How to Fill Out and Submit HUD Form 9839: Version, Signatures, and Fees

HUD Form 9839 is the management certification that a property owner (and, in most cases, the management agent) signs before HUD will let the agent be paid from the operating account of a HUD-insured or HUD-assisted multifamily project. It is part of a larger management approval package that goes to your local HUD field office at least 60 days before the new agent takes over.¹ Until HUD approves both the agent and the fee, no management fees can be disbursed from project income.²

Pick the Right Version First

There are three versions of the certification. Filing the wrong one gets your package returned before anyone reads it.

HUD-9839-A is for owner-managed projects where the owner runs day-to-day operations without an outside firm. Only the owner signs.³
HUD-9839-B is for projects with a management agent, whether the agent has an identity-of-interest relationship with the owner or is fully independent. Both owner and agent sign. This is the most common version.²
HUD-9839-C is for elderly housing projects, including Section 202 developments, where a project administrator manages on behalf of the borrower corporation’s board.⁴

The identity-of-interest distinction matters when HUD reviews the fee, but it does not change which form you use. All current versions download from hud.gov.

Assemble the Package Before You Start Signing

Form 9839 does not travel alone. HUD Handbook 4381.5 REV-2 lists everything the approval package needs, and missing items are the fastest way to blow the timeline. Along with the certification, you send:

Form HUD-2530, the Previous Participation Certification, listing the agent’s principals and affiliates and their prior HUD-insured or HUD-assisted work, and certifying that none have been debarred or suspended.¹
Form HUD-9832, the Management Entity Profile, describing the agent’s organizational structure, operating procedures, identity-of-interest relationships, types of projects previously managed, and staff qualifications.¹
A proposed staffing list with job titles, approximate salaries and hourly rates, duty descriptions, and an allocation method for anyone splitting time across projects or working part-time in a non-supervisory role.¹
A written description of the agent’s resident complaint system, with real examples of how it has been used at other properties.¹

You will also need the FHA project number, the full legal names and addresses of the owner entity and the agent, and the executed management agreement between them.

Filling In the Certification

The top of every version asks for the FHA project number, the project name, and the names of the owner and agent. Enter these exactly as they appear on the management agreement and the 2530. Mismatched entity names are one of the most common reasons packages come back for revisions.

Fee Disclosure

The certification requires a detailed breakdown of the proposed management fee. Fees are quoted and calculated as a percentage of the income the agent actually collects. Residential income fees are based on rental income from housing units; fees on commercial space or miscellaneous income must be disclosed separately.⁵

HUD does not publish a national percentage cap. Instead, it converts the proposed percentage into a per-unit-per-month yield and compares that yield against an acceptable range set for the project’s geographic area. A yield within the range gets approved; a yield above the range must be denied.⁶ Ask your local HUD office for the current acceptable yield for your area before you write a number on the form.

Disclose any ancillary charges, such as bookkeeping or centralized accounting, on the certification as well. The agent has to cover the cost of supervising and overseeing project operations out of the management fee itself, so ancillary charges that duplicate supervisory functions invite scrutiny.⁵

Civil Rights and Compliance Certifications

A large portion of the form is compliance pledges. The owner or agent certifies compliance with all federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, and Executive Order 11063. Projects receiving direct federal financial assistance also certify compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968.³

The signer also commits to giving families with children equal consideration for admission, providing priority for subsidized units built for persons with disabilities, and furnishing HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity with any monitoring reports it requests. These commitments become part of the project’s regulatory file when you sign.

Anti-Kickback and Handling of Funds

Both the owner and agent certify that no payments have been made or will be made to the owner in exchange for awarding the management contract. HUD reviewers check this closely.¹ The agent also confirms it will maintain project funds according to HUD requirements and acknowledges that no fees can be earned or paid after HUD terminates its management of the project.³

How and Where to Submit

Send the complete package to the Loan/Asset Management staff at your local HUD field office, at least 60 days before the new agent is scheduled to take over.¹ On some projects a designated Performance-Based Contract Administrator handles intake and review, but HUD keeps approval authority for all insured and assisted projects where it serves as the contract administrator.

Electronic signatures are permitted. HUD Notice H-2020-10 authorizes electronic signatures, storage, and transmission on HUD-assisted housing documents, and it remains in effect until amended, revoked, or superseded.⁷ Electronic transmissions must comply with HUD security requirements and National Institute of Standards and Technology guidelines. If you sign electronically, you still have to provide non-electronic alternatives to residents and applicants who request them and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act for anyone who cannot use electronic systems.

What Happens After You File

HUD’s target is a decision within 45 days of receiving all required materials. A slow 2530 clearance can push that out.¹ The agent generally cannot take over management until HUD issues its approval letter.

If HUD spots discrepancies between the fee on the certification and the management agreement, or problems with the agent’s qualifications or 2530 clearance, the office will ask for revisions. Common triggers: inconsistent entity names across documents, fee percentages that produce yields above the acceptable range, and incomplete staffing proposals. The local office may also request additional information to evaluate the agent’s acceptability or to resolve operating problems at the property.¹

Once approved, the certification becomes a permanent part of the project’s regulatory file, and the owner may pay the agent from the operating account at the approved fee.

Paying Fees Without Approval

The certification itself says management fees may only be disbursed from project income after the certification has been submitted, HUD has approved the agent, and HUD has approved the fee if required.² Paying before approval violates the owner’s regulatory agreement with HUD.

If HUD later determines that a management fee is excessive, the owner has 30 days from the date of the notice to do one of three things: reduce the fee to an amount HUD considers reasonable, require the agent to refund all excessive fees already collected back to the project, or appeal HUD’s determination and then comply with the outcome within 30 days of the decision.³ After HUD terminates an agent, no further fees can be earned or paid.

Adjusting the Fee After Approval

Approval is not permanent. If a project receives a rent increase equal to 20 percent or more of its current rent potential, the management fee percentage must be decreased using the method in Handbook 4381.5 REV-2. And if the certification indicates the fee yield is capped, any rent increase that would push the yield above the cap forces a downward adjustment to the fee percentage, even when the rent increase is less than 20 percent.⁶ Skipping the adjustment risks having the fee flagged as excessive at the next review, which restarts the 30-day correction clock.

1
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 4381.5 REV-2 – The Management Agent Handbook, Chapter Two: Approval of Management Agents
2
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-9839-B – Project Owner’s/Management Agent’s Certification for Multifamily Housing Projects
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Project Owner’s Certification for Owner-Managed Multifamily Housing Projects
4
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-9839-C – Project Owner’s/Borrower’s Certification for Elderly Housing Projects
5
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 4381.5 REV-2 – The Management Agent Handbook, Chapter Three: Allowable Management Fees From Project Funds
6
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Multifamily West Region Management Fee Ranges
7
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Notice H-2020-10