9-18. OWNER APPEALS

An Owner may appeal HUD’s Decision Letter by following the steps provided below. The Owner may not make changes to an RCS following the issuance of a Decision Letter, as the purpose of an appeal is to provide support for the conclusions reached in the original study. The HUD-commissioned RCS is not appealable following the process set out in this section, but an Owner may bring factual discrepancies or errors to HUD’s attention for possible correction as described under Section 9-14.F. All appeals of HUD’s Decision Letter, when eligible, are reviewed and decided by HUD staff at the appropriate Regional Center rather than HUD headquarters. The appeal process is as follows:

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• A. Owner prepares written statement. Subsequent to submitting the Owner’s letter indicating an appeal of HUD’s decision, the Owner must submit a written statement of his/her reasons for appeal and any data that supports his/her objections. This written statement must be delivered via email to the Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director within 20 calendar days after the date of HUD/CA’s initial decision as provided by Section 9-17 above. The Owner may submit one revised version of the RCS alongside the written statement.

• B. Owner may request meeting. In addition to providing a written statement, the Owner may request a meeting or a conference call with the RCS review appraiser. If such a request is made, a meeting or a conference call must be held within 15 calendar days of the date of the Owner’s appeal. The Owner, the RCS appraiser, the RCS review appraiser, and the Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director/designee must participate. The Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director and RCS review appraiser must consider if a field visit is needed to process the appeal as discussed in Section 9-16-C, above. In some instances, the Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director and RCS review appraiser may ask for additional information from the Owner and the RCS appraiser. This information must be submitted by the Owner within 10 calendar days after the date of the meeting or conference call.

• C. HUD reviews Owner’s request. The RCS review appraiser and the Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director will review the Owner’s appeal, including any supplemental information submitted by the Owner, and issue a letter reporting the results of the review within 15 calendar days after the latest of the date the Owner submitted the basis for the first appeal; the date of any meeting/conference call conducted per paragraph B.; or the date by which the Owner submits additional information requested by HUD per paragraph B. HUD’s letter in response to the Owner’s first appeal must be signed by the Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director, and it may accept the RCS with supplemental information submitted by the Owner, reject the Owner’s first appeal and require resubmission of a new RCS study, or propose HUD’s alternate rents for the project.

• E. The Owner may either accept HUD’s decision, submit a second level appeal, or withdraw the renewal request.

• D. Second Level Appeal. If the Owner chooses to pursue a second level appeal, the Owner must submit a written statement of his/her reasons for a second appeal and any data that supports his/her objections to the Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director’s Decision Letter in response to the Owner’s first appeal. The submission must be received within 15 calendar days after the date of the Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director’s Decision Letter on the first appeal, and must be addressed to the Regional Center Office Director and must copy the Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director. The Owner may also request a short-term renewal at current rents if the contract has expired or if expiration is imminent.

  1. The Regional Center Director will determine if the appeal has potential merit and, if so, issue a short-term renewal at then-current rents, to allow time to process the

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appeal. Any rent increases as a result of the second appeal will be made retroactively.

2. The Regional Center or Satellite Office Director may contact the Owner, the RCS appraiser, or the Regional Center or Satellite Office Asset Management Division Director and/or the RCS review appraiser for clarification or additional information.

3. The Regional Center Director must issue a Decision Letter to the Owner within 15 calendar days after the date of the Owner’s second appeal. The letter must clearly state the basis for HUD’s decision.