HUD Adopts New ALTA Survey Standards into Requirements for Multi-family Loans

April 7, 2016

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has modified its multi-family survey instructions incorporating the new 2016 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys. The new ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey Standards went into effect Feb. 23.

Click here to view HUD’s new Survey Instructions and Surveyor’s Report

HUD recommends the following transition and implementation guidance:

  • If you are under contract prior to Feb. 23, you could use the 2011 Standards—even if the survey is not completed until after Feb. 23.
  • If you are under contract prior to Feb. 23 and you know the survey will not be completed until after Feb. 23, it would be logical, but not required to go ahead and contract to use the 2016 Standards.
  • "Updates" must be to the 2016 Standards if they are contracted after Feb. 23. The only exception to that might be if you contracted to do a 2011 survey before Feb. 23 and, for some reason, the closing was delayed so long that they wanted the survey "updated" before closing. In that case, you might be able to do that update to the 2011 Standards; not for a new conveyance but for the delayed conveyance.
  • If a new construction or sub-rehab project has a 2011 survey performed for initial closing, will the final as-built survey performed in connection with the final closing a year or two later upon completion of construction also fall under the 2011 Standards, or the 2016 Standards?
    • Under that scenario—a year or two later—the final survey would need to meet the 2016 Standards. The surveyor should know, however, that they will need to consider—in particular—the changes to Table A between 2011 and 2016.
    • It might be able to posit that if the final survey is a logical extension of the initial survey AND the timeframe between initial and final survey is short, one could continue with 2011, but if we don't draw a line, it just goes on and on.

HUD will further consider the 2016 ALTA/NSPS survey requirements when the Multi-family closing documents undergo the OMB/PRA renewal process within the year. HUD will determine at this time whether or not to make substantive changes to the HUD-91073M form as a result of the new ALTA/NSPS document.

According to Gary Kent, director of integrated services at Schneider Corp. and chair of the ALTA Liaison Committee with the National Society of Professional Surveyors, HUD now allows participants to use the Section 7 ALTA/NSPS certification rather than its own.


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.