COVID-19

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) announced the application for the Affordable Rental Housing Portfolio Stabilization COVID-19 Response Funds is now open.

Developer Woda Cooper Companies hosted a first-look and tour for Anderson Greene’s first phase on October 28, 2020, for Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart and Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham, plus a small group of community leaders, partners, and other supporters.

On October 14, HUD issued a further update to its Frequently Asked Questions for subsidized multifamily housing programs to clarify and extend certain interim procedures and tie in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s order creating a national eviction moratorium for nonpayment of rent.

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Household Rental Debt During COVID-19, estimates that by December 2020, 1.3 million renter households will owe $7.2 billion in rent, which is around $5,400 each.

Florida Housing posted updated templates of its Coronavirus Relief Funds (CFR) Subsidy Request Reports – Recap of Tenant Income Certification. These updated templates correct rounding errors and provide for optional fees in accordance with the provisions of the funding agreements and the CRF resident applications.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new resources on its eviction moratorium, including a declaration template and FAQs, prepared in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services, HUD and the Department of Justice. 

A new report from the National Leased Housing Association warns, “in the long run, the negative impacts on housing providers, if not addressed, will result in lower housing supply, reduced renter mobility and foregone benefits to low- and moderate-income communities. However, if housing providers can recover financially and restore investments in new housing developments, including affordable housing, the industry can play an important role in the economic recovery from COVID-19.”

HUD published the Resident Declaration Form required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratorium in 20 different languages: Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, French, German, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Italian, Khmer, Korea, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Spanish (Puerto Rican), Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese.

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Housing and Infrastructure Project released federal policy recommendations designed to dramatically reduce the number of working families with destabilizing rent burdens and at risk of eviction, minimize the number of people experiencing homelessness, and prevent further spread of COVID-19.

The Florida Housing Finance Corporation translated the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) Resident Application and Application Instructions to Spanish and Creole.

Updated Subsidy Request Report – Recap of Tenant Income Certifications templates have also been posted to request rental subsidy after collecting completed and signed resident applications and associated documentation for each month the household is seeking rental subsidy

A new joint venture between the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) and National Affordable Housing Trust (NAHT) aims to raise $1 billion over the first five years of the partnership to build, protect and preserve approximately 10,000 affordable homes across the country.

On September 29, House Democrats released a scaled down COVID-19 relief proposal, calling it an updated Heroes Act, with a price tag of $2.2 trillion. The bill is nearly $1 trillion less than the earlier version and includes new relief for the airline, restaurant and other hardest-hit industries, as well as additional funds to support education and childcare. Despite the lower price tag, negotiations between the House, White House and Senate are not progressing, and it seems unlikely that they will reach agreement to enact further large-scale relief before the election.