News

Last week the Senate held a voice vote to confirm Adrianne Todman as deputy secretary at HUD. NH&RA looks forward to continuing to work with Ms. Todman in her new role! 

HUD published an interim final rule, which partially restores the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rules promulgated under President Barack Obama (D). The rule requires HUD grantees (PHAs, as well as state and local governments) to  regularly certify compliance with the Fair Housing Act’s AFFH requirement and, in doing so, commit to taking steps to remedy their unique fair housing issues. 

The St. Paul Public Housing Authority (PHA) is offering up to 50 Project-based Vouchers through the Consolidated RFP with an additional 20 Project-based Vouchers specifically for HUD – Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH). Applications will be accepted through Minnesota Housing’s Multifamily Customer Portal. Applications are due by noon on July 15. For information on Project-based Vouchers, please visit the St. Paul PHA website or contact Dominic Mitchell, St. Paul PHA Housing Choice Voucher Programs Director at 651-292-6191 or dominic.mitchell@stpha.org.

The Illinois state legislate passed the COVID-19 Affordable Housing Grant Program Act (HR 27252), which would require that LIHTC properties in Cook County be assessed using the income-approach, as well as a new property tax incentive policy that would provide reduction in assessed value for both subsidized and market-rate owners that provide affordable units. The omnibus legislation also extends the Illinois State LIHTC through 2026. A full summary of the bill’s provisions is available here from the Illinois Housing Council.  

The California state assembly passed the Housing Accountability Act (AB 989), which would create a state Housing Accountability Committee to adjudicate violations of the Housing Accountability Act and give the committee the authority to overturn denials or conditions of approval that are not consistent with the Act. This provides a quicker, less expensive, less confrontational and more consistent alternative to enforcing state housing laws in court, resulting in more affordable homes built at lower cost.  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications for eligible entities to provide planning, training and technical assistance to rural communities to foster placemaking activities. 

USDA is making up to $3 million in cooperative agreement grants available under the Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge (RPIC). Eligible entities may use the funds to help rural communities create plans to enhance capacity for broadband access; preserve cultural and historic structures; and support development in transportation, housing and recreational spaces. 

Join HUD, the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Housing Initiative at Penn at 2 p.m. ET on June 10 for a webinar on the emergency rental assistance (ERA) programs throughout the country. The webinar will feature ERA tools from NLIHC and Penn, as well as insight into the lessons and recommendations they discovered in their research to best assist communities and priority populations. Register here.

HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) is hosting Opportunity Zone (OZ) Roundtable virtual events in conjunction with regional offices. This webinar will provide CPD grantees with a baseline understanding of CPD funding possibilities in designated OZs, and how to proactively support OZ projects and investments. 

ISSUE DATE: June 7, 2021 RESPONSE DEADLINE: June 28, 2021, 5:00 PM Eastern Time CONTRACT TO BEGIN: August 1, 2021 The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (“IHCDA”) is requesting proposals to select a market study analyst to review market studies submitted to IHCDA and conduct third-party market studies on behalf of IHCDA, on an […]

The administration says it will launch an interagency effort to address inequity in home appraisals and publish next week in the Federal Register a proposed rule on countering housing practices with discriminatory effects and an interim proposed rule on HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.

Last week, President Joe Biden (D) released the administration’s full fiscal year (FY) 2022 discretionary funding request to Congress. The HUD budget requests $68.7 billion, a $9 billion or 15-percent increase from the 2021 enacted level.

HUD has made available a new Guide to Public Housing Repositioning, which reviews the different options, and associated planning considerations, available to Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) as they consider the long-term future of their portfolios.