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HUD recently opened a pre-registration for agencies interested in participating in the NSPIRE Demonstration. NSPIRE is a new physical housing inspection model, and HUD wants to test the adjustments to standards, protocols, and processes prior to nationwide implementation. The department is seeking participation from 4,500 properties and will select from a nationwide pool of Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and Property Owners and Agents (POAs).

Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) recently introduced the “Carbon Monoxide Alarms Leading Every Resident to Safety Act” to help protect residents of federally assisted housing from carbon monoxide poisoning. The bill was introduced in response to the deaths of 13 public housing residents from the toxic gas since 2003, and HUD Secretary Carson has made this a priority issue and supports legislative efforts to install carbon monoxide (CO) alarms in public housing.

A group of 19 Democratic senators led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) recently sent a letter to HUD Secretary Carson opposing the agency’s proposal to prohibit mixed-status immigrant families from living in public and other subsidized housing.

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) recently published three of 13 chapters of a revised Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Guidebook. The previous guidebook (7420.10G) is from 2001. According to HUD, the HCV Guidebook is being published as chapters are completed to provide PHAs, families, and other parties with the most current information as soon as possible. 

The House Financial Services Committee recently advanced a series of housing-related measures, including bills to reauthorize and reform the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and block HUD from implementing proposed rules that would bar families with mixed immigration status from housing assistance and alter HUD’s Equal Access Rule.

A daughter moved into her mother’s New York City public housing unit when the mother began to show signs of dementia. After her mother died, the daughter claimed succession rights to the unit. She claimed that her mother had advised the site manager that she had moved in and that she herself had several conversations with the manager, to the same effect, between November 2010 and July 2011.

HUD recently awarded nearly $1.5 billion to support seven states in their recovery from major disasters that occurred last year, including Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Florence, and devastating wildfires in California. These funds are provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program and will address seriously damaged housing, businesses, and infrastructure in hard-hit areas of these states. The CDBG-DR Program requires grantees to develop thoughtful recovery plans informed by local residents.

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate denounced a new rule proposed by the Trump Administration that would lead to thousands of “mixed-status” immigrant families that have members who are undocumented or otherwise ineligible for public and other subsidized housing to split up or be evicted, putting them at high risk of homelessness. It’s estimated that the controversial proposal could displace 55,000 American children from public housing.

By a party-line vote of 30-22, the House Appropriations Committee recently approved spending limits for its fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending bills. For FY20, the committee would provide the Transportation-HUD spending bill $75.8 billion, an increase of $4.7 billion or 6.6 percent over its FY19 funding level.

HUD recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on how it can use its existing authorities to maximize the beneficial impact of Opportunity Zones for residents and their communities. President Trump signed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, creating Opportunity Zones to stimulate long-term investments in low-income communities. The program offers capital gains tax relief to those who invest in these distressed areas. This program is anticipated to spur $100 billion in private capital investment in Opportunity Zones.