Kaitlyn Snyder Author Archives

ICAST’s IRA & BIL Instant Benefit Estimate Calculator is now available on NH&RA’s website under the Resources section.

President Trump has named Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) beginning Jan. 6, after Director Mel Watt’s term ends.

HUD issued a notice of Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Annual Adjustment Factors (AAFs) for certain properties in HUD’s Section 8 housing assistance payment (HAP) programs. The AAFs are provide annual adjustments to rents based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index survey.

The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) will implement a new income averaging policy and income averaging compliance guidelines as part of the 2019 Qualified Allocation Plan. The policy is effective as of Jan. 1, 2019. CHFA also released an updated income averaging FAQ.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a final rule that updates requirements for public approval of tax-exempt private activity bonds (PABs). All PABs are required to hold a hearing of public approval. The rule changes the reasonable public notice period from 14 to 7 days prior to the hearing and allows for the posting of the hearing on a website without other notice.

Congress is readying a short-term continuing resolution that would fund the government through Feb. 8 and avert a partial government shutdown on Friday, Dec. 21. Seven appropriations subcommittee bills, including Transportation-HUD, still have yet to receive funding for all of Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. Five of the twelve appropriations subcommittee bills are funded for all of FY 2019 and won’t need a CR to continue operating.

Annie Donovan announced that she will step down as the director of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Donovan will be replaced by Jodie Harris in January.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue sent a letter to House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Chairman Robert Aderhold (R-AL) to explain staffing changes within the Rural Housing Service (RHS) Section 538 rental guarantee program and Section 515 rental loan program.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development released an updated list of California cities and counties subject to streamlined ministerial approval process. Under SB 35, which was signed into law in 2017, cities and counties that are not meeting their housing needs must expedite approvals for certain new housing projects in jurisdictions.

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) released a third iteration of a year-end tax package. The new version includes the same provision in his original and second bill that clarifies that veterans are a specified group for preferences within the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and extends the LIHTC public use provisions from nine percent allocations to also include four percent bond allocations.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a proposed rule that would eliminate the notice of funding availability (NOFA) for the Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program.

The Minneapolis City Council voted 12-1 to endorse Minneapolis 2040 – The City’s Comprehensive Plan, with 22 policy recommendations, each with action steps, that are specific to housing.

At the Dec. 13 meeting, the Board of Directors of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) approved a portfolio preservation action plan.