Public Housing

Committees from both the House and Senate have sent deficit reduction recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Super Committee). Several recommendations made by both parties from the House Financial Services would have significant impacts on federal housing program funding.

The Massachusetts Legislature recently gave initial approval to a supplemental budget bill, which includes provisions to raise the cap on State Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) by $10 million in 2013 and $10 million in 2014.

Recently, the Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office requested that all state agencies that receive General Fund and Lottery funds prepare reduction scenarios and impacts before the 2012 supplemental session. Each agency must prepare 10.5 percent reductions occurring in three increments of 3.5 percent. These budget cuts affect the Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) agency in several ways, including the Lottery funds that are allocated to OHCS for debt service on both past and future lottery-backed bonds.

Committees in the House and Senate recently approved FY-2012 funding bills that would make deep cuts in the budget for HUD programs. And while both houses have expressed a firm commitment to preserving federal rental assistance for the low-income families, neither funding bill achieves this goal, according to a new report released by the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities (CBPP).

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has announced it will be auctioning approximately 400 scattered site properties, consisting of vacant buildings and lots, which have been approved for sale by HUD.

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing has released a notice that provides public housing agencies (PHAs) with instructions for operating subsidy calculation submissions in 2012.

HUD has released the final fiscal year 2012 fair market rents (FMRs) to become effective October 1, 2011. The primary uses of FMRs are to determine payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, to determine renewal rents for expiring project based Section 8 contracts, to determine initial rents for housing assistance payment contracts in the Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program, and to serve as rent ceilings in the HOME program.

A new Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report finds that the recent House Appropriations vote to reduce funding for public housing in 2012 by $1.4 billion, or 20 percent below the 2011 level, would place a significant burden on the quality of public housing and would likely raise future federal costs of maintaining these properties.

The House of Representatives Appropriations Transportation – Housing & Urban Development Subcommittee has released a draft funding bill for FY-2012. It is scheduled to be marked up by the committee today, Thursday September 8. The measure calls for $55.15 billion in discretionary spending across the two agencies, $19.8 billion less than President Obama’s request and $217 million below current spending. The bill would provide $16.7 billion to the Transportation Department, a $3 billion increase over current spending, and $38.1 billion for the Housing and Urban Development Department, a $3 billion cut.

National Housing & Rehabilitation Association Executive Director Thom Amdur announced today the recipients of NH&RA’s 2011 Affordable Housing Vision Awards: Sandra Henriquez, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Boston accountant and past NH&RA President John Mackey. The pair will be honored at a ceremony on Monday, November 14 at the Intercontinental Hotel in conjunction with NH&RA’s Fall Developers Forum.

HUD recently announced an update to its Preservation web page, a resource portal that combines refinancing tools, notices, Section 8 renewal policy and other information its stakeholders may want to know about preserving affordable housing.

HUD has released the August 2011 edition of ResearchWorks, the official online newsletter from HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research.