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HUD issued its final rule for the implementation of Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) in November 2016. In August of 2017, HUD attempted to suspend the SAFMR rule, but in December of 2017 a U.S. District Court judge ordered it to be reinstated. The new rule became effective in January of 2018, with implementation in mandatory areas beginning in April of 2018. And there are currently 24 metropolitan areas mandated to implement SAFMRs.
President Donald Trump has nominated Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian D. Montgomery to fill the Deputy Secretary position at HUD. As HUD’s second-most senior official, Montgomery would manage the agency’s day-to-day operations and advise and assist HUD Secretary Ben Carson in leading the agency’s nearly 8,000 employees.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat from New York, recently introduced the “Public Housing Emergency Response Act.” If enacted, the bill would authorize an additional $70 billion for HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund, including $32 billion for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the nation’s largest public housing agency.
Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) recently introduced the “Prevent Evictions Act” (S. 2486). While some evictions involve a tenant who owes thousands of dollars to his or her landlord, the legislation is directed to address the significant number of evictions that occur when a tenant owes a few hundred dollars or less and reduce the associated societal costs of these evictions.
The White House Council of Economic Advisors recently issued a report titled “The State of Homelessness in America.” It argues that overregulation of the housing market and failed policies have led to increases in the number of persons experiencing homelessness in certain parts of the country. The report describes how the number of unsheltered homeless is largely concentrated in California, New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C., and cites “more tolerable conditions for sleeping on the streets” as a reason for this.
In April, HUD issued Notice H 2019-05 to “strongly encourage owners, managers, and agents of housing covered by the HUD assistance programs above, located in areas where state or local law, code or other regulations do not require CO detectors, to have operational CO detectors (1) in units that have fuel-fired/burning appliance(s) and/or an attached garage, and (2) in bedrooms that contain a fireplace or a fuel-fired or burning appliance.”
HUD recently awarded $27.8 million to 38 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) in 25 states to identify and reduce lead-based paint hazards in thousands of older public housing units. Provided through HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund, these grants will be targeted to approximately 2,800 public housing units, most of which are currently occupied by families with young children.
HUD recently announced that it’s awarding $6 million to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to provide critically needed technical assistance to distressed communities with populations under 40,000, including those located in Opportunity Zones and communities struggling to recover from natural disasters.
HUD recently announced the release of the first set of National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) standards, presented to allow stakeholders an opportunity to provide HUD with feedback while it’s testing the standards with demonstration volunteer properties.
The House Financial Services Committee recently voted unanimously to approve H.R. 3702, the “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019.” Representative Al Green (D-TX-9) is the bill's sponsor, and Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO-2) is an original co-sponsor. H.R. 3702 will now go to the full House for a vote.
The final bill intends to strengthen administration and oversight of the CDBG-DR Program to ensure that disaster recovery funds are distributed efficiently and equitably. In addition to codifying CDBG-DR in statute, H.R. 3702 includes provisions that:
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