HUD

Missouri will conduct a series of public hearings on its Draft Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Annual Action Plan, which governs the state’s allocation of the following HUD funds: Community Development Block Grant, HOME Program, Emergency Solutions Grant Program, Housing Trust Fund, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS and Continuum of Care. The 30-day public comment period on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Draft Action Plan begins January 15, 2020 and ends at noon CT on February 14, 2020.

Missouri will host a series of public hearings on its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) – Mitigation plan, which will guide how the state spends $41 million specifically designated for mitigation. These funds will be used to implement projects at the local level that strengthen infrastructure and reduce future losses in areas that have experienced repetitive flooding as a result of the 2017 storms.

HUD released its 2019 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, which found that 567,715 persons experienced homelessness on a single night in 2019, a three percent increase over 2018. Homelessness among veterans and families with children continued to fall, declining 2.1 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, in 2019.

In 2016, the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Office of Multifamily Housing Programs introduced a voluntary green building standards program that allowed for a reduced annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) at the rate of 0.25 percent for properties that are committed to green building practices. The reduced MIP for industry-recognized green housing encouraged owners to adopt higher standards for construction, rehabilitation, repairs, maintenance and property operations.

A bipartisan group of four Senators recently introduced a bill that would require that ten percent of the annual New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation be made to community development entities (CDEs) for investment in developments in Indian and Native lands

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the following financial services bills to support veterans, benefit investors, provide housing opportunities, hold regulators accountable, promote Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and improve cybersecurity:

On December 20, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced an increase of the administrative fee for all state funded voucher programs from $40 to $50 per voucher, effective February 1, 2020. This includes the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, Alternative Housing Voucher Program, and the Department of Mental Health Rental Subsidy Program. […]

This week, HUD released a proposed rule on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AHHF) that would dramatically alter the Obama administration’s final rule published in 2015. The rule changes the definition of AFFH and eliminates the community participation and engagement requirement as well as the requirement that federal grantees complete an analysis of impediments to fair housing. Comments on the proposed rule are due 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

As RAD conversions continue to drive Project Based Voucher (PBV) growth, HUD proposes to fill an information gap to enable monitoring, tracking and analysis of PHAs’ PBV performance. Comments are due February 24, 2020.

Yesterday the House of Representatives voted to approve federal funding for the remainder of FY 2020, which will provide $738 billion to the military and $632 billion to non-defense agencies. The Senate is expected to pass the measures before the current continuing resolution expires on December 20, and the White House has indicated President Trump will sign them into law.

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) released the Piggyback Resilient Mixed-Income (PRIME) NOFA, which is designed to develop resilient multifamily properties in areas that were greatly impacted by the 2016 floods. This NOFA will make available $42 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to be combined with LIHTC and bond-financed mortgage proceeds, supporting the development of mixed-income multifamily properties

The United States Conference of Mayors has issued a new report “Mayor’s Vision For America: A 2020 Call To Action” which calls for new investments in infrastructure, innovation and inclusion.  The report outlines 12 priorities including to “make housing more affordable and end homelessness.”  The report specifically calls for increased funding for the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Program as well as the creation of a new program for blighted neighborhood restoration.  Additionally, the report calls for the expansion of rental housing supply noting, “There is an increased need for rental housing. The nation needs to create and pursue policies to develop more rental housing.