General News

North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA) will hold a public hearing regarding the proposed changes to the 2014 North Dakota QAP on November 4, 2013 at 10:00 AM.

Michigan State Housing Development Agency (MSHDA) posted comments from the October 25, 2013 Public Hearing on their website.

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.

The House of Representatives Financial Services Committee recently announced an updated hearing schedule for the upcoming weeks. On October 29, the Committee will hold a hearing on the “recent taxpayer-funded bailout of the Federal Housing Administration.”

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released it latest LIHC Newsletter, which provides a forum for information about Section 42, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), and communicates technical knowledge and skills, guidance, and assistance for developing LIHTC properties. LIHC Newsletter #53 provides guidance on developer fees.

Registration is now open for the 2014 State of New Mexico Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) training. Attendance for this workshop is mandatory for all applicants. Topics covered will include application standards and scoring, common application errors and changes to the QAP.