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HUD rules require you to give every applicant you reject an opportunity to appeal the rejection. A written rejection notice must include the specifically stated reason(s) for the rejection, notice of the applicant’s right to respond to the owner in writing or request a meeting within 14 days to dispute the rejection, and notice that persons with disabilities have the right to request reasonable accommodations to participate in the informal hearing process [HUD Han...

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) recently announced she will introduce the Senate companion bill to the Public Housing Emergency Response Act. First introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), the bill would create a one-time, $70 billion appropriation into the Public Housing Capital Fund to address the estimated $70 billion backlog of maintenance and repairs in public housing. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Sanders...

In 2012, HUD issued Housing Notice 2012-5 to provide guidance on preventing and responding to pest infestations, particularly bedbugs, at HUD-assisted sites. As a result of this guidance, many sites added Bedbug Lease Addendums to the HUD Model Lease that contained provisions that may conflict with current guidance.

HUD recently published an 84-page proposed Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule regarding how state and municipal governments address affordable housing opportunities. The rule pertains to the 1968 Fair Housing Act’s requirement that HUD grantees “affirmatively further fair housing.” The proposed rule, once finalized, would replace the AFFH rule published in 2015 under the Obama administration.

HUD has recently focused its attention on websites that sell assistance animal certifications. HUD Secretary Ben Carson has asked the chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection to investigate these websites for compliance with federal laws that protect consumers from unfair and deceptive acts or practices. “These certificates are not an acceptable substitute for authentic documentation provided by medical pr...

HUD recently published the Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAFs) for fiscal year 2020. These factors are used for adjusting or establishing Section 8 rents under the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (MAHRA), as amended, for projects assisted with Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments. The factors are effective Feb. 11, 2020. The OCAFs can be found here.

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs recently confirmed Brian Montgomery’s nomination to become Deputy Secretary of HUD. The committee approved Montgomery, who is HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing and FHA Commissioner and currently also serving as Acting Deputy Secretary, by a voice vote of 20–5. The nomination now will progress to the full Senate for a vote. Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-...

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) recently announced that she will introduce a Senate companion bill to Representative Nydia Velazquez’s (D-NY) “Public Housing Emergency Response Act,” which was introduced in the House in September. The bill would create a one-time, $70 billion appropriation into the Public Housing Capital Fund to address the estimated $70 billion backlog of maintenance and repairs in public housing.

HUD recently published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comment on federal, state, local, and tribal laws, regulations, land use requirements, and administrative practices that artificially raise the costs of affordable housing development and contribute to shortages in America’s housing supply.

HUD recently awarded $131.3 million to 325 local public housing authorities across the country to provide affordable housing to approximately 15,363 additional non-elderly persons with disabilities.