Affordable Housing

HUD Announces $38 Million for Fair Housing Grants

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

In a press release on Wednesday, HUD announced that it was making $38 million available in fair housing grants to fight housing discrimination. The grants are a part of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), which provides funding to non-profits and other fair housing organizations to help people who have encountered housing discrimination. The due date for these notices of funding availability is September 18, 2017. The grants announced are listed below.

  • Education and Outreach Initiative grants (EOI) – grants for organizations that educate the public about their rights under federal law and other organizations that enforce certain local fair housing laws. $7,450,000 available by searching FR-6100-N-21-A on Grants.gov.
  • Fair Housing Organizations Initiative (FHOI) – grants to build “the capacity and effectiveness of non-profit fair housing organizations.” $500,000 available by searching FR-6100-N-21B on Grants.gov.
  • Private Enforcement Initiative grants –  grants for organizations that “conduct intake, testing, investigation and litigation of fair housing complaints.” $30.35 million available by searching FR-6100-N-21C on Grants.gov.

The entire press release can be read here.

HUD Provides $179 Million to States for Disaster Recovery

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Earlier this week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson announced an additional $178.5 million to help hard-hit areas in several states recover from severe flooding that occurred in 2015 and 2016. State grant recipients include Florida, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. This new allocation will be provided through the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program, where HUD has previously provided nearly $947 million in these areas for recovery efforts. The CDBG-DR grants will support a wide range of activities, including housing redevelopment, business assistance and infrastructure repair.

Below is the full list of grantees for this announcement and their allocations to date:

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Reasonable Accommodation e-Briefing on August 10 at 1:30pm ET

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

On August 10 at 1:30pm, NAHRO Professional Development will present an e-Briefing on Reasonable Accommodation. NAHRO Faculty Member Dennis Morgan will answer many of questions – What is a “reasonable accommodation?” What are your responsibilities as a housing provider? What if a request would creat an undue financial burden, or fundamentally alter the nature of a program?

Reminder: Whether you're watching alone or with an audience of 100, only one registration per connected device is required, making NAHRO Professional Development's e-Briefings an outstanding value!

Register Online at www.nahro.org/training-calendar.

Senate Appropriations Approves Transportation, HUD Bill

~ Tess Hembree ~ Leave a comment

In other news from the Senate yesterday, the Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to approve its FY 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill. The bill provides $60.058 billion in funding overall, $2.407 billion higher than current funding levels and $3.5 billion higher than the House. Considering the constraints of the FY 2018 budget cap, the increased THUD allocation is a huge win and allowed appropriators to avoid making the same types of cuts seen in the House THUD bill. The House Appropriations Committee approved its bill on July 17.

NAHRO will provide a detailed analysis of the bill next week.

The future of THUD in both the House and the Senate is unclear, though it is unlikely either chamber moves its THUD bill to the floor. Yesterday, the House approved a four-bill minibus package of spending bills, dubbed the “security-bus” because of its composition of defense and security-related bills. The House will likely adjourn for August recess this afternoon without passing any additional spending bills. The Senate, shifting its focus away from health care this morning, delayed August recess by two weeks to work on nominations and the debt ceiling. It may also choose to move appropriations bills to the floor during that time, assuming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does not adjourn the Senate earlier than expected.

Housing and Community Development Highlights

  • Rental Assistance Demonstration- cap eliminated, sunset date removed
  • Public Housing Capital Fund- $1.945 billion, $4 million higher than FY 2017
    • Jobs Plus- $15 million, level funded
  • Public Housing Operating Fund- $4.5 billion, $100 million higher than FY 2017
  • Choice Neighborhoods Initiative- $50 million, $87 less than FY 2017
  • Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment Renewals- $19.37 billion, $1.015 billion more than FY 2017
  • Administrative Fees- $1.725 billion, $75 million higher than FY 2017
    • Ongoing Administrative Fees- $1.715 billion, $75 million higher than FY 2017
    • Additional Administrative Fees- $10 million, level funded
  • Family Self-Sufficiency- $75 million, level funded
  • Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance- $11.507 billion, $691 million higher than FY 2017
  • Community Development Block Grant- $3 billion, level funded
  • HOME Investment Partnerships- $950 million, level funded
  • Homeless Assistance Grants- $2.456 billion, $73 million higher than FY 2017

 

August and September Operating Fund Proration at 92.85 Percent

~ Eric Oberdorfer ~ Leave a comment

On July, 27 HUD released their August and September Explanation of CY 2017 Operating Fund Obligations. HUD bases monthly obligations on eligibility determined after processing 2017 Operating Subsidy forms. The Operating Fund proration for July is 92.85 percent. Operating Subsidy obligations are cumulative, and Public Housing projects are allowed funding in the amount of three fourths of prorated eligibility (nine out of twelve months). Funds will be available in eLOCCS not later than August 1.

TPV Allocation Differences in 2017 HCV Implementation Notice and TPV Survey

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

As mentioned earlier on this blog, HUD has published its Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program 2017 Funding Implementation Notice. According to HUD, the difference in how Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPVs) are allocated between 2017 and prior years is that in 2017–for Public Housing TPV actions–the number of TPVs that will be awarded will be considered at the time of the Special Applications Center (SAC) approval of the demolition or disposition application. This is in contrast to prior years, where HUD considered the number of vouchers to be awarded at the time of the TPV funding application to HUD.

Additionally, the Housing Voucher Financial Management Division has sent out an email discussing a survey on anticipated needs for tenant protection action for July to December of 2017. HUD notes that this data collection is important for “new increment leasing projections and needs for CY 2017 and HAP renewal for 2018 and 2019.” Questions about the survey can be directed to PIH_Conversion_Actions@hud.gov. The survey is due by August 24, 2017 at 5 pm ET.

The survey instructions can be found here.

The survey spreadsheet can be found here.

Application Deadline for 2017 ConnectHome Nation Cohort is July 31st

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

As NAHRO previously reported, EveryoneOn, in partnership with HUD, has announced the expansion of the ConnectHome pilot program. First unveiled in 2015, ConnectHome is a White House initiative aimed at narrowing the digital divide within 28 pilot communities (which includes participation from 23 NAHRO member agencies). ConnectHome tested the impact of cross-sector collaborators using non-government resources in order to accelerate the adoption and utilization of broadband technology by families living in HUD-assisted housing.

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Senate Committee Votes Favorably on Three HUD Nominees

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

This morning the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs voted favorably and sent to the full Senate the HUD nominations of Mr. J. Paul Compton, Jr., to be General Counsel; Ms. Anna M. Farias, to be Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity; Mr. Neal J. Rackleff, to be Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.

The committee conducted individual voice votes for each nominee. Mr. Compton’s nomination went to a roll call vote (15 favorable, 7 opposed.) Sens. Brown and Menendez spoke after the vote. Sen. Brown voted “opposed” on all three HUD nominees because of concerns with the nominees’ application and enforcement of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. Sen. Menendez only voted “opposed” on General Counsel nominee, Mr. Compton, because of AFFH concerns where Mr. Compton’s written question answers backtracked on the support for AFFH Mr. Compton expressed during the hearing.

Past Due Section 3 Reports Due July 31, 2017

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

On July 7, 2017, HUD’s Economic Opportunity Division of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issued a notice regarding Section 3 reporting due dates for PHAs. Reporting due dates for PHAs are now based on the PHA fiscal year end (FYE), and generally are due 60 days after the PHA FYE. Non-PHAs that are recipients of Section 3 funding will continue to submit annual reports as they have done so in the past.

However the notice did provide specific dues dates for past due reports. Past due Section 3 reports for 2013, 2014, and 2015 must be submitted by July 31, 2017. Also Section 3 reports for 2016 are due 60 days after the PHA FYE, if not already submitted. For 2017 and beyond, Section 3 reports are due 60 days after PHA FYE.

The process of for electronically submitting your Section 3 reports can be found on the HUD website.

HCV Shortfall Funding Deadline This Friday (7/28/17) at 5 pm ET

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

As previously mentioned on this blog, the deadline for applying for Shortfall Prevention Team (SPT)-confirmed shortfalls in September, October, or November 2017 is July 28 by 5 pm ET.

Shortfall Funding – There are the two scenarios under which a PHA can apply for shortfall funding. In Scenario 1, HUD’s Shortfall Prevention Team (SPT) has confirmed the shortfall, while in Scenario 2, PHAs have managed their budget in a reasonable and responsible manner, but are later confirmed to be in a SPT-confirmed shortfall position. PHAs with questions related to the calculation of HUD-confirmed shortfall should contact the SPT at 2017ShortfallInquiries@hud.gov.  The subject line should include the PHA’s number. There are certain submission requirements that must be met. While Category 1 shortfall set-aside funding will remain available throughout CY 2017, PHAs with SPT-confirmed shortfalls in September, October, or November 2017 must submit an application no later than 5 pm ET Friday, July 28. For PHAs with SPT-confirmed shortfalls for December 2017, the application deadline is 5 pm ET, Monday, January 22, 2018. Requests can be be made via email (2017Set-AsideApplications@hud.gov2017Set-AsideApplications@hud.gov) or via mail.

More information about applying for shortfall funding can be found in PIH 2017-10 (HA).