General News

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has announced it will be auctioning approximately 400 scattered site properties, consisting of vacant buildings and lots, which have been approved for sale by HUD.

The White House’s Rental Policy Working Group recently released realignment requirements for several critical administrative policy areas in order to better align Federal rental policy. As one of the first initiatives to be tested, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has been selected as the nation’s first housing authority to implement federal subsidy layering review realignment.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recently released a report detailing the usage of Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV). The report finds that in 2010, 2,083,187 families in the United States used HCVs yet only 91 percent of the National authorized vouchers were utilized…

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2011-83 to announce the suspension of certain requirements for low-income housing tax credit projects in order to provide emergency housing relief to individuals affected by Hurricane Irene and/or Tropical Storm Lee in Pennsylvania.

The public comment period for multiple Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) programs including the proposed 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) began September 30 and is underway until 5:00 pm October 19, 2011. Public hearings for input on the various programs are scheduled between October 7 and October 17, 2011.

The Montana Board of Housing announced Mary Bair as its new Multifamily Program Manager.

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency has posted the following documents relative to the 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan.

In February 2011, the Hawaii State Legislature passed S.B. No. 1240 which created a mechanism to provide alternative financing assistance to incentivize the use of the State’s low-income housing tax credit program.

Housing & Urban Development Director Shaun Donovan last week traveled to Columbus, Ohio to help popularize the Project Rebuild initiative that has been proposed as part of President Obama’s American Jobs Act.

The Washington State Housing Finance Commission has released the 2012 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program Application Packet.

On Thursday, October 6th, the Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing entitled, “The Obama Administration’s Response to the Housing Crisis.” The hearing examined the Administration’s response to the housing crisis, including new proposals announced by the President during his recent speech to a joint session of Congress.

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing has released a notice that provides public housing agencies (PHAs) with instructions for operating subsidy calculation submissions in 2012.