HUD recently announced Wave 4 of the Multifamily for Tomorrow Transformation. This initiative is designed to streamline HUD’s Multifamily field structure into a five-region model with five Regional Centers and seven Regional Satellite Offices. By doing so, HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs is facilitating clear communication, consistency, and the flexibility needed to effectively execute its mission.<...

To help prevent victims of domestic violence living with HIV/AIDS from falling into homelessness, HUD is making more than $9 million available to state and local governments and nonprofits through the VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration–a collaborative effort between HUD’s Office of HIVAIDS Housing (OHH) and the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW). More than half of women living wit...

If you manage a site with unusual long-term management problems or extra administrative burdens, you may be able to get an “add-on fee” from HUD. Add-ons are additions to management fees, designed to give incentives and compensation to managing agents who can show that site conditions make management of a property more demanding than normal. Add-ons are intended only to compensate agents who are dealing with long-term site conditions. And it’s in addit...

HUD recently released an analysis that shows funding levels each participating jurisdiction will receive from the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program under the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ proposed allocation. The Senate Appropriations Committee had recently voted 20 to 10 to pass the Fiscal Year 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies funding bill (THUD). The bill effec...

HUD recently released the final rule implementing the Fair Housing Act of 1968’s obligation for jurisdictions receiving federal funds for housing and urban development to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH). The Fair Housing Act not only makes it unlawful for jurisdictions to discriminate, but also requires jurisdictions to take actions to undo historic patterns of segregation and other types of discrimination, ...

President Obama and HUD Secretary Julián Castro recently announced ConnectHome, an initiative to extend affordable broadband access to families living in HUD-assisted housing. Through ConnectHome, Internet Service Providers, nonprofits, and the private sector will offer broadband access, technical training, digital literacy programs, and devices for residents in assisted housing units in 28 communities across the nation.

After three days of debate, the House recently passed the fiscal year 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill (H.R. 2577) with a final recorded vote of 216-210. The bill adheres to strict spending caps imposed by sequestration. However, the Office of Management and Budget has warned that President Obama will veto the bill because of the low funding level.

Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) recently introduced S. 1530, a bill that would renew the Moving to Work (MTW) agreements for 11 of the 39 MTW public housing agencies (PHAs) for 10 years, and prohibit HUD from making any significant change to the financial terms of the covered agreement.

HUD Secretary Julián Castro recently testified before the House Committee on Financial Services during a hearing titled, “The Future of Housing in America: Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.” This was the second oversight hearing the Committee has held in the session. Increased scrutiny of HUD programs continues to be expected as the Department marks its 50th anniversary this September...

Q: You have to verify the immigration status of applicants who declare that they’re eligible noncitizens, unless they’re over 62 years old. True or false?

A: True. But you must verify that these applicants are at least 62 years old [Handbook 4350.3, par. 3-12(B)(3) and exh. 3-5].