HUD

The Boston Housing Authority will become the first in the nation to voluntarily adopt small area fair market rents (SAFMRs). Doing so would link the value of a housing voucher to rent levels by ZIP code rather than to rent levels for the housing market overall, meaning that people with vouchers may have greater access to higher-cost neighborhoods.

Last week HUD released Version 3 of the Location Affordability Index (LAI) dataset. The LAI is a nationwide database of modeled household housing and transportation costs launched by HUD and the Department of Transportation in 2013. The updated version provides greater insight into how these costs vary by geographic and household characteristics. Version 3 primarily uses data from the 2012-2016 American Community Su

Two HUD proposed rules seek to create flexibilities in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships programs to incentivize their use in Opportunity Zones.

HUD published a Notice of Emergency Approval of an Information Collection: National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) Demonstration. The document outlines a few important details for the new 2-year Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) demonstration which HUD hopes will identify potential adjustments to standards, protocols, and processes.

The National Council of Housing Market Analysts (NCHMA) sent comments and recommendations to HUD as it updates Chapter 7 of the Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Guide Market Study Guidelines.

Approximately $2 million in Section 811 project-based rental assistance is available under Round 1 of the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) program. Units provided this rental assistance would need to be occupied by PRA-eligible tenants no later than September 30, 2020. The California Housing Finance Agency is accepting applications now an over-the counter first-come-first-served […]

HUD announced $5 million will be made available this summer for the purchase and installation of carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in public housing units where they are necessary. HUD also announced it has been working with Congressional leaders on the Senate Banking Committee on legislation that will require CO detectors in HUD-assisted housing units that need them.

The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will markup the FY 2020 T-HUD appropriations bill at 8:30 am EDT on May 23.

The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) and the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, Local Government Division (DFA) are seeking public comment on the Draft State of New Mexico 2019 Annual Action Plan (AAP).

Oregon Housing and Community Services, Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Business Development Department are seeking public comments for priorities for housing and community development in its Proposed 2019 Annual Action Plan (AAP).

UnitedHealthcare has partnered with the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) and the Louisiana Department of Health to support important initiatives aimed at reducing homelessness throughout the state.

The House Appropriations Committee recently approved FY 2020 allocations for its 12 subcommittees, known as 302(b)s. The allocations total $1.295 trillion in discretionary funding and were approved on a 30-22 vote.