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OMB Control No: 2528-0339	ICR Reference No: 202401-2528-003
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202204-2528-001
Agency/Subagency: HUD/PD&R	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration Evaluation
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 08/21/2024
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 07/03/2024
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	08/31/2027	36 Months From Approved	09/30/2025
Responses	48,230	0	48,110
Time Burden (Hours)	7,606	0	7,426
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Abstract: Section 239 of the Fiscal Year 2016 Appropriations Act, P.L. 114-113 (2016 MTW Expansion Statute), authorizes HUD to expand the Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration program from the current size of 39 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to an additional 100 agencies over a period of 7 years. The Statute directs HUD to add new MTW PHAs in cohorts, with each cohort testing a specific policy change so that HUD can conduct a rigorous evaluation of that policy’s effects. A copy of the relevant section of law authorizing the Department to undertake “such programs of research, studies, testing, and demonstration relating to the mission and programs of the Department” (12 USC 1701z-1 et seq.) is included as Appendix H. The second cohort of MTW Expansion PHAs will test alternative ways of setting rents in the public housing and housing choice voucher programs. The traditional rent policy (the Brooke rent) typically sets each household’s rent at 30 percent of their adjusted monthly income. This rent policy is administratively complex and burdensome for PHAs and assisted households. The Brooke rent is hypothesized to be a disincentive for households to increase their earnings, as $100 dollars of increased income would result in $30 of increased rent. In this project—the Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration (STRD)—PHAs will implement alternative rents that might be easier to administer and might incentivize assisted households to increase their earnings. Five PHAs will implement a stepped rent, under which a household’s rent will increase modestly each year regardless of their income. Five PHAs will implement a tiered rent, under which households are assigned to income-based tiers and rents are set based on the tier. Both policies will enable households to increase their income without causing an immediate rent increase. Both policies include hardship provisions to prevent high rent burdens. And both policies include less frequent income reexaminations, to reduce the amount of PHA staff time required to administer the program. The STRD will be implemented as a randomized controlled trial (RCT); eligible households (limited to non-elderly, non-disabled households) will be randomly assigned to the new rent policy, or to remain on the traditional rent policy. This design is the gold standard for program evaluation and will enable HUD to conclude whether the new rent policies caused any differences observed between the two groups over time. HUD’s evaluation is expected to last 6 years. HUD has contracted with MDRC to carry out the first phase of HUD’s evaluation, to launch the STRD and lay the foundation for a long-term evaluation. HUD has also allocated resources to support software modifications required by the PHAs to implement the STRD Demonstration. This new information collection has the following components in this collection, all of which are necessary for the evaluation to succeed.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 12 USC 1701z-1 Name of Law: Research and Demonstrations

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 17862	03/12/2024
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 55275	07/03/2024
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion
Annual Number of Responses	48,230	48,110	120
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	7,606	7,426	180
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The second cohort of MTW Expansion PHAs is testing alternative ways of setting rents in the public housing and housing choice voucher programs. The traditional rent policy (the Brooke rent) typically sets each household’s rent at 30 percent of their adjusted monthly income. This rent policy is administratively complex and burdensome for PHAs and assisted households. The Brooke rent is hypothesized to be a disincentive for households to increase their earnings, as $100 dollars of increased income would result in $30 of increased rent. In this project—the Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration (STRD)—PHAs are implementing alternative rents that might be easier to administer and might incentivize assisted households to increase their earnings. Five PHAs are implementing a stepped rent, under which a household’s rent will increase modestly each year regardless of their income. Five PHAs are implementing a tiered rent, under which households are assigned to income-based tiers and rents are set based on the tier. Both policies enable households to increase their income without causing an immediate rent increase. Both policies include hardship provisions to prevent high rent burdens. And both policies include less frequent income reexaminations, to reduce the amount of PHA staff time required to administer the program.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $5,653,240

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? Yes Part B of Supporting Statement

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Paul Joice 202 402-4608

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