The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a proposal that would require all Public Housing Authorities (PHA) to increase the amount of Physical Needs Assessments (PNA) to every five years, with updates annually.

Physical Needs Assessments (PNA) show the amount of work needed to modernize properties and to make properties energy efficient.  Currently, Public Housing Authorities (PHA) make projections of Physical Needs Assessments (PNA) five years ahead, while the new plan would require projections 20-years in advance.  The new Physical Needs Assessments (PNA) are estimated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to cost $65.22 per unit compared to $50 per unit for present day Physical Needs Assessments (PNA).

As the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) states in the proposal, “The need for PHAs to engage in strategic planning has increased considerably over the past decade as PHAs have transitioned to an asset-based accounting and management model more closely aligned to industry standard real estate management procedures.  A focus on the individual project, rather than on the macro level of the entirety of a PHA’s public housing portfolio, further highlights the need for strategic planning over a longer-term period.”

Written comments are due by September 19, 2011. For more information see the Federal Register Notice.