On October 24, 2000, in Federal Register Notices 65 FR 4280 & 4497, HUD announced the requirements for Public Housing Agencies to start using the new inspection protocol, Uniform Physical Condition Standard (UPCS), within 30 days... (based on fiscal year end (FYE) date)
As a major paradigm shift in the assessment of public housing, HUD REAC inspects to this new protocol. They expect housing management to meet the protocol requirements by performing their own annual inspections to the new protocol.
As transition from HQS to UPCS, the UPCS inspection protocol assesses 61 items divided into 5 inspectable areas. Each inspectable area has several items with specified defects to identify levels of damage (severity.) Each item has a pre-defined value for its importance to housing (criticality) and a nominal weight. From the values of severity, criticality, and weight, a score is calculated. Thus, UPCS results in a graded system versus the old pass/fail system of HQS. Other inspection activities such as house-keeping maintenance or local code are not included in the UPCS protocol and must be considered separately.