HADS UPDATE NOTE
March 01, 2007

This document describes the revisions to the Housing Affordability
Data System (HADS) implemented in the files dated 022707.

1. Poverty Level Income, 2001:
Due to a data processing error, the poverty level income variable
(IPOV) in the 2001 HADS file (only) was too low.  The error has been
corrected.  This affects all of the income and cost relative to
poverty variables in the 2001 file.

2. Imputation for Underreported Income:
As is described on page 10 of the HADS documentation, Households which
report zero or negative incomes but are living in uncrowded, adequate
housing that cost more than the Fair Market Rent are classified as
having the area median income.  Their housing cost burdens are
calculated on this basis.  We erronously used Cost06 rather than ZSMHC
when making this determination and when calculating burden for these
households.  This has been corrected.  Note that Cost06 is the same as
ZSMHC for renters, but not for owners.  Thus, this correction changes
the income classification and burden of some owner-occupied occupied
households.

3. Formatted Housing Cost Burden:
The Burden variable uses the special code of -1 for households with
zero or negative incomes.  In the previous version of HADS, the
formatted burden variable, FMTBurden, erroneously classified such
households as having burdens under 30% of income.  We have added an
additional category to the formatting, so that FMTBurden reports such
households separately.

CONTACT
David A. Vandenbroucke
Senior Economist
Office of Policy Development and Research
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street SW, Room 8218
Washington, DC   20410

Email:    david_a._vandenbroucke@hud.gov
Phone:    202-402-5890
Fax:      202-708-3316