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Despite the important focus on COVID-19, lead safety in the home remains a high priority for all Americans. HUD has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and additional partners, in highlighting this issue during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (NLPPW) 2020, which runs from Oct. 25 - 31.
The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California, and BLDS, LLC filed a federal lawsuit to challenge HUD’s recent revisions to the final disparate impact rule that shifted the burden of proof from owners and financial institutions to the victims of discrimination.
HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing is encouraging owners to inform residents of the eviction protections under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order and the required declaration form. In particular, owners of HUD-assisted sites who are notifying residents that their tenancy will be terminated for nonpayment of rent or fees while this order remains in force should inform residents of the protections available to them under this order and should document such notifications in the tenant file.
The Social Security Administration recently announced the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2021. Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase 1.3 percent in January 2021. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on Dec. 31, 2020. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
HUD’s Offices of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) and Multifamily Housing Programs (Multifamily) recently sent out information to participants informing them of the moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent ordered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PIH states that the CDC eviction moratorium for nonpayment of rent applies to the Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), and the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation (Mod Rehab) programs.
HUD recently announced the third and final round of allocation of the $5 billion Congress provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in supplemental Community Development Block Grant funding (CDBG-CV). To date, HUD has provided nearly $5 billion in CDBG funding nationwide to help communities combat the coronavirus and alleviate economic hardship.
The funds are focused toward places with households facing higher risk of eviction. Specifically:
HUD recently published a notice in the Federal Register on the fair market rents (FMRs) for the Housing Choice Voucher program, Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program, and other programs for fiscal year 2021.
On Aug. 8, President Trump issued an executive order to address COVID-19-related challenges for renters. The order directs a number of federal agencies, including HUD and the Treasury Department, to consider actions to prevent eviction and foreclosure. It requires the secretaries of Treasury and HUD to identify any available federal funds that could be used to provide temporary financial assistance to renters because of the pandemic.
HUD recently announced $472 million in CARES Act funding to help low-income families during the coronavirus pandemic. This funding can be used by public housing authorities (PHAs) to help families assisted by Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) and mainstream vouchers prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus. The funding is made available by the CARES Act legislation President Trump signed into law on March 27, 2020.
The eligible coronavirus-related activities include, but are not limited to, the following:
On July 23, the Office of Housing published Housing Notice H-2020-08, “Availability of Funds for COVID-19 Supplemental Payments (CSPs) for Properties Receiving Project-Based Rental Assistance under the Section 8, Section 202, or Section 811 Programs.” HUD is making available CARES Act funds to offset property expenditures to combat the effects of COVID-19. This notice provides a method for owners to receive payments beyond the amounts available under the terms of their current rental assistance contracts.
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