General News

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) announced the latest round of available Low-Income Housing Credit (LIHC), Housing Trust Fund (HTF), HOME Program (HOME) and State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program (SLIHC) funds, as well as the new Rural and Urban Community Investment Fund (CIF), available through the Unified Funding application process.

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) recently released the Notice of Allocation Availability (NOAA), which officially opens the 2013 round of competition under the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program). Other updates include the release of the electronic application and revisions to the Application Q&A.

HUD recently released the final rule (24 CFR Part 891) in the Federal Register governing the use of funding for Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program (Section 202) and the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program (Section 811) to streamline the requirements applicable to Section 202 and Section 811 mixed-finance developments.

President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, chaired by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, recently released a rebuilding strategy to serve as a model for communities across the nation facing greater risks from extreme weather and to continue helping the Sandy-affected region rebuild.

The U.S. Department of Treasury’s updated 2013-2014 Priority Guidance Plan contains 324 projects that are priorities for allocation of the resources of its offices during the plan year which runs from July 2013 through June 2014.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has released the preliminary staff drafts of 2014 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and key subchapters of the Uniform Multifamily Rules related to the QAP requirements. Additionally, an online forum with the discussion threads for each of the various parts of the rules is available online and TDHCA staff encourages potential members and the public to make comments on the preliminary QAP.

HUD recently released Notice H 2013-23 to revise the financial reporting requirements for small multifamily housing projects. This Notice, which comes as a part of the White House’s Rental Policy Working Group’s (RPWG) changes to auditing standards and requirements, would relieve owners of small multifamily projects of submitting audited financial statements.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that Tammye Treviño, who most recently served as Administrator of the Rural Housing Service (RHS), has left the agency to become Regional Director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Region VI, based in Texas.

Two Committees within the California State Assembly, the Committee on Housing and Community Development and the Labor and Employment Committee, recently approved the California Homes and Jobs Act of 2013 (SB 391).

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) recently introduced the Historic Downtown Preservation and Access Act (S. 1421) to amend Section 47 of the Internal Revenue Code to provide a refundable tax credit for the installation of sprinklers and elevators in historic structures.

A recent report conducted by Rapoza Associates entitled “The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: Overcoming Barriers to Affordable Housing in Rural America” examines the importance of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) in the developing and preserving affordable housing in rural communities.

Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) will host a Public Hearing for the 2014 Tennessee LIHTC QAP on August 29, 2013 from 10:00 am to 11:00 am