HUD

Registration is now open for HUD’s Green Academy, a pilot initiative that will offer green building training to HUD grantees and other affordable housing organizations.

The Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC) and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) recently released the National Housing Preservation Database, which was created in an effort to provide communities with the information they need to effectively preserve their stock of public and affordable housing.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling today announced subcommittee assignments for the panel’s Republican members. Chairman Hensarling will serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees, as will former Chairman Spencer Bachus, who is serving as chairman emeritus in the 113th Congress.

Smart Growth America recently published a report entitled “Federal Involvement in Real Estate: A call for examination”, to look at the effectiveness of various federal real estate investment programs and determine how well these programs influence development.

HUD recently released a Federal Register Notice to solicit comments on the Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contracts (SPRACs) awards processes. The Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act of 2010, signed into law in January 2011, authorizes HUD to provide SPRACs with 20-year terms to prevent displacement of elderly residents of certain projects assisted under HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program in the case of refinancing or recapitalization and to further preserve and maintain affordability of Section 202 Direct Loan projects.

HUD recently released a HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) Program and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) guidebook which provides technical guidance to HOME Participating Jurisdictions (PJs) on projects that combine HOME Program funds with LIHTCs.

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.