HUD

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced in Revenue Procedure 2013-35 that it has set the inflation-adjusted State credit ceiling for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and private activity bond caps for calendar year 2014.

HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs published a Notice in the Federal Register to solicit comments about a proposal for an initiative which will help facilitate financing of small, multifamily buildings. HUD’s intent is to implement the Small Multifamily Building Risk Share Initiative directed to facilitating the financing of small multifamily properties.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, October 28 passed a number of veteran’s affairs bills, including the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2013 (HR 1742) which would broaden disabled veterans’ income eligibility for federal rental assistance and public housing programs.

Ben Metcalf, the current Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) of HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing recently announced that Margaret Salazar has been selected as the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary where she will lead the Office of Affordable Housing Preservation (OAHP).

HUD recently announced that the agency will provide a second round of recovery funds to five states and New York City affected by last year’s Hurricane Sandy through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. These recovery funds are to be used to assist impacted communities to meet remaining housing, economic development and infrastructure needs.

Despite the extreme division and political controversy that came along with the recent federal government shutdown and debt ceiling debate, Congress was able to pass the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2014 (HR 2775) which would provide appropriations to government agencies for three months. Section 148 of the measure extends the second component of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program through January 15, 2014.

HUD has released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document on RAD Rent and Funding Levels for Applications Received by December 31, 2013, which incorporate and expand on elements contained in previous FAQs posted on 3/15/13 and 9/13/13.

HUD recently issued a notice in the Federal Register to combine and streamline public housing capital funding and the public housing development program.

All conference materials, PowerPoint presentations, relevant articles, reports, memos, etc. from the 2013 NCHMA Annual Meeting are available for download.

HUD recently released Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2013–31, which extends certain provisions within a previously released ML 2012-13 and ML 2011-13. The authority within ML 2011-13 allowed Multifamily HUD Hubs to process waiver requests pertaining to the three-year rule for Section 223(f) applications, but that rule expired in July 2012 and ML 2012-13 extended the rule for one year.

HUD has published its final Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for the Housing Choice Voucher Program and Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy Program and any other programs requiring their use for Fiscal Year 2014. The FY 2014 FMRs are based on using 5-year, 2007-2011 data collected by the American Community Survey (ACS).

Multifamily housing developers, community organizations, investors, and lenders interested in affordable rental housing in New England have a new resource available that provides a comprehensive overview of current opportunities. A special report entitled “A Variety of Approaches: New England State Agencies Differ in Needs, Priorities in Their Housing Credit Programs” reviews recent and current tax credit allocation activity, project trends, and state priorities in the New England states ““Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont.