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When President Obama signed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in March 2013, the number of HUD programs subject to the law’s protections was expanded beyond HUD’s public housing and Section 8 tenant-based and project-based programs.
HUD recently updated the OMB expiration date on the forms in the Section 8 Renewal Guide. In addition, HUD has issued three new forms: Amend Rents Auto OCAF Part A, Amend Rents Auto OCAF Part B, and Rider to Original Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Contract. The new/updated forms listed in this chart should be used for all renewals submitted after May 7, 2014.
HUD recently announced that 27 affordable housing providers and service providers across the nation have committed to installing more than 150 megawatts of on-site renewable energy, more than doubling the amount of renewable energy on HUD-assisted multifamily buildings.
“Thanks to the leadership of our multifamily partners and developers, we are on track to meet and surpass President Obama’s challenge to reach 100 megawatts of on-site renewable energy on affordable housing by 2020,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
HUD recently announced an agreement with the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED), settling HUD's findings that the state agency failed to sufficiently ensure that persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) have meaningful access to HUD-funded programs.
By 2016, the Office of Multifamily Housing (MFH) expects to complete a transformation of the way HUD works from a 1970s operating model to a 21st century model that applies industry best practices, improves ability to manage risk and deliver excellent customer service, and increases accountability and national consistency.
On March 5, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Ben Metcalf released a memorandum outlining the Office of Multifamily Housing’s highest policy priorities for calendar year 2014. These policies were developed by the Multifamily Housing’s new Program Administration Office (PAO). The PAO was established in February and its mission is to make HUD multifamily programs and services more responsive to stakeholder feedback and to approach policy development in a more strategic and transparent manner.
An individual needs to earn $18.92 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental at HUD-estimated Fair Market Rent, says a recently released report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). This figure is referred to as the “Housing Wage.” This wage allows the individual to spend no more than 30 percent of income on housing costs. The report finds that today’s national average Housing Wage is more than two-and-a-half times the federal minimum wage, and 52 percent higher than it was in 2000.
On March 4, the Obama administration sent Congress its fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget, which proposed funding for federal programs. Despite the limited overall discretionary spending caps set by the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) for FY 2015, the budget request increases the gross Budget Authority by 2.6 percent over FY 2014 levels, and by 10.1 percent over FY 2013 sequestration levels, to $46.66 billion. It also increases investments in several key programs, including Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Vouchers (VASH), and Choice Neighborhoods Funds.
On Feb. 28, HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs posted the draft revised Section 8 Renewal Policy Guide for public comment. The Section 8 Renewal Policy Guide is HUD’s comprehensive guidance for renewing expiring Section 8 contracts. Like the recent changes to HUD Handbook 4350.3, the changes are set off with asterisks, and the eight-page transmittal lists all of the 90 proposed changes.
Currently, the use of residual receipts at the end of a project’s contract term is governed by regulatory use agreements and is restricted to a small number of uses related to the project itself and to uses that benefit tenants. A bill reintroduced by Representative Erik Paulsen (R-MN) would expand the use of residual receipts by amending the Low Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act to allow use of the funds for potentially non-preservation purposes. The bill was introduced on March 4, and was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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