In the News

RSS

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) recently introduced a bill to provide more affordable housing to victims of major disasters. The legislation comes after a series of hurricanes devastated different states and U.S. territories this year. In a statement, Senator Nelson noted that tens of thousands of evacuees in Florida are struggling to find an affordable place to live. According to him, the legislation will “help make more affordable housing in the communities that need it the most.”

HUD recently announced fiscal year 2018 Annual Adjustment Factors (AAFs) for adjustment of contract rents on the anniversary of those assistance contracts for months beginning after Nov. 8, 2017. The 2018 Annual Adjustment Factors can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/aaf.html.

HUD’s Office of Recapitalization recently published two documents designed to support the exploration and decision-making that you’ll undertake to preserve your site. HUD’s Office of Recapitalization defines “preservation” in terms of three major goals—safeguarding long-term rental assistance for current and future generations; improving and modernizing sites; and stabilizing sites with solid financial footing. And it defines “recapitalization” as a preservation transaction that involves gaining new funds.

Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) along with Tim Scott (R-SC), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Todd Young (R-IN), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) recently introduced the “Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2017” (S. 1854) to protect children living in federally assisted housing from lead poisoning.

A recent report by the NYU Furman Center entitled “2017 National Rental Housing Landscape: Renting in the Nation’s Largest Metros” examined rental housing trends from 2006 to 2015 in the 53 metropolitan areas with populations over one million in 2015, with a particular focus on the economic recovery period beginning in 2012.

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) recently published a notice in the Federal Register listing regulatory and administrative waivers it will consider if requested by public housing agencies (PHAs) in areas officially designated by the Major Disaster Declarations (MDD) following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

HUD recently released its fair market rents (FMRs) for Fiscal Year 2018. An FMR is a gross rent estimate that includes the base rent, as well as any essential utilities that the tenant would be responsible for paying, such as gas or electric. It does not include nonessential utilities such as telephone, television, or Internet.

The House of Representatives recently passed a $1.23 trillion Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 omnibus spending bill that includes funding for HUD. The Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act for FY 2018, H.R. 3354, is now headed to the Senate. However, the bill is not expected to be brought up for a vote there. Instead, the measure may be used as the House’s starting position for negotiations over full-year FY 2018 appropriations legislation that could take place at a later time.

The Senate recently confirmed Pamela Patenaude as Deputy Secretary of HUD by an 80-17 vote. In her role as deputy secretary, Patenaude will coordinate much of the day-to-day operations of HUD, working closely with the assistant secretaries and other leaders of 16 programs and support offices such as the offices of Public and Indian Housing, Community Planning and Development, Policy Development and Research, Federal Housing Administration, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and others.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, HUD has announced that it will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Texas and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes due to the hurricane. The original disaster declaration has been amended four times to expand the areas covered. To date, 43 counties are covered for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) public assistance program.