General News

The most recent December 2011 issue of ResearchWorks, the official newsletter of HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research, examined the geographic distribution of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects in 10 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).

According to a senior Treasury official, Michael Stegman, a housing and domestic policy director at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, will join the Treasury Department in January 2012 as a counselor to Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has named Aaron Gornstein as the new undersecretary for Housing and Community Development. Gornstein replaces Tina Brooks, who left the position earlier this year to become the executive vice president of programs for Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2012-07 to announce the temporary suspension of certain requirements for low-income housing tax credit projects in order to provide emergency housing relief to individuals affected by the flooding in Iowa between May 25 and August 1, 2011.

The Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) has released a revised draft of the 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). In the revised draft, KHC has indicated that 60 percent of 2013 LIHTCs will be forward committed to projects that applied in the October 3, 2011, round.

The Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) issued a memo to all potential applicants for the 2012 LIHTC allocation round to announce changes to the tax credit program.

In accordance with Section 206A of the National Housing Act, HUD has adjusted the basic statutory mortgage limits for Multifamily Housing Programs for 2012, effective January 1, 2012.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has released the 2012 Multifamily Application Materials which includes the final 2012-2013 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), the updated 2012 Site Demographic Characteristics Report, the Multifamily Programs Procedures Manual, Pre-Application materials, Multifamily Uniform Application, and more.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report which examined the effectiveness of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided $5 billion to WAP to help low-income families make long-term energy efficiency improvements to their homes.

HUD has published its quarterly notice of all regulatory waivers that the Department has approved for the Office of Community Planning and Development, the Office of Housing ““ Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Office of Public and Indian Housing.

HUD has issued a proposed rule change to the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program which provides formula grants to states and local governments to fund activities that support the development, acquisition, and/or rehabilitation of affordable housing for rent or homeownership or to fund direct rental assistance to low-income people.

HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) has released the results of the most recent physical property inspections of properties that are owned, insured or subsidized by HUD, including public housing and multifamily assisted housing.