SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. NSPIRE Rule

On May 11, 2023, HUD published the final rule, “Economic Growth Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act: Implementation of National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate” (88 FR 30442), to align expectations of housing quality and consolidate inspection standards across HUD programs.

24 CFR 5.709(a) states that HUD will publish a notice establishing NSPIRE scoring methodology to score and rank HUD housing. 24 CFR 5.709(a)(1) further establishes that HUD will subsequently publish in the Federal Register for a public comment period of not less than 30 days, any revisions to the inspection and scoring procedures that HUD determines to be necessary, at least once every 3 years or 3 years after the most recent revision, whichever is later. The revision process provides an opportunity for the public to examine proposed changes to the scoring procedure, share pertinent comments, and suggest the inclusion of industry best practices. A 3-year revision cycle allows HUD to be more responsive to the ever-changing public and assisted housing portfolio and research findings in the field. ( printed page 61433)

II. NSPIRE Scoring Background

On July 7, 2023, HUD published the final NSPIRE Scoring Notice, “National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate and Associated Protocols, Scoring Notice” (88 FR 43371), effective July 1, 2023. The NSPIRE Scoring Notice establishes the methodology for weighing deficiencies identified during inspections conducted under the NSPIRE Standards and for scoring those deficiencies for each program. The Scoring Notice also establishes the gradations and severity levels applicable to each deficiency under the scoring methodology, as well as the compliance date for the new affirmative requirements for HUD housing subject to NSPIRE.

The NSPIRE Scoring Notice does not apply to the Housing Choice Voucher and Project-Based Voucher programs and does not revise the inspection frequencies established under the applicable program regulations.

III. Proposed Revisions to the NSPIRE Scoring Notice

This notice sets forth three revisions to the NSPIRE Scoring Notice for public comment. As discussed below, each revision was previously published in a separate notice.

Revised Compliance Date for NSPIRE New Affirmative Requirements

This first revision to the NSPIRE Scoring Notice addresses the compliance date for the new affirmative requirements in NSPIRE standards. These affirmative requirements include: Fire Labeled Doors; Electrical—Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlet or breaker; Guardrail; Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC); Interior Lighting; and Minimum Electrical and Lighting (see the full list in Section III of Notice PIH 2025-27/H 2025-06). For detailed descriptions of each category of new affirmative requirements and the associated defects, refer to Section IV.D of the NSPIRE Scoring Notice.

The affirmative requirements are property attributes or requirements that must be met. When a property does not meet these requirements, it constitutes a defect in the inspection and may result in point deductions from the property's score. The NSPIRE Scoring Notice provided properties with a 12-month period before scoring the new affirmative requirements. On December 17, 2024, HUD issued a notice extending the period before scoring the new affirmative requirements to October 1, 2025. (Notice PIH 2024-39/H 2024-11). On September 30, 2025, HUD extended the date on which it will begin scoring the new affirmative requirements to October 1, 2026, to provide stakeholders additional time to comply (Notice PIH 2025-27/H 2025-06). Beginning October 1, 2026, deficiencies identified under the new affirmative requirements will be included in the calculation of a property's inspection score. The extension applies to inspections conducted in the Public Housing and Multifamily Housing portfolios.

Sample Size Correction

The second revision to the NSPIRE Scoring Notice concerns a correction to the sample size. In reviewing the published notice, HUD identified two inadvertent errors in Table 9, Section V, titled, “Number of Units Sampled Under NSPIRE Scoring and Sampling Methodology Based on Property Size.” HUD corrected those errors in correction notice “National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate and Associated Protocols, Scoring Notice; Correction” (90 FR 5973) published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2025. Specifically, the entries for the following two rows listing the number of units in a property were incorrect:

HUD is correcting these errors so that these rows read as follows:

The UPCS (Uniform Physical Condition Standards) and NSPIRE sample sizes remain unchanged.

For clarity, the corrected Table 9, in its entirety is as follows:

The final revision concerns two corrections under Example 2, titled: “Example 2: A Property Where HUD Inspects 10 Units and the Unit Defect Deduction Value is Above 30”. The Defect Deduction Value Per Unit is listed incorrectly as 39.6 when it should be 37.6 as calculated in the following paragraph. Similarly, the Total Defect Deduction Value per Unit (Inspectable Area) is incorrectly entered as 379; this figure should be 310.2 as indicated correctly in the preceding paragraph.

IV. Final NSPIRE Scoring Notice

The current version of the NSPIRE Scoring Notice can be found on the HUD website and Federal Register .^[1] HUD seeks comments on the three revisions to the scoring procedures for this public comment period.

HUD will respond to the comments received and take them into consideration as the final revisions to the proposed NSPIRE Scoring Notice are completed. If HUD makes changes to the published revisions, the final version of the NSPIRE Scoring Notice will be published in the Federal Register . HUD will also publish the final NSPIRE Scoring Notice at: www.hud.gov/​reac/​nspire. ( printed page 61434)

V. Environmental Review

This Notice provides operating instructions and procedures in connection with activities under a Federal Register document, “Economic Growth Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act: Implementation of National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate” (88 FR 30442), that has previously been subject to a required environmental review. Accordingly, pursuant to 24 CFR 50.19(c)(4), this Notice is categorically excluded from environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.).

91 FR 61432