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Presentation, discussion, and possible action on an order adopting the amendment of 10 TAC Chapter 10, Uniform Multifamily Rules, Subchapter F Compliance Monitoring, §10.612 Tenant File Requirements; an order adopting new §10.628 Verification of Occupant Legal Status for HOME, HOME-ARP Rental and NHTF Developments; and directing their publication in the Texas Register
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, pursuant to Tex. Gov’t Code §2306.053, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (the Department) is authorized to adopt rules governing the administration of the Department and its programs;
WHEREAS, Section 401(a) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) provides that an alien who is not a qualified alien is not eligible for federal public benefits, and Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance provides that each federal agency is required to identify which of their programs are considered federal public benefits for this purpose;
WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in its 2025 federal Grant Agreements for the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) and HOME Programs has clarified that PRWORA does apply to those programs, and in a subsequent announcement included HOME-ARP in the programs to which PRWORA would be applicable;
WHEREAS, under separate rule action the Department has initiated the applicability of PRWORA for Community Affairs, Homelessness and Single Family activities, including HOME, and this action is now to ensure compliance with this guidance for the Department’s HOME, HOME-ARP Rental and NHTF multifamily portfolio of properties;
WHEREAS, the rule actions herein are specific only to Developments in the Department’s portfolio that have HOME, HOME-ARP Rental or NHTF financing or land use restriction agreements, and no action at this time is being taken relating to the Department’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit multifamily portfolio; and
WHEREAS, staff drafted a revision of one rule section, and proposed one new rule section on this subject, which were both released for public comment between January 30 through March 3, 2026, comment was received and a reasoned response to all comment is provided in the rule preamble attached;
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the Executive Director and his designees be and each of them hereby are authorized, empowered, and directed, for and on behalf of the Department, to cause the proposed actions herein in the form presented to this meeting, to be published in the Texas Register, and in connection therewith, make such non-substantive technical corrections as they may deem necessary to effectuate the foregoing including any requested revisions to the preambles.
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BACKGROUND
Two primary laws directly address noncitizen eligibility for federal housing programs. The first is Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, as amended. It applies to specified programs; primarily, federal rental assistance programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), including the Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Section 8 project-based rental assistance programs, and rural rental assistance. The law makes eligible for assistance certain categories of noncitizens, including most categories of immigrants, while excluding unauthorized immigrants and those in most types of temporary status (e.g., tourists, students, and temporary workers).
The second law is Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA, P.L. 104-193). Section 401(a) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), provides that an alien who is not a qualified alien is not eligible for any federal public benefit. The Department of Justice (DOJ) provided guidance that each federal agency is required to identify which of their programs are considered federal public benefits for this purpose.
The primary method for verification of qualified status is through checking on a series of allowable documentation and/or through a system called SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements), which historically has been a fee-based inter-governmental initiative designed to help federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies confirm citizenship, U.S. national and qualified alien status prior to granting benefits. SAVE access is granted directly to the Department and other governmental entities.
In September HUD provided the Department with its 2025 federal Grant Agreements for the National Housing Trust Fund and HOME Programs which reflect that PRWORA does apply to those programs, among others. Subsequently in an announcement on November 26, 2025, HUD included HOME-ARP in the programs to which PRWORA would be applicable.
In prior Board action rules were proposed that implement the applicability of PRWORA for the single family HOME activities. This action now implements the applicability of PRWORA for the multifamily HOME, HOME ARP Rental, and NHTF portfolio.
All properties in the Department’s portfolio that have HOME, HOME-ARP Rental or NHTF units will now be required to adhere to this rule. The rule will require that all persons signing a lease must have been verified as having qualified legal status - either as a US citizen, US National, or a qualified alien. It should be noted that this requirement will not apply to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and/or dating violence, more specifically populations protected by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA). This requirement will be applicable for the length of the state and federal affordability period.
A property must perform verification based on a series of acceptable documents, or if still needed, through the SAVE system. Properties will be required to participate in using the SAVE system, unless specifically not permitted to, or may procure a separate party to perform such verification services on their behalf. Only if not permitted to utilize the SAVE system, will a property have the option of submitting the household for verification by the Department (directly or through a third-party contractor), which would still require the property to gather and transmit - but not verify - the appropriate client level information and documentation.
There are two sections of the Compliance rule being addressed in this action. The first amends an existing section, and is prefaced by an amendment preamble, and is then provided reflecting only those changes made since the published version. The second rule is a newly added section of rule and is prefaced by a preamble for new rule actions.
These rules were released for public comment through March 3, 2026. Significant public comment was received and those comments are addressed in the reasoned response in the attached preambles. It should be noted that the public comment summary for each preamble is identical as commenters tended to comment on the two actions together.