HUD

The St. Paul Public Housing Authority (PHA) has issued a Request for Proposals to award up to 120 Section 8 Project-based vouchers to property owners. Applicants must submit applications via Minnesota Housing’s Multifamily Customer Portal. Applications are due July 16 by 12:00 pm CT. You can view the application and additional information on St. Paul […]

The House Democrats’ recently released infrastructure bill, Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), includes a myriad of housing provisions. A vote on the legislation is expected before the Fourth of July recess. While the bill is likely to pass the Democrat-led House, it will face greater resistance in the GOP-led Senate. The bill does not include any pay-fors and Republicans are already panning the bill as dead-on-arrival. However, the bill may set an important marker for future infrastructure negotiations. The Trump administration is reportedly drafting a $1 trillion infrastructure package aimed at spurring the economy.

HUD recently published a notice of annual factors for determining public housing agencies (PHAs) administrative fees for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Mainstream and Moderate Rehabilitation programs for calendar year 2020. The adjustment factors back date to January 1, 2020.

HUD’s National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) demonstration has postponed all field testing until further notice following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, refinement of standards and scoring testing remain ongoing to further the development of the NSPIRE Model and HUD is still seeking the voluntary participation of properties.

The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) Board named Denise Iseri-Matsubara executive director effective July 1. She has served as interim executive director since January.

Earlier today the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) held a virtual hearing on The Rent Is Still Due: America’s Renters, COVID-19 and an Unprecedented Eviction Crisis. Witnesses Cashauna Hill, Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center; Mike Kingsella, Up for Growth; Ann Oliva, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Jenny Schuetz, The Brookings Institution discussed the need for ongoing financial assistance to families.

The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on June 9 entitled Oversight of Housing Regulators. The witnesses included HUD Secretary Benjamin Carson and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria.

The HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a report evaluating HUD’s use of agency-wide telework in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They found telework severely impeded business processes dependent on paper records or facility access; bandwidth constraints with the HUD information technology (IT) infrastructure and the lack of government-furnished equipment for some employees disrupted HUD operations; and respondents reported HUD was generally well-prepared for mandatory telework.

HUD published a Federal Register notice adjusting the Annual Indexing of Basic Statutory Mortgage Limits for Multifamily Housing Programs. The percentage change in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) is 2.3 percent and the limits have an effective date of January 1, 2020.

HUD’s office of Policy Development and Research published a NOFA to study the “Impact of RAD on Children in HUD Assisted Households.” The NOFA makes $750,000 in funding available to be split among one or two potential awardees. The objective is to support research project(s) that will produce policy-relevant evidence on the implementation of the RAD program and its effect on children’s well-being

HUD published a 60-day notice of proposed information collection on the evaluation of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program’s choice mobility option and long-term affordability. Congress requested and HUD provided two previous evaluations of RAD and the 2018 budget legislation that extended and expanded RAD provided funds to conduct a follow-up evaluation. This notice provides an opportunity to comment on the information collection. Those

On Tuesday, House Democrats unveiled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) and summary. While the House is expected to vote on the $3 trillion bill on Friday, it is unlikely to become law, at least not in its current form. The bill is largely a messaging document that lays the groundwork for negotiations with the Senate and Republicans.