HUD

HUD recently issued Notice PIH 2014-04 amending the eligibility criteria for certain types of properties applying to receive Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPVs), as defined in a previous HUD Notice PIH 2013-08. Under category 3 of Notice PIH 2013-08, HUD stipulated that TPVs may be made available to provide housing choice voucher rental assistance to residents residing in low-vacancy areas if tenants are paying rents greater than 30 percent of household income as a result of the expiration of affordability restrictions accompanying a mortgage or preservation program administered by HUD. However, the Notice stipulated that the project could not have a Section 202 Direct Loan, FHA-insured primary mortgage or HUD-held primary mortgage in place at the time of the Owner’s application for the funding.

A new initiative for members involved with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) was announced at NH&RA’s recent Annual Meeting. At the request of HUD, NH&RA has formed a new working group for RAD users to meet with HUD on a regular basis to discuss challenges and share ideas for improvements to the program. At a kick off session featuring Margaret Salazar, Director of HUD’s Office of Affordable Housing Preservation, was held in conjunction with last week’s NH&RA Annual Meeting. NH&RA members identified the following tips for developers and houing authorities pursuing RAD transactions…

HUD has published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the FY-2014 Annual Adjustment Factors (AFF) for adjustment of contract rents for units assisted in certain Section 8 housing assistance payment programs. AAFs are used to calculate rent changes when Section 8 contracts are renewed. Each Section 8 program category uses the AAFs differently and AAFs are not used in determining renewal rents (with the exception of the Project-Based Certificate program), budget-based rents, or for the Tenant-Based Certificate program. AFFs are based on a formula using residential rent and utility cost changes from the Labor Bureau’s most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) survey.

HUD recently issued a revised final implementation of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program guidance to clarify how RAD transactions will be handled moving forward in light of the 60,000 unit cap for RAD not being increased in the fiscal year (FY) 2014 appropriations package.

HUD’s Office of Affordable Housing Preservation (OAHP) recently announced the launch of an updated version of its Section 236 consolidated e-Application tool at www.hudmfpreservation.net, as a part of its goal to move towards centralized processing of Section 236 prepayments and preservation transactions.

On December 9, 2013, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) released a new report on U.S. renters and rental housing characteristics, conditions, and trends during an event at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The report, America’s Rental Housing: Evolving Markets and Trends, describes how the 2008 recession has impacted rental housing trends. Currently, there are 43 million rental households, representing 35% of Americans — the highest rate in more than a decade. Additionally, a disproportionate amount of lower-income families and individuals living in rental housing pay an excessive share of their income towards rent. Because of the vast changes in housing, many consider America to be experiencing the worst crisis today in renter affordability.

On December 3, 2013 HUD previewed to NH&RA a series of new incentives and policy flexibility for owners of multifamily affordable housing properties that commit to making portfolio wide energy efficiency commitments through the Administration’s Better Buildings Challenge. HUD has developed these incentives to address the market and policy barriers that owners experience in greening their properties. The underlying policy will be issued in a separate and forthcoming Implementation Memo, to be released in FY-2014.

Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA) will host a 2014 HOME/Housing Credit Application Workshop for potential applicants on February 18, 2014 in Montgomery.

As many of the Section 236 mortgages in HUD’s portfolio reach maturity within the next few years, the agency has begun reaching out to owners to try to discourage them from opting out of the program at the mortgage maturity date. HUD believes that opting out of the program would entice owners to significantly raise rents at these 236 properties, impacting many low-income tenants who currently reside there.

The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate recently reached an agreement on the Continuing Appropriations Resolution of 2014 (H J Res 59), setting top-line spending for fiscal year (FY) 2014 at $1.012 trillion, and $1.014 trillion for FY 2015.

The Council for Energy Friendly Affordable Housing (CEFAH), an affiliate of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association, has released a white paper outlining critical recommendations to improve the energy performance of the nation’s affordable housing portfolio. CEFAH will be presenting it recommendations at its Annual Meeting on March 12, 2009 at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida.

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) is sponsoring a Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Workshop on Thursday, December 12, 2014 at 9:30 AM. The workshop will cover, but is not limited to, a brief overview of the RAD Program, LHC Participation, and recommended ways to utilize 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Multifamily Mortgage Revenue Bonds. LHC strongly recommends that interested developers, consultants, and Louisiana Public Housing Authorities attend this meeting.