VIHA Races to Lift Occupancy Before June 30 as Vacancies Threaten Funding and Possible HUD Repayment

The V.I. Housing Authority is moving urgently to improve its occupancy rate before a June 30 federal funding benchmark, as officials confront a large number of vacant units, expired classifications, and the possibility that some subsidy funds may have to be returned to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

During VIHA’s board meeting on Wednesday, Executive Director Dwayne Alexander told commissioners that the authority’s current portfolio occupancy stands at 84.07 percent, below HUD’s benchmark of approximately 92 percent. The gap, he explained, carries serious implications because occupancy affects subsidy calculations, management fees, bookkeeping fees, and the agency’s broader financial position.  Mr. Alexander said the authority is working to address the issue before June 30, the date by which occupancy levels will help determine how future subsidies are calculated. He said VIHA is pursuing temporary remedies, including exemptions, while also trying to move units back into active use.

“The bottom line is we need to get people in those units,” Mr. Alexander said, stressing that the authority cannot rely only on classifications or temporary fixes to soften the impact of vacancies. He told commissioners that while exemptions may help the agency reach a threshold in the short term, the larger challenge is repairing units, placing residents, and ensuring the same problem does not reappear.  According to the report presented at the meeting, VIHA currently has 307 units under maintenance rehabilitation, 147 units in the modernization pipeline, and 210 units under demolition or disposition status. Mr. Alexander said the recent drop in occupancy was significantly affected by units whose prior exemption or modernization classification expired, placing them back into the occupancy calculation and lowering the authority’s rate. 
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