The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a new notice (H 09-08) that gives HUD Multifamily Hub Offices temporary authority to grant waivers of the standard “three-rule rule” for projects applying for HUD Section 223(f) multifamily mortgage insurance. The notice extends eligibility for a 223(f) loan to projects originally constructed or substantially rehabilitated less than three years prior to the date of application for a firm commitment of HUD mortgage insurance. The notice says the temporary authority is designed to provide liquidity to recently built or rehabilitated, self-sustaining projects “unable to secure permanent long term financing due to the freeze in the capital markets.”