News

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC) released a new report, 2020 Picture of Preservation, which estimates that nearly 300,000 may be lost from the nation’s affordable stock in the next five years.

The Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2020-41 to extend the continuity safe harbor for renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC) properties that began construction in 2016 or 2017. The notice adds an extra year to the four-year continuity safe harbor in existing guidance, stating that those projects placed in service within five years will be deemed continuous.

Today the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released its final rule on Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Regulations and a non-exhaustive list of CRA activities. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) declined to join today’s final rule saying in a statement, “While the FDIC strongly supports the efforts to make the CRA rules clearer, more transparent, and less subjective, the agency is not prepared to finalize the CRA proposal at this time.

The National Council of State Housing Agencies and Novogradac released a report examining the impact of lowering the 50 percent test for four percent LIHTC and tax-exempt bond financed properties and found that a lowered test could result in the financing of between 177,665 and 1,421,320 affordable homes over the next ten years.

Governor Gavin Newsom released a revised state budget for California, which maintains earlier commitments to funding $500 million in State LIHTCs in 2021. The proposal also includes $750 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Funds to acquire hotels and motels so that homeless individuals temporarily sheltered through Project Roomkey will have a place to live after […]

South Carolina enacted the Workforce and Senior Affordable Housing Act when House Bill 3998 was signed into law by Governor Henry McMaster (R) on May 14, 2020. The legislation allows for the allocation of state credits matching the federal credit allocation on both nine and four percent deals for deals placed in service between January […]

On Tuesday, House Democrats unveiled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) and summary. While the House is expected to vote on the $3 trillion bill on Friday, it is unlikely to become law, at least not in its current form. The bill is largely a messaging document that lays the groundwork for negotiations with the Senate and Republicans.

On Tuesday the Senate voted 61-32 to confirm Brian Montgomery as HUD’s deputy secretary. In a hearing last week the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee advanced the nomination of Dana Wade to be the Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at HUD.

Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and 25 co-sponsors introduced the Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act, which would provide $100 billion in emergency rental assistance.

NH&RA sent a letter to HUD calling for guidance to PHAs on the distribution distributing of relief funds to mixed-finance properties as well as traditional public housing properties.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and HUD launched an online resource on mortgage and housing assistance for renters and homeowners affected by COVID-19.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac created online multifamily property lookup tools to help renters find out if they are protected from evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic through the CARES Act.