Public Notice New Inspection Guidelines-NSPIRE

New Inspection Guidelines - NSPIRE

Dear SRHA Participants/ Landlord

This letter is to inform you of the new inspection protocol that will be starting on 10/01/2025. Currently, Housing Authorities have been using the inspection standard called HQS (Housing Quality Standards), this system has outlined how we've inspected units for years. On May 11, 2023, HUD published the "Economic Growth Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act: Implementation of National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate NSPIRE.
NSPIRE establishes a new approach to defining and assessing housing quality. NSPIRE strengthens HUD's physical condition standards and improves HUD oversight by aligning and consolidating the inspection regulations used to evaluate "HUD housing" as defined in 24 CFR
5.701(c), across multiple programs. Implementation of the NSPIRE final rule ensures that residents of HUD housing live in safe, habitable dwellings. It also ensures that the items and components located both inside and outside, and within the units of HUD housing are functionally adequate, operable, and free of health and safety hazards. More information on these notices is posted at

https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/reac/nspire/notices

SHRA understands that change can be hard, but we are here and fully committed to helping all of our participants, landlords, and property owners transition into NSPIRE smoothly. We have attached a list of some of the expected changes and looked at items that will be viewed at the time of NSPIRE inspections. We have been conducting a participants / landlord informational meeting to discuss these changes before the 10/01/2025 effective date. If you have any questions
or concerns about this notice, please contact us at 757-539-2100 or stop by the office located at 530 Pinner Street for more information.

Sincerely,
Keva L Newsome, Director of Housing

New NSPIRE Inspection Model

Starting in October 2024, HUD will transition from the Housing Quality Standards (HSQ) inspection model to the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE). As the local Housing Authority, we believe it's important to connect with our community of
landlords to offer assistance and support during this transition. If you have any questions or could benefit from either group or personalized training regarding NSPIRE, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

What is NSPIRE?
NSPIRE, or the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate, is a new physical inspection model designed to reduce home health and safety hazards. It aligns multiple HUD programs to a single set of inspection standards, ensuring consistent housing quality expectations across all HUD programs. NSPIRE is an innovative program intended to evolve standards and scoring through continuous learning and improvement.

NSPIRE Demonstration and Updates

HUD has been testing NSPIRE at volunteer properties during the two-year NSPIRE Demonstration, gathering feedback from inspectors and properties to refine and improve the inspection model. HUD is also gathering data from a concurrent demonstration for the Housing
Choice Voucher program to update NSPIRE. Updates to standards and scoring will occur every three years at a minimum.

Rollout of NSPIRE

NSPIRE is expected to revolutionize the assessment of housing conditions for HUD-assisted and HUD-insured housing by providing consistent, defensible, and objective evaluations. This new approach will produce inspection results that more accurately reflect property conditions and promote better living conditions for residents. Housing Works will begin implementing NSPIRE protocols starting October 2024.

Impact on Landlord and Tenants

The NSPIRE changes will impact all real estate organizations managing properties receiving HUD assistance. Organizations will need to ensure their properties meet the new inspection
standards. The focus on objective, consistent, and accurate inspections may lead to more rigorous assessments, potentially resulting in a higher number of deficiencies identified and a greater need for timely repairs and maintenance.

However, NSPIRE also presents an opportunity for organizations to improve property quality and provide better living conditions for tenants. Organizations can distinguish themselves as responsible property owners by prioritizing health and safety and adopting sound maintenance practices.

Additional Resources Related to NSPIRE:
For specific guidance and information directly from the HUD website, click here.

For a list of HUD Webinars and Toolkits, click here.
Federal Register Notice - September 28, 2023
HUD PIH Notice 2023-28 - NSPIRE HCV Administrative Procedures
NSPIRE Checklist - Detailed Fillable Checklist
NSPIRE HUD Webinar - September 1, 2023