COVID-19

To protect ourselves and our families from the spread of COVID-19 and in accordance with guidance issued by the Office of Personnel Management, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund’s (CDFI Fund’s) employees will be utilizing maximum telework flexibilities beginning Tuesday, March 17, 2020.

The offices of Multifamily Housing and Public and Indian Housing (PIH) at HUD are suspending REAC inspections until further notice in light of COVID-19. Where there is an exigent circumstance or reason to believe that there is a threat to life or property at a specific location, inspections will be conducted by HUD quality assurance inspectors.

HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson was added to the White House Coronavirus Task Force. While the risk of infections for Americans remains low, HUD is encouraging multifamily owners and agents, Public Housing Authorities, Performance Based Contract Administrators, FHA lenders to make the information below available to residents and employees.

President Trump’s Administration released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget request, “A Budget for America’s Future.” HUD is allocated $47.9 billion in funding, a 15.2 percent decrease over FY 2020 enacted levels with notable zeroing out of the HOME program, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), Public Housing Capital Fund, Choice Neighborhoods and HOPE VI.

Last week Congress and the President averted another shutdown by passing funding for the remainder of FY 2019, which runs through Sept. 30, 2019. Overall, the bill provides HUD programs with more than $12 billion above the President’s request and provides $1.5 billion in new resources in FY 2019.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) will hold an oversight hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. ET on HUD’s management of rental assistance contracts during the shutdown.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released Opportunities to End Homelessness and Housing Poverty in the 116th Congress, a memo to incoming members of Congress on steps to address the lack of decent, accessible and affordable housing. The report calls on members of Congress to:

A FY-2014 report from the Housing Assistance Council provides an overview of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) rural housing loan and grant obligation activity. For multi-family programs, the report looks at how Section 515 funds, multi-family housing vouchers, and rental assistance contracts were awarded.