On March 22, HUD released a Notice on demolition and/or disposition of public housing property, eligibility for tenant-protection vouchers and associated requirements (Notice PIH 2018-04). This Notice supersedes and replaces Notice 2012-7, and explains the application requirements to request HUD approval to demolish and/or dispose of public housing under Section 18 of the US Housing Act of 1937, including PHA justification criteria. This Notice includes related Tenant Protection Voucher (TPV) eligibility and application processes for residents of properties that undergo demolition or disposition.

NAHRO will issue an in-depth analysis of the Notice next week.

HUD Secretary Ben Carson testified in front of the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) subcommittee today, answering questions about HUD’s FY 2019 budget proposal.

A video of the full  hearing and his written testimony are available on the subcommittee’s web site.

Members of the subcommittee asked several pointed questions about the Administration’s plan to eliminate key components of the HUD portfolio, including the the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnerships program (HOME). Congressman David Valadao (R-Calif.) and full committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) both asked the Secretary to comment on how communities would deal with losing CDBG dollars.

“We do have a way to take care of the good things CDBG does, and that is through the Opportunity Zones, a program that will bring in up to $2.2 trillion in money to substitute for that program and infrastructure,” said Secretary Carson. “I suspect we may be asking ourselves how we can use all that money.”

Several times, Secretary Carson offered the new Opportunity Zone program as a replacement for funding cut by the Administration’s budget. The program was created in December through the tax reform legislation and is run through the Treasury Department. It is unclear how much funding the program will generate or how the dollars will be distributed in communities.

The Administration also proposes eliminating the entire Public Housing Capital Fund, slashing the Operating Fund by $1.6 billion, and shifting the financial burdens of the Capital Fund and all its set-asides to the Operating Fund. This is part of a larger plan at HUD to move away from the public housing model, which the Secretary called “failing and financially unstable,” to the Section 8 platform through the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. However, while the Administration does propose $100 million for RAD conversions, it does not request additional funding for more vouchers.

Subcommittee Ranking Member David Price (D-N.C.) asked Secretary Carson to address the budgetary problems this creates. “You’re proposing to totally eliminate public housing and merge the Capital Fund into Operating, while proposing to cut the Operating Fund,” he said. “The Operating Fund is slashed, so that’s not even adequate to address operating, much less absorbing capital expenses. And then if we’re going to go to RAD, we’re going to need some additional section 8 vouchers.”

The Secretary re-emphasized the benefit of RAD conversions. “We’re moving away from the whole concept of public housing, quite frankly,” Carson said. “I think this is going to work much better,”

He again mentioned Opportunity Zones as a replacement for lost capital funding and referenced unused Capital Fund reserves held by housing authorities to address the backlog in deferred maintenance.

The subcommittee has several members from areas hit by natural disasters in the past year, and those members reinforced the importance of HUD assistance to recover from the storms. Congressman John Culberson (R-Texas) pressed the Secretary to agree to lower the mandate that 70 percent of CDBG disaster relief (CDBG-DR) dollars go to families of low to moderate incomes, noting that funding has been slow to get to localities. Subcommittee Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) thanked the Administration for its focus on mitigation in disaster relief recovery and asked for coordination on long-term efforts.

The Secretary was also asked several questions about the purchase of a $31,000 dining set for the HUD office and is likely to be pressed further on Thursday when he will testify before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in a hearing on HUD oversight.

One bright spot of the hearing was a comment by full Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, who said that the T-HUD bill will be “getting a lot of money in 2018.” The final FY 2018 omnibus spending bill is expected to be released later tonight. The current continuing resolution providing funding for the federal government expires on this upcoming Friday.

 

This week the Senate approved the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (s. 2155), a wide-sweeping banking bill that also included several provisions to provide regulatory relief to small housing agencies and authorization for the Family Self-Sufficiency program.

The bill moved relatively quickly through the Senate; the initial draft was unveiled in November and it was approved by the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in December. After two weeks of floor consideration, it was approved 67-31 on Wednesday, March 14.

While NAHRO did not take a position on the overall bill, NAHRO does support the small agency provisions. The bill includes:

• Streamline public housing inspections, making the process less burdensome on the agency, while protecting residents’ right to decent, healthy housing;
• Exempt small agencies from environmental reviews for projects under $100,000 and streamline the environmental review process for projects over $100,000;
• Create an appeals process for troubled agencies that protects residents and allows agencies to demonstrate satisfactory unit condition;
• Freeze formula utility and waste costs to accrue cost savings; Deploy a reporting system at HUD for agencies that choose to operate under a consortia; and
• Enhance the Family Self-Sufficiency program.

The path forward is unclear; the Senate modified the bill to attract more support in the House, but the House has already approved similar legislation. NAHRO is working with Congressional staff to consider options for the small agency provisions.

Housing Rules!!

An e-Briefing series on formation & substance of HUD rules, regulations, and guidance.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 13, 2018 from 1:30pm to 3pm eastern time

Work Requirements – Proposals & Practices

The Administration has released their fiscal year 2019 budget proposal which includes many policy provisions that would affect an assisted family’s rent payment. One provision would allow a housing authority or unit owner to require non-elderly and non-disabled family members to be employed or in a vocational training program for a minimum number of hours. During this e-Briefing, the NAHRO Policy Team will provide an overview of the Administration’s proposal. Also joining us are Moving to Work PHAs that have implemented a minimum work requirement to discuss why they use minimum work requirements and explore the results that have been seen to this point.

What is an e-Briefing?

A 90-minute online session (1:30pm – 3pm ET) that focuses on industry hot topics which affect your agency now. Expert presenters from the housing and community development industry, HUD and/or other agency staff and practitioners will share the most current information and case studies on critical issues. The final 20 minutes of each e-Briefing are reserved for questions & answers. e-Briefings are different from e-Learnings in that not every person listening must be registered. We require only one registration per viewing site/connection/device.

Registration closes tonight at 11:59 eastern time. Click the Register Now button above or below to register.

Last week, HUD awarded nearly $5 million in Choice Neighborhood Planning Grants to six communities to “help create plans to redevelop severely distressed HUD assisted housing and revitalize neighborhoods.” The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative is place-based and focuses on three goals: housing, people, and neighborhoods. Through the Choice Neighborhoods planning process,  local governments, housing authorities, residents, nonprofits, tribal authorities, private developers, school districts, police departments, and other civic organizations “create a common vision and develop effective strategies to revitalize their neighborhood.”

Continue reading →