HUD

The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency updated its Multifamily Underwriting and Financing Guidelines and Policy, effective as of June 25, 2020. These Multifamily Policies have been amended to include requirements for the allocation of Sandy Disaster Recovery Program subsidies as provided in the 2014 “Voluntary Compliance Agreement and Conciliation Agreement” (VCA) with HUD.

On June 7, 2020 the House Appropriations Committee released its draft fiscal year 2021 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies funding bill. The measure was adopted by the Subcommittee on July 8, 2020.  The measure heads next to the Full Committee for an additional markup.  The bill provides a total of $50.6 billion […]

On July 1, 2020, HUD published Housing Notice (2020-7), Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Eviction Moratorium that extends the moratorium on evictions for all HUD-insured or HUD-held mortgages while under forbearance, and also provides guidance on tenant protections for multifamily properties not subject to forbearance and those with HUD-assisted units.

To encourage owners of multifamily properties to provide flexibilities to residents who may be struggling financially as a result of COVID-19, HUD has published a new brochure with updated guidance for multifamily property owners on promoting housing stability during the pandemic.

On June 12 the Bipartsan Policy Center published a new brief entitled “Housing Assistance is a COVID-19 Response and Racial Justice Priority.”  The brief finds that the public health and economic crisis that COVID-19 triggered has put millions of low-income households at risk of eviction and homelessness and has widened racial disparities in housing and health outcomes.

The House of Representatives passed the Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020 (H.R. 7301) to provide relief for homeowners, renters, landlords and people experiencing homelessness amidst the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The provisions of this bill were largely included in the HEROES Act as passed by the House in May, which has yet to be voted on in the Senate.

The St. Paul Public Housing Authority (PHA) has issued a Request for Proposals to award up to 120 Section 8 Project-based vouchers to property owners. Applicants must submit applications via Minnesota Housing’s Multifamily Customer Portal. Applications are due July 16 by 12:00 pm CT. You can view the application and additional information on St. Paul […]

The House Democrats’ recently released infrastructure bill, Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), includes a myriad of housing provisions. A vote on the legislation is expected before the Fourth of July recess. While the bill is likely to pass the Democrat-led House, it will face greater resistance in the GOP-led Senate. The bill does not include any pay-fors and Republicans are already panning the bill as dead-on-arrival. However, the bill may set an important marker for future infrastructure negotiations. The Trump administration is reportedly drafting a $1 trillion infrastructure package aimed at spurring the economy.

HUD recently published a notice of annual factors for determining public housing agencies (PHAs) administrative fees for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Mainstream and Moderate Rehabilitation programs for calendar year 2020. The adjustment factors back date to January 1, 2020.

HUD’s National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) demonstration has postponed all field testing until further notice following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, refinement of standards and scoring testing remain ongoing to further the development of the NSPIRE Model and HUD is still seeking the voluntary participation of properties.

The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) Board named Denise Iseri-Matsubara executive director effective July 1. She has served as interim executive director since January.

Earlier today the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) held a virtual hearing on The Rent Is Still Due: America’s Renters, COVID-19 and an Unprecedented Eviction Crisis. Witnesses Cashauna Hill, Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center; Mike Kingsella, Up for Growth; Ann Oliva, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Jenny Schuetz, The Brookings Institution discussed the need for ongoing financial assistance to families.