Notice2026-07999
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 24, 2026
Issuing agencies
Housing and Urban Development Department
Abstract
Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Multifamily Housing, is issuing public notice of its intent to modify system of records for the Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS). TRACS supports HUD's multifamily housing rental assistance programs by managing information about rental assistance contracts, tenants and property owners. The system is used to process housing subsidy payments, track contract funding amounts, and ensure that rental assistance payments are calculated and issued accurately. The modification makes clarifying changes to the System Manager and Routine Uses. The updates are explained in the "Supplementary Section" of this notice. This notice supersedes the previously published SORN.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 79 (Friday, April 24, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 79 (Friday, April 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22160-22163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07999]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-7106-N-17]
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Office of Multifamily Housing, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of a Modified System of Records.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as
amended, the Department of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
Office of Multifamily Housing, is issuing public notice of its intent
to modify system of records for the Tenant Rental Assistance
Certification System (TRACS). TRACS supports HUD's multifamily housing
rental assistance programs by managing information about rental
assistance contracts, tenants and property owners. The system is used
to process housing subsidy payments, track contract funding amounts,
and ensure that rental assistance payments are calculated and issued
accurately. The modification makes clarifying changes to the System
Manager and Routine Uses. The updates are explained in the
``Supplementary Section'' of this notice. This notice supersedes the
previously published SORN.
DATES: Comments will be accepted on or before May 26, 2026. This
proposed action will be effective immediately upon publication. Routine
uses will become effective on the date following the end of the comment
period unless comments are received which result in a contrary
determination.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number or by
one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.
Fax: 202-619-8365.
Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5626243f2037352f163e233278313920"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5323213a2532302a133b26377d343c25">[email protected]</span></a>.
Mail: Attention: Privacy Office; Kimberly Morton, Acting Chief
Privacy Officer; Office of the Executive Secretariat; 451 7th Street
SW, Room 10139; Washington, DC 20410-0001.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be
posted without change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Morton, Acting Chief Privacy
Officer; 451 7th Street, SW, Room 10139; Washington, DC 20410-0001;
telephone number (804) 822-4801 (this is not a toll-free number). HUD
welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are deaf
or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or communication
disabilities. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone
call, please visit <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relayservice-trs">https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relayservice-trs</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HUD, Office of Multifamily Housing maintains
the TRACS System. HUD is publishing this notice to include these
changes reflecting the modified items below:
1. System Manager(s): Updated to reflect current system manager.
2. Routine Uses for Records Maintained in the System: Updated to
bring it to current applicable routine uses. Routine Use 18, which was
previously added by 91 FR 2137 (January 16, 2026), has been
incorporated at the end of the Routine Use Section.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS), HUD/HOU-11.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
The Department of Housing and Urban Development Headquarters, 451
7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410-0001; and at HUD Field and
Regional Office. TRACS is maintained at: the National Center for
Critical Information Processing and Storage, 9325 Cypress Loop Road,
Stennis, MS 39629.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Jamiece B. Sanders-Lambert, Management Information Specialist,
Office of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs,
451 7th Street SW, Room 6124 Washington, DC 20410, (202)402-6373.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
The United States Housing Act of 1937, Public Law 93-383, 88 Stat.
653, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.; The Housing and Community
Development Act of 1987, Public Law 100-242, 101 Stat. 1864, section
165, 42 U.S.C 3543, The Housing and Community Development Amendments of
1981, Public Law 97-35, 95 Stat. 408; The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Amendments Act of 1988, Public Law 100-628, 102 Stat. 3259,
section 904 as amended, 42 U.S.C. 3544.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
TRACS performs edit checks and accepts tenant and voucher request
data needed to verify data quality, and interfaces with other HUD
systems to validate tenant income, verify contract funding, obligate,
and commit contract funds, provide information to other HUD divisions,
and submit voucher requests for payment to minimize improper payments,
and detect subsidy fraud, waste, and abuse in multifamily housing
rental housing assistance programs. TRACS automates and integrates
critical modules for TRACS activities related to the Contract Business
System, the Tenant Business System, and the Voucher/Payment Business
System:
<bullet> Integrated Multifamily Access Exchange (iMAX) provides
efficient access to authorized industry partners (i.e., Contract
Administrators (CAs) and Owner/Agents (OAs)) to transmit tenant data
and voucher data files to HUD and other authorized partners. Other
authorized partners may include HUD contractors providing technical or
operational support, financial institutions processing housing
assistance payments, and federal oversight entities consistent with
applicable law and published routine uses.
<bullet> Integrated Contracts (iCon) supports rental assistance
contracts repository. Contracts are added (e.g., for the Rental
Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
Section 811 programs) and maintained by internal MFH staff.
<bullet> Automated Renewal and Amendment Management Subsystem
(ARAMS) Supports funding functions for contract renewals and
amendments. Headquarters staff enter and update funding transactions
which are then interfaced to Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS).
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Individuals receiving project-based rental housing assistance,
property owner, management agent, and contract administrator who
administers or receives subsidies.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Full Name, Social Security Number (SSN), Date of Birth, Employment
Status/History/Information, Home Address, Marital Status, Military
Status or other information, Race/Ethnicity, Phone Number(s), Email
Address(s), Salary, Sex, Taxpayer ID, User ID, Name of head of
household member, Name of all household members, Name of Owners/
Management Agent, Tenant/
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Owners/Management Agent, Identification number: Alien Registration
Number and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), Spouse Name, and
financial transactions pertaining to the contracts.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Records in the system are obtained from Owners/Management Agents/
Housing Authorities and/or Contract Administrators on behalf of the
assisted tenants. The TRACS system and contained subsystems may collect
data and information from the following other systems: Geocode Service
Center (GSC), Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS), HUD Central
Accounting and Program System (HUDCAPS), Integrated Real Estate
Management System (iREMS), and Web Access Security System (WASS).
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
(1) To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, Federal
agencies, and non-Federal entities, including, but not limited to,
State and local governments and other research institutions or their
parties, and entities and their agents with whom HUD has a contract,
service agreement, grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement for
the purposes of statistical analysis and research in support of program
operations, management, performance monitoring, evaluation, risk
management, and policy development, to otherwise support the
Department's mission, or for other research and statistical purposes
not otherwise prohibited by law or regulation. Records under this
routine use may not be used in whole or in part to make decisions that
affect the rights, benefits, or privileges of specific individuals. The
entity receiving information under this routine use may not further
disclose the records in an identifiable form.
(2) To Housing Authorities, (HAs) to verify the accuracy and
completeness of tenant data used in determining eligibility and
continued eligibility and the amount of housing assistance received.
(3) To Private Owners of assisted housing to verify the accuracy
and completeness of the applicant and tenant data used in determining
eligibility and continued eligibility and the amount of assistance
received by the applicant.
(4) To HAs, owners, management agents and contract administrators
to identify and resolve discrepancies in tenant data related to
eligibility determinations, rental assistance calculations,
certification information, household composition or subsidy payment
processing.
(5) To the Internal Revenue Service to report income using IRS Form
1099 and to disclose records to the Internal Revenue Service when HUD
determines that the use of those records is relevant and necessary to
report payments or discharge of indebtedness.
(6) To Social Security Administration and Immigration and
Naturalization Service to verify alien status and continued eligibility
in HUD's rental assistance programs via Enterprise Income Verification
(EIV).
(7) To the congressional office from the record of an individual in
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
(8) To the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which
is designated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the
Federal administrator of the Universal Service Fund (USF or Fund)
Lifeline Program (Lifeline), the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB)
program and other Federal Telecommunications Benefit (FTB) programs
that utilizes Lifeline eligibility criteria as specified by the
Lifeline program, 47 CFR 54.409. The purpose of this routine use is to
establish eligibility for the Lifeline, EBB and other FTB programs for
families which also participate in a HUD rental assistance program.
(9) To any Federal, State, or local agency (e.g., State agencies
administering the State's unemployment compensation laws, Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program agencies, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and
U.S. Social Security Administration): To verify the accuracy and
completeness of the data provided, to verify eligibility or continued
eligibility in HUD's rental assistance programs, to identify and
recover improper payments under the Payment Integrity Information Act
of 2019, Public Law 116-117, and to aid in the identification of tenant
errors, fraud, and abuse in assisted housing programs.
(10) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (1) HUD
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of
records; (2) HUD has determined that as a result of the suspected or
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, HUD (including
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal
Government, or national security: and (3) the disclosure made to such
agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in
connection with HUD's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed
breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
(11) To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when HUD
determines that information from this system of records is reasonably
necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to
suspected or confirmed breach, or (2) preventing, minimizing, or
remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or
entity (including its information systems, programs, and operations),
the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a
suspected or confirmed breach.
(12) To contractors, experts, and consultants with whom HUD has a
contract, service agreement, or another assignment when HUD provides
system access to HUD contractors to develop, maintain and troubleshoot
application issues to support the Department's programs needed to meet
its mission. Upgrades and migrations to this TRACS system are needed to
meet the changes in technology and improve system performance.
(13) To Federal agencies, non-Federal entities, their employees,
and agents (including contractors, their agents or employees; employees
or contractors of the agents or designated agents); or contractors,
their employees or agents with whom HUD has a contract, service
agreement, grant, cooperative agreement, or computer matching agreement
for the purpose of: (1) detection, prevention, and recovery of improper
payments; (2) detection and prevention of fraud, waste, and abuse in
major Federal programs administered by a Federal agency or non-Federal
entity; (3) detection of fraud, waste, and abuse by individuals in
their operations and programs; (4) for the purpose of establishing or
verifying the eligibility of, or continuing compliance with statutory
and regulatory requirements by, applicants for, recipients or
beneficiaries of, participants in, or providers of services with
respect to, cash or in-kind assistance or payments under Federal
benefits programs or recouping payments or delinquent debts under such
Federal benefits programs. Records under this routine use may be
disclosed only to the extent that the information shared is necessary
and relevant to verify pre-award and prepayment requirements prior to
the release of Federal funds or to prevent and recover improper
payments for services rendered under programs of HUD or of those
Federal agencies and non-Federal entities to which HUD
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provides information under this routine use.
(14) To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants and their
agents, or others performing or working under a contract, service,
grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement with HUD, when
necessary to accomplish an agency function related to a system of
records.
(15) To any component of the Department of Justice or other Federal
agency conducting litigation or in proceedings before any court,
adjudicative, or administrative body, when HUD determines that the use
of such records is relevant and necessary to the litigation and when
any of the following is a party to the litigation or have an interest
in such litigation: (1) HUD, or any component thereof; or (2) any HUD
employee in his or her official capacity; or (3) any HUD employee in
his or her individual capacity where the Department of Justice or
agency conducting the litigation has agreed to represent the employee;
or (4) the United States, or any agency thereof, where HUD determines
that litigation is likely to affect HUD or any of its components.
(16) To appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, or other
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations
responsible for investigating or prosecuting the violations of, or for
enforcing or implementing, a statute, rule, regulation, order, or
license, where HUD determines that the information would assist in the
enforcement of civil or criminal laws and when such records, either
alone or in conjunction with other information, indicate a violation or
potential violation of law.
(17) To a court, magistrate, administrative tribunal, or arbitrator
in the course of presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing
counsel or witnesses in the course of civil discovery, litigation,
mediation, or settlement negotiations, or in connection with criminal
law proceedings; when HUD determines that use of such records is
relevant and necessary to the litigation and when any of the following
is a party to the litigation or have an interest in such litigation:
(1) HUD, or any component thereof; or (2) any HUD employee in his or
her official capacity; or (3) any HUD employee in his or her individual
capacity where HUD has agreed to represent the employee; or (4) the
United States, or any agency thereof, where HUD determines that
litigation is likely to affect HUD or any of its components.
(18) To the U.S. Department of the Treasury when disclosure of the
information is relevant to review payment and award eligibility through
the Do Not Pay Working System for the purposes of identifying,
preventing, or recouping improper payments to an applicant for, or
recipient of, Federal funds, including funds disbursed by a state
(meaning a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, a
territory or possession of the United States, or a federally recognized
Indian tribe) in a state-administered, federally funded program.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
Records are stored in electronic and paper formats. Electronic
records are maintained within HUD-authorized systems using encryption
and restricted-access directories. Paper records are stored in secured
offices or file cabinets with physical access controls.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Records from this system may be retrieved by Name, SSN, and Home
Address in connection with MFH rental assistance program records.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
TRACS retention and disposal requirements are assessed at the
module level:
(a) ARAMS module (Contract Database) retention instruction is
Temporary: Delete data twenty-five years after the contract expiration
date.
(b) Tenant Module retention (Extract of TRACS Tenant Data (HUD
50059 data)) instruction is Permanent: Transfer current year electronic
data to the National Archives annually at end of calendar year. The
initial transfer must include historic (1995-2006) and current
electronic data. Nl-207-06-2, item 14.B (a)(2).
(c) Voucher Module (Voucher Database) retention instruction is
Temporary: Archive data to tape five (5) years after the last voucher
date or any voucher from a contract that has been terminated five (5)
years or longer. Delete data from the tape twenty-five (25) years after
the last voucher date or any voucher from a contract that has been
terminated twenty-five (25) years or longer. N1-207-06-2-Item 14 B
a2(c).
(d) iMAX Module retention is Temporary: Delete data twenty-five
years after contract expiration date. (NARA Job No. N1-207-06-2, item
14.B (a)(2)(b).
(e) User Guides and Manuals for TRACS and all modules or subsystems
retention instruction is Temporary: Destroy or delete when superseded
or obsolete. N1-207-06-2, item 14.D(e)
(f) iCon module (Contract Database) retention is Temporary: Delete
data twenty-five years after the contract expiration date. Backup and
Recovery of digital media will be destroyed or otherwise rendered
irrecoverable per NIST SP 800-88 Revision 1 ``Guidelines for Media
Sanitization'' N1-207-06-2-Item 14 B a2(b).
(g) Tenant Database (HUD 50059 data) retention is Temporary.
Archive data to tape three (3) years after the certification effective
date. NARA Job No. N1-207-06-2, item 14.B (a)
(h) Tenant Archives Database (Sub-set of data derived from Tenant
Database) Retention is Temporary. Delete data twenty-five (25) years
after the tenant move-out date or twenty-five (25) years after the
termination date. NARA Job No. 1-207-06-2, item 14.B(a)(1).
(i) System Documentation and Data Administration Records GRS 3.1
Item 50 & 51
a. Item 50--Documentation necessary for preservation of permanent
electronic records. Permanent. Transfer to the National Archives with
the permanent electronic records to which the documentation relates.
DAA-GRS-2013-0005-0002.
b. Item 51--All documentation for temporary electronic records and
documentation not necessary for the preservation of permanent records
Temporarily. Destroy 5 years after the project/activity/transaction is
completed or superseded, or the associated system is terminated, or the
associated data is migrated to a successor system, but longer retention
is authorized if required for business use. DAA-GRS-2013-0005-0034.
(j) System Development records. GRS 3.1 Item 10 & 11
a. Item 10--Infrastructure project records. Temporary. Destroy 5
years after the project is terminated, but longer retention is
authorized if required for business use. DAA-GRS-2013-0005-0006.
b. Item 11--System development records. Temporary. Destroy 5 years
after the system is superseded by a new iteration, or is terminated,
defunded, or no longer needed for agency/IT administrative purposes,
but longer retention is authorized if required for business use. DAA-
GRS-2013-0005-0007.
(k) Systems and data security records GRS 3.2 Item 10
a. Item 10--Systems and data security records. Temporary. Destroy 1
year after the system is superseded by a new iteration or when no
longer needed for agency/IT administrative purposes to ensure a
continuity of security controls
[[Page 22163]]
throughout the life of the system. DAA-GRS-2013-0006-0001.
(l) System Access Records GRS 3.2 Item 31
a. Item 31--Systems requiring special accountability for access.
Temporary. Destroy 6 years after the password is altered or the user
account is terminated, but longer retention is authorized if required
for business use. DAA-GRS-2013-0006-0004.
(m) Input and Output Files GRS 5.1 Item 20
a. Item 20--Temporary. Destroy immediately after copying to a
recordkeeping system or otherwise preserving, but longer retention is
authorized if required for business use. DAA-GRS-2016-0016-0002.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
Access to TRACS is by password and user ID and is limited to
authorized users. Role-based access levels or assignment roles are
restricted to those with a need to know. When first gaining access to
TRACS annually, all users must agree to the system's Rules of Behavior,
which specify the handling of personal information and any physical
records. Access to facilities containing and storing physical copies of
this data is controlled by security protocol signed to limit access to
authorized individuals.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals requesting records of themselves should address written
inquiries to the Department of Housing Urban and Development, 451 7th
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410-0001. For verification, individuals
should provide their full name, current address, and telephone number.
In addition, the requester must provide either a notarized statement or
an unsworn declaration made under 24 CFR 16.4.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
The HUD rule for contesting the content of any record pertaining to
the individual by the individual concerned is published in 24 CFR 16.8
or may be obtained from the system manager.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Individuals requesting notification of records of themselves should
address written inquiries to the Department of Housing Urban
Development, 451 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410-0001. For
verification purposes, individuals should provide their full name,
office or organization where assigned, if applicable, and current
address and telephone number. In addition, the requester must provide
either a notarized statement or an unsworn declaration made under 24
CFR 16.4.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
Docket No. FR-7092-N-40, 89 FR 92700, November 22, 2024, modified
by Docket No. FR-7106-N-12, 91 FR 2137, January 16, 2026. Docket No.
FR-7077-N-13A, 88 FR 62813, September 13, 2023. Docket No. FR-5921-N-
13, 81 FR 56684, August 22, 2016.
Kimberly Morton,
Acting Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Administration.
[FR Doc. 2026-07999 Filed 4-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
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