Are You Using the Correct Previous Housing Code For Homeless Households?

During the April 2016 TRACS Industry Meeting, HUD requested both Contract Administrators and Owners check for the inappropriate use of the previous housing code “2” on Move-In certifications effective October 1, 2015 or later.

Previous Housing Codes are used to populate Field Number 10 on HUD Form 50059s to identify the prior housing arrangements for a household moving into multifamily housing.  Options are:

1 = Substandard

2 = Without or Soon To Be Without Housing (a legacy code used in TRACS 2.0.2.C certifications only)

3 = Standard

4 = Conventional Public Housing

5 = Lacking a Fixed Nighttime Residence (a new code to track homeless households being housed)

6 = Fleeing/Attempting to Flee Violence (a new code to track VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) individuals now being housed.)

Previous Housing Code “2” should only be used on Move-In 50059 corrections for certifications that were originally created in TRACS Version 2.0.2.C. New Move-In certifications (created in TRACS Version 2.0.2.D) for previously homeless households should utilize the “5” code.

Why is this coding important? HUD uses TRACS to gather statistical information to gauge the success of housing initiatives – like ending homelessness. To accurately quantify the number of homeless households that have been housed in HUD’s current fiscal year, they must identify Move-In certifications with the previous housing code of “5”.

HUD is asking all owners with Move-In certifications effective on or after October 1, 2015 that incorrectly display the previous housing code of “2”, to:

• Create a correction to the certification, removing the “2” code and replacing it with the applicable code (5).
• Have the adult members of the household sign the corrected certification.
• Transmit the corrected certification, via iMAX, to their assigned Contract Administrator/HUD.