RAD glossary, A to Z

Terms are listed alphabetically. Section numbers refer to HUD’s RAD notice (Notice H-2019-09 / PIH-2019-23, Revision 4, as amended by Supplementals 4B and 4C) unless another source is named. For how the pieces fit together, start with what is RAD.

The milestones in one table

Milestone	Who issues it	Clock
RIN and resident meetings	Housing authority	Two meetings within six months before applying
CHAP	HUD	Financing Plan due within 270 days
Concept Call	HUD with the housing authority	Financing Plan due 60 days after HUD’s invitation
Financing Plan	Housing authority and partners	Reviewed by HUD
RCC	HUD	30 days to sign; 90 days from issuance to close
Closing and HAP	HUD, owner, lenders	HAP starts on the first day of one of the two months after closing

A to C

ACC (Annual Contributions Contract)

The contract between HUD and a housing authority under which public housing is funded. A RAD conversion removes the project from the ACC.

Alternative operating cost factor

A rent adjustment other than the published OCAF that an owner may request from HUD’s Office of Recapitalization in extraordinary circumstances, created by Supplemental 4C §IV. For PBV, the contract administrator must consent.

AMI (Area Median Income)

HUD’s median family income for an area, used for income limits. If a RAD HAP contract is ever removed, the use agreement limits new tenants to 80% of AMI and rents to 30% of 80% of AMI.

Annual findings

The report HUD must publish every year on public housing conversions under Public Law 119-101 §212, covering preservation, private leverage, how many residents remained or returned, and effects on tenant rights.

Asset Repositioning Fee (ARF)

A public housing fee for projects being removed from the inventory. The RAD notice makes projects that convert under RAD ineligible for it.

BSPRA

Builder’s and Sponsor’s Profit and Risk Allowance, an FHA cost item. The MAP Guide allows a mortgageable developer fee for RAD transactions only where BSPRA or SPRA is not also used.

Capital Fund

HUD’s annual public housing grant for repairs and modernization. Its per-unit amount is one of the three pieces of a RAD contract rent.

Capital Needs Assessment (CNA or PCNA)

A third-party inspection and cost estimate of a property’s immediate and 20-year repair needs. The Financing Plan must address all current needs from the CNA and fund 20-year needs.

CHAP amendment

A revision to a CHAP, for example to update rents, unit counts or a blend. HUD’s 2026 rents apply to CHAPs and amended CHAPs issued in 2025 and 2026.

CHAP (Commitment to enter into a HAP)

HUD’s award letter for a RAD project, which reserves cap authority and sets initial rents. It is not negotiable. More on the steps.

Choice mobility

A resident’s option to leave a converted property with a tenant-based voucher: after one year in PBV, or 24 months in PBRA. Agencies may cap these moves. See RAD tenant rights.

Choice-limiting action

An action, such as acquisition, demolition or construction, that cannot be taken before HUD finishes the environmental review. RAD bars these after the application until review is complete.

Civil money penalties (CMPs)

Fines HUD may impose, along with other remedies and sanctions, for material violations of First or Second Component requirements under Public Law 119-101 §212. HUD had not issued procedures as of October 30, 2026.

Component 1 (First Component)

The capped part of RAD that converts public housing to Section 8. The cap is 555,000 units.

Component 2 (Second Component)

The uncapped part of RAD that converts older HUD aid on private properties: Rent Supplement, RAP, Mod Rehab, 202 PRAC, 811 PRAC and SPRAC. See Component 2.

Concept Call

A required call between HUD and the housing authority’s team, requested through the RAD Resource Desk, to review the proposed deal before the Financing Plan. After HUD’s invitation, the Financing Plan is due within 60 days.

Contract Administrator

The agency that runs a HAP contract day to day: the voucher agency for PBV, or HUD or a Performance-Based Contract Administrator for PBRA.

Converting Project / Covered Project

The Converting Project is the public housing project before conversion; the Covered Project is the property under the RAD HAP contract after conversion.

Converting Public Housing Assistance

The public housing subsidy that converts to Section 8 under RAD. In a blend, it sits alongside Converting TPV Assistance.

Converting TPV Assistance

Tenant protection voucher assistance that results from the Section 18 part of a blend and converts to the same form of Section 8 as the RAD units.

D to H

Davis-Bacon

The federal prevailing wage law. Under RAD it applies to development work started within 18 months of the HAP at projects with nine or more assisted units. See Davis-Bacon and RAD.

DDTF (Demolition or Disposition Transitional Funding)

Public housing funding that eases the loss of subsidy after demolition or disposition. A housing authority can forgo DDTF to raise RAD rents.

De minimis reduction

The small loss of units RAD allows in a conversion: the greater of five units or 5%, plus units vacant more than 24 months and approved reconfigurations.

Developer fee

The fee for developing the conversion. In tax credit deals, the RAD notice (§1.14) limits the undeferred fee and allows a 25% boost when at least 25% of units carry a homeless or supportive housing preference.

DSCR (Debt service coverage ratio)

Net operating income divided by annual debt payments. Supplemental 4C expects leveraged RAD deals to hold at least 1.11 over ten years.

Elderly Housing Use Agreement

The first-position covenant recorded in a 202 PRAC conversion, replacing the capital advance documents, for 20 years plus the remaining capital advance term.

Environmental review (Part 50)

HUD’s review of environmental conditions under 24 CFR Part 50, now required for every RAD conversion, with documents due no later than the Financing Plan.

Faircloth limit

The statutory cap on public housing units a housing authority may own or build with public housing funds. RAD reduces it by the converting public housing units, not by TPV units in a blend.

FHA 221(d)(4)

FHA mortgage insurance for new construction or substantial rehab of apartments. See FHA 221(d)(4) and RAD.

FHA 223(f)

FHA mortgage insurance for refinancing or buying existing apartments. See FHA 223(f) and RAD.

Financing Plan

The housing authority’s full deal submission to HUD: sources and uses, scope, commitments, environmental documents and resident comments. Due within 270 days of the CHAP. See the Financing Plan checklist.

FMR (Fair Market Rent)

HUD’s annual estimate of rent plus utilities for a modest unit in an area. It sets RAD’s caps: 110% for PBV and 120% for PBRA, less utilities. FY2027 FMRs took effect October 1, 2026.

GIN (General Information Notice)

A notice required by the Uniform Relocation Act when a project may involve acquisition, rehab or demolition, telling residents about possible relocation and their rights.

Grievance procedure

Residents’ right to an informal hearing on owner or administrator actions that adversely affect them, set out separately for PBV and PBRA in the RAD notice.

HAP contract (Housing Assistance Payments contract)

The long-term Section 8 contract that replaces public housing funding at closing. HUD must offer, and the owner must accept, renewal at each expiration.

HCC (Housing Construction Costs)

HUD’s published construction cost figures by market area. RAD uses hard costs as a share of HCC to set blend tiers and PRAC rent increases.

HCV (Housing Choice Voucher)

The tenant-based voucher program. RAD PBV is funded from the HCV account and choice mobility uses HCVs.

I to P

Initial Year Funding Tool

A HUD calculator on the RAD Resource Desk showing the public housing subsidy available to a Covered Project for rental assistance in its year of conversion, updated in 2026.

Inventory removal

The PIC submission that removes a project from public housing. Submitting it is how a housing authority accepts a CHAP.

Lease addendum

A RAD-specific addendum to the resident lease. Public Law 119-101 §212 lets HUD require a mandatory tenant lease and management plan addendum for converted properties not covered by another program.

LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit)

The federal tax credit that brings equity to affordable housing, in 9% (competitive) and 4% (bond-financed) forms. See 4% LIHTC and bonds.

MAHRAA

The Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997, which governs renewal of PBRA contracts, including RAD PBRA.

Mod Rehab (Moderate Rehabilitation)

An older project-based Section 8 program, including SRO units, that converts only under Component 2.

MTW (Moving to Work)

HUD’s demonstration giving participating housing authorities funding flexibility, which they can use to raise initial RAD rents.

NARR (Notice of Anticipated RAD Rents)

The rent letter that started a Restore-Rebuild project. HUD wound down Restore-Rebuild by memorandum of May 12, 2026.

OCAF (Operating Cost Adjustment Factor)

HUD’s annual rent adjustment factor for RAD contracts. The 2026 national average is 5.1% (91 FR 4934). See RAD rents and OCAF.

Operating Fund

HUD’s public housing operating subsidy. Its per-unit amount is part of a RAD contract rent.

Opportunity Zone rent increase

Up to $100 per unit per month added to PBRA rents for new construction or substantial rehab in a designated Opportunity Zone, first come, first served.

Ownership and control

The rule that converted public housing stays under public or nonprofit ownership or control, for example through fee ownership, a ground lease or a controlling general partner interest.

PBCA (Performance-Based Contract Administrator)

A state or local agency under contract to HUD to administer PBRA HAP contracts.

PBRA (Project-Based Rental Assistance)

Section 8 administered by HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing under 24 CFR 880. RAD PBRA contracts run 20 years. See PBV vs PBRA.

PBV (Project-Based Vouchers)

Section 8 vouchers tied to units and administered by a voucher agency under 24 CFR 983. RAD PBV contracts run 15 to 20 years.

PHA (Public Housing Agency)

A housing authority. Every PHA with a conversion or remaining public housing has a page under states.

Phase-in

The rule that a conversion-caused rent increase above the greater of 10% or $25 is phased in over three or five years.

Portfolio Award

A single RAD award for several or all of a housing authority’s projects, which reserves authority and locks the rent base year.

PRAC (Project Rental Assistance Contract)

The operating subsidy for Section 202 elderly and Section 811 disability housing. 202 PRACs convert under Component 2.

Preservation Rent Increase

A rent increase for 202 PRAC conversions to PBRA with new third-party debt, up to $300, $200 or $50 per unit per month, under Notice H-2025-04 (September 19, 2025).

R

RAD Contract Rents Look-Up Tool

HUD’s spreadsheet of each unconverted project’s RAD contract rent, caps and blend estimates, last updated May 27, 2026. Our rent check shows it as a table.

RAD Conversion Commitment (RCC)

HUD’s approval of the Financing Plan, conditioned on financing on substantially the same terms. Thirty days to sign, 90 days to close.

RAD rent base year

The funding year behind a project’s initial RAD rent, reset every two years. CHAPs from 2025 and 2026 use 2024 funding levels adjusted by OCAF.

RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration)

HUD’s program for converting public housing and older HUD aid to long-term Section 8, permanent since July 11, 2026.

RAD Resource Desk

HUD’s online portal at radresource.net for applications, Concept Call requests, data and RAD transaction management.

RAD Use Agreement

The long-term affordability covenant recorded at closing ahead of all liens, including FHA security instruments, that runs with the HAP contract and renews with it.

RAD/Section 18 blend

A conversion that disposes of part of a project under Section 18, generating TPVs at higher rents, and converts the rest under RAD. See blends explained.

RAP (Rental Assistance Payment)

An older HUD subsidy on Section 236 properties. HUD reports RAP conversions are complete.

RCCA (RAD Conversion Conditional Approval)

The conditional approval used in Restore-Rebuild projects before they converted to RAD at completion.

RCS (Rent Comparability Study)

An appraiser’s study of market rents. It can raise initial PBRA rents up to the lower of market or 150% of FMR and supports Component 2 rents.

Relocation plan

A written plan for moving residents during the Work, required when relocation is expected to exceed a year and encouraged otherwise, under Notice H-2016-17.

Rent bundling

Moving rent between a housing authority’s converting projects within the same total subsidy, so a project with heavy needs can carry more debt.

Rent Supplement (Rent Supp)

An older HUD subsidy under section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965. HUD reports these conversions are complete.

Re-screening

Rechecking a household’s eligibility. The RAD statute bars re-screening of current residents because of a conversion.

Resident Information Notice (RIN)

The notice a housing authority must deliver to every household before the first resident meeting, explaining the planned conversion and residents’ rights.

Resident participation funding

Money set aside for resident organizing. PBRA owners must provide $25 per occupied unit a year, at least $15 of it to the resident organization.

Restore-Rebuild

Formerly Faircloth-to-RAD: building new public housing up to the Faircloth limit and converting it to RAD at completion. HUD announced its wind-down by memorandum of May 12, 2026.

Right to return

A resident’s right to come back to the converted property after relocation for the Work. Permanent involuntary displacement is not allowed.

S to Z

SAC (Special Applications Center)

The HUD office that reviews Section 18 demolition and disposition applications.

Savings clause

The 2026 statutory provision that nothing in the RAD law reduces owners’ RAD property rights or tenants’ rights, “which shall remain enforceable by tenants”.

Section 3

The HUD rule directing jobs and contracts to low-income people. Under RAD it applies to pre-development costs paid with public housing funds and to post-closing rehab and construction.

Section 18

The provision of the Housing Act of 1937 that allows demolition or disposition of public housing with HUD approval, now governed by Notice PIH 2026-23 (August 28, 2026).

Section 811

HUD’s supportive housing program for people with disabilities. 811 PRAC is listed in the RAD statute; HUD’s RAD notice has no 811 conversion section yet.

Seller note

A loan from the housing authority to the new owner, often for the value of the property or its reserves. The RAD Resource Desk counts $7.86 billion of seller or take-back financing in closed deals.

Small PHA blend

A blend for housing authorities with 250 or fewer public housing ACC units, allowing up to 90% Section 18 if the agency submits a Repositioning Plan.

Small PHA streamlined conversion

Simplified RAD processing for small housing authorities under §1.15 of the notice.

SPRAC (Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contract)

A rental assistance contract under section 811 of the American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 2000, added to Component 2 by the FY2024 appropriations act.

Tenant Protection Voucher (TPV)

A voucher HUD provides when assisted housing is removed, such as by a Section 18 disposition. For triggering events after May 6, 2026, a vacant unit qualifies for a replacement TPV only if an assisted family lived there in the previous 12 months, down from 24.

Transaction Manager

The HUD staff member assigned to a RAD deal who reviews submissions through closing.

Transfer of assistance (TOA)

Moving RAD assistance to another site. In HUD’s RAD Resource Desk data as of October 24, 2026, 240 closed conversions used a transfer.

TTP (Total Tenant Payment)

What a household pays toward rent and utilities, generally 30% of adjusted income, under Section 8 rules.

URA (Uniform Relocation Act)

The federal relocation law. A RAD resident temporarily relocated for more than a year can qualify as a displaced person under it.

Zero-HAP family

A household whose payment equals or exceeds the gross rent, so the HAP pays nothing for its unit. Supplemental 4B lets such families stay under the HAP contract.

Sources

• HUD, RAD Notice Revision 4 as amended by Supplementals 4B and 4C (definitions and §§1.4 to 1.15, Attachments 1B and 1C).
• HUD, RAD Supplemental Notice 4C, H-2025-01 / PIH-2025-03.
• HUD, RAD Fair Housing, Civil Rights and Relocation Notice, H-2016-17 / PIH-2016-17.
• Public Law 119-101, §212, July 11, 2026.
• HUD, Notice PIH 2026-23, August 28, 2026.
• HUD, RADBlast 2026 (Restore-Rebuild wind-down, TPV change, Initial Year Funding Tool).
• HUD, Housing Notice H-2025-04, September 19, 2025.
• HUD, Restore-Rebuild Guide, November 2024.
• HUD, Operating Cost Adjustment Factors for 2026, 91 FR 4934.
• RAD Resource Desk leverage data, checked October 30, 2026; HUD’s RAD Resource Desk data as of October 24, 2026.

This glossary is general information, not legal advice. HUD’s notices control the meaning of each term.