HUD

On Monday December 31, 2012, the Senate approved the appointment of Carol J. Galante as the Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Assistant Secretary of Housing for HUD by a measure of 69-24, with 18 of the approving votes coming from Senate Republicans.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released it latest LIHC Newsletter, which provides a forum for networking and sharing information about Section 42, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and communicating technical knowledge and skills, guidance, and assistance for developing LIHTC issues.

HUD recently released a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comment on the form related to LIHTC tenant information collection.

A new report from the Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC) entitled “Accessing Opportunity: Affirmative Marketing and Tenant Selection in the LIHTC and Other Housing Programs” examines the accessibility of affordable housing properties for low-income and minority tenants.

HUD approved the first round of conversions for public housing units and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation (Mod Rehab) units under the first component of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. Under the RAD notice, HUD proposed to approve the conversion of up to 60,000 public housing units and Section 8 Mod Rehab units to Section 8 Project-Based Assistance.

HUD recently released income limits for fiscal year (FY) 2013 which are used to determine the eligibility of applicants for HUD’s assisted housing programs, including the Public Housing program, the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, Section 202 housing for the elderly program, and Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities program.

NH&RA was pleased to welcome over 200 industry professionals to our 2012 Fall Developers Forum. All conference materials including Power Point presentations, reports, memos and articles from the conference are available for download.

HUD has released its Third Quarter 2012 U.S. Housing Market Conditions which indicates that housing indicators for the third quarter of 2012 continue to portray a fragile, but steady, recovery in the housing market.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report entitled “Low-Income Housing Tax Credits: Agencies Implemented Changes Enacted in 2008, but Project Data Collection Could Be Improved” which examines the implementation of changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program which occurred under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008.

HUD recently issued an updated draft Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Pilot Program Application Processing Guide. This informal guide is meant for lenders and HUD staff to use while underwriting loans for the Pilot Program, which aims to streamline FHA processing of mortgage insurance applications for projects with LIHTC equity.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recently released a report detailing the implications that impending budget deficit reduction measures could have on housing and community development programs

HUD has published revised closeout requirements for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The revised requirements apply to closeout procedures for program income, land banks and long-term affordability obligations of grantees and certain recapture provisions.