the selectee once the Technical Submission is completed and approved.
Environmental Review No grantee or project sponsor is permitted to enter into a contract or otherwise commit HUD or local funds for acquisition, rehabilitation, leasing (except scattered-site tenant-based rental assistance), conversion, repair, or construction of the property to provide housing or supportive services prior to completion of the environmental review process and approval by the HUD Field Office CPD Director.
Site Control Required within one year of conditional award letter. This is a statutory requirement and cannot be extended.
Grant Agreement Effective Date Date the grant agreement is executed by HUD. Costs cannot be incurred prior to this date without prior written approval from HUD.
Project Sponsor Effective Date Date that the written agreement between the grantee and the project sponsor is executed by both parties.
Operating Start Date For new grants, the first day of the month in which the grantee or sponsor begins incurring eligible costs. The date is set by the grantee at the time of first draw down. For renewals, the operating start date is the day after the end of the previous grant term.
Operating Year 12-month period beginning on the Operating Start Date.
Annual Progress Report Due within 90 days of the completion of the operating year for years in which the grantee received SHP funds (see HUD-40118).
Timeliness of Spending SHP funds are expected to be drawn down using the LOCCS financial system no earlier or later than needed to pay for eligible SHP costs. The payment standards in CFR Parts 84 and 85 require that the period between expenditure and reimbursement must be minimized as much as possible.
Term of Commitment If SHP funds are used for acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction, grantees must operate the project in the assisted structure for 20 years from the operating start date, or the grantee must repay HUD the amount of assistance received. See 423(b) of the McKinney Act and 24 CFR 583.305.
Expenditure Requirement Annual Appropriations Acts require HUD to obligate all CoC homeless assistance funds within a certain time period. For the 2006 Continuum of Care Homeless, HUD must obligate all CoC funds by September 30, 2022 and grantees must expend the funds within five years of that date. If grantees have not expended the funds by then, the funds lapse and are no longer available. (Since this requirement changes annually, grantees should carefully review NOFAs for future deadlines.)

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Conditional Award Letter

After HUD reviews, rates and selects applicants for a grant award, it notifies selectees by sending the conditional award letter. The letter indicates selection as a conditionally awarded grantee starts the clock for the site control requirement. A selectee has one year from the date of the letter to demonstrate site control, if applicable (see Section H Site Control and Environmental Review). If site control is not achieved within one year from the date of this award letter, HUD is mandated by law to cancel the offer of an SHP grant. See the regulations at 24 CFR 583.320 or Section G Conditional Approval & Program Cycle and Section H Site Control & Environmental Review for more guidance.

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Technical Submission

The second and final phase of the application, referred to as the technical submission, occurs after selectees receive their conditional award letters and is due no later than one month from the date of the local HUD Field Office‘s request. Selectees with new projects and renewals with changes may submit technical submission exhibits as they complete them; however, the entire submission must be submitted by the deadline (with no extenuating circumstances) or the conditional award will not move forward to grant agreement.

For projects involving site control, the selectee should submit a completed technical submission indicating the current status of obtaining site control if it has not been obtained by submission of the technical submission. The selectee should submit revised exhibits as the project’s status changes, documenting final site control no later than one year from the date on the conditional award letter.

The selectee also sets other milestones within the technical submission. Delays in achieving these milestones may result in the award being withdrawn. HUD will enter into a grant agreement with the selectee once the technical submission is completed and approved.

More details on the technical submission process and guidance on completing the technical submission are found in Section G Conditional Approval & Program Cycle.

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Environmental Review & Site Control

Two important components of the technical submission phase are environmental review and obtaining site control. Both of these components apply to selectees that requested funding for acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction.

An environmental review must be conducted for projects requesting acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction funding. Prior to choosing a site, applicants may want to check with their local HUD field office representative for a list of the most common problems that have been identified in previous environmental reviews. This could help avoid choosing a site that might be rejected later during the technical submission process because of a problem found during the environmental review of that site.

Site control is another important part of the technical submission phase. For all grantees who are awarded SHP funding for acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction, site control must be demonstrated within 12 months of the initial notification of the conditional award. By law, failure to obtain site control within one year will result in the deobligation of all SHP funds. Site control is not required for leased housing that eventually will be controlled by homeless families or individuals, where grant funds will be used solely to provide services at a site not operated by the project sponsor, or where grant funds will be used only to lease a structure or building.

More detail on conducting environmental reviews and obtaining site control is found in Section H Site Control & Environmental Review.

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Grant Agreement Effective Date

The grant agreement effective date is the date that the grant agreement is executed by HUD. The technical submission (if needed), environmental review and site control requirement must be completed before HUD will execute a grant agreement with a selectee.

For renewals and new projects without funds for acquisition, construction or rehabilitation, the grant is effective upon execution by both parties. The term of the grant will be the number of years worth of operating, supportive service and leasing funds it seeks. For new projects that ask for funds for acquisition, construction or rehabilitation, the effective date of the grant is the date the Field Office CPD Director signs the grant agreement. The term of the grant will be the time the NOFA allows grantees to complete construction and begin operating the project (in the FY 2006 NOFA it was 39 months) PLUS the number of years worth of operating, supportive service and leasing funds awarded.

The term of the grant varies – typically 2 to 3 years. Annual SuperNOFAs announce the number of years’ worth of funds for operating, supportive services and leasing costs that applicants can request. For example, the 2006 NOFA announced that the terms for new SHP projects would be 2 or 3 years (see page 12060) and renewals would be for 1, 2 or 3 years (see page 12061). In their applications, applicants specify the number of years’ worth of operating, supportive service and leasing funds they seek.

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Operating Start Date

The operating start date indicates when the project started to serve homeless persons, establishes the clock for submission of annual reports and establishes the end date of the grant’s term. For new grants without funds for acquisition, construction or rehabilitation, the operating start date is the first day of the month in which the grantee or project sponsor begins incurring eligible operating, supportive service, or leasing costs.

The operating year is the 12-month period beginning on the operating start date.

For new projects with funds for acquisition construction or rehabilitation, the operating start date will be the earlier of:

  1. the first day of the month following completion of acquisition, construction or rehabilitation activities; or
  2. the date the NOFA established as the deadline to begin operating the project (in 2006, it was 39 months after the effective date of the grant).

For renewal projects, the operating start date and the grant term begin the day after the end of the previous grant term. In some instances this is before the effective date of the grant agreement. There is language in the renewal grant agreement that allows projects to incur costs after the start date but prior to the effective date of the grant.

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Technical Submission Milestones

The NOFA and regulations contain timeliness standards for SHP projects. Grantees submit project milestones as part of their technical submission, and these milestones are incorporated into the grant agreement.

HUD compares a grantee's application milestones with actual progress and with information submitted in APRs and Logic Models. Deficiencies regarding milestones could result in corrective measures or cancellation of the grant.

If a grantee or project sponsor feels that its project is not achieving its milestones, it may contact the local field office for technical assistance. This contact will enable HUD staff to provide technical assistance or recommend ways to rectify any delays and document the fact that the grantee or sponsor is attempting to correct any deficiency.

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Annual Progress Report

The Annual Progress Report is due within 90 days of the completion of the operating year for all years in which the grantee received SHP funds to support program activities. More information on APRs is found in Section N Annual Progress Reports.

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Timeliness of Spending Grant Funds

Grantees should draw funds no more than three days before needing to pay an invoice, salaries, etc. Grantees should reimburse themselves no more than 3 days after expenditures.

Since SHP funds are intended for immediate use to assist people experiencing homelessness, it is necessary for projects to stay on schedule. In addition to the development milestones, grantees are expected to make timely draws from their LOCCS project accounts - draws that are neither too early nor too late.

Grantees make draws too early when they draw down SHP funds in advance of needing to pay for project-related expenses. US Treasury rules require grantees to repay any interest gained on holding grant funds in an interest bearing account. The rule is that grantees should draw funds no more than three days before needing to pay project-related expenses.

Grantees make draws too late when they do not submit for reimbursement within a reasonable period of time, such that LOCCS reflects a relatively up-to-date accounting of program expenditures and remaining grant funds. Grantees are encouraged to make LOCCS draws on a minimum of a monthly basis or as funds are expended.

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Term of Commitment for Acquisition, Rehabilitation and New Construction Projects

By law, projects which receive SHP funds for acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction must operate the project in the assisted structure for 20 years (see section 423(c) of the McKinney-Vento Act). The 20-year period begins on the operating start date and ends 20 years later.

During the 20-year period, the requirements of the SHP program are in effect. For example, participants living in an assisted structure cannot be required to pay resident rent in excess of 30 percent of their adjusted income, 10 percent of their monthly income, or their welfare rent. The SHP regulations apply even when the project is not receiving SHP renewal funds.

The law also prescribes procedures when an assisted structure is not used for 20 years. If the structure is used for fewer than 10 years, the grantee is required to repay all of the acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction costs originally paid for with SHP grant funds. For each full year the assisted structure is used beyond the 10 years, the grantee's repayment is reduced by 10 percent (see Section D Eligible Activities for more guidance on this topic). The project sponsor, if there is one, must repay the grantee because the grantee is ultimately responsible to repay the amount to HUD even if it did not collect from its project sponsor. The grantee is responsible for any repayment of grant funds and should include a Term of Commitment clause in all project sponsors' contracts. The use restriction and repayment requirements are found in the McKinney-Vento Act at sections 423(b) and (c), and 42 U.S.C. 11383(b) and (c) . Also see the regulations at 24 CFR 583.305 for more information.

If the assisted structure is sold or otherwise disposed of within the 20-year period, HUD may prescribe terms or conditions that prevent the grantee from unduly benefiting. More information on the 20-year use requirement is found in Section D Eligible Activities.

Beginning in 2007, projects that received SHP funds for only acquisition, new construction or rehabilitation and are still operating during the required period of use must now complete and submit an APR on June 30th of each year until the 20-year use requirement is completed.

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Section F: Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can an applicant who received rehabilitation funds start operating before all rehabilitation funds are drawn?

    Yes, the applicant may start operating, but must submit a Certificate of Occupancy to its local HUD Field Office.

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