We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
At the end of 2013, the Social Security Administration (SSA) posted information that it intended to stop providing paper benefit/award letters from the local SSA offices beginning in February 2014. The rationale was that requiring individuals to use the online technological investments that SSA made would help meet increasing service demands despite shrinking budgets.
On Aug. 25, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released a paper entitled “The Affordable Rental Housing Gap Persists.” It summarizes the findings of a report NLIHC recently published on the availability of affordable rental housing for lower income households and focuses on the gap between the number of households in specific income groups and the number of rental homes that are both affordable and available to them.
On Aug. 8, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied HUD’s request for a rehearing and rehearing en banc in the ongoing performance-based contract administrator (PBCA) lawsuit. PBCAs administer Section 8 housing assistance payment (HAP) contracts for HUD.
HUD recently issued a notice regarding tenant relocation requirements under the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. This notice provides public housing agencies and their partners with information and resources on applicable program and relocation assistance requirements when planning for or implementing resident moves as a result of a RAD conversion under the first component of the demonstration.
On July 28, Julián Castro was sworn in as the 16th secretary of HUD. In this role, Secretary Castro will oversee 8,000 employees and a budget of $46 billion.
On June 25, HUD published a notice of statutory changes in the Federal Register implementing provisions included in the FY 2014 Omnibus Appropriations Bill enacted in January 2014. The notice, effective July 1, 2014, establishes the terms and conditions for implementing changes to the frequency of required housing inspections, the statutory definition of “extremely low-income” (ELI), and utility allowances.
A recently released report prepared by Bright Power and Stewards for Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) discusses the results of energy- and water-efficiency retrofit projects for multifamily housing developments funded under HUD’s Green Retrofit Program (GRP) and the Illinois Energy Savers Program. The report, entitled “Energy and Water Savings in Multifamily Retrofits,” looked at the two programs’ realized energy and water cost savings and whether the retrofit projects were cost effective.
HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing recently announced a revision to Section F of Housing Notice H 2012-21, “Implementation of Tenant Participation Requirements,” amending the current policy for tenant participation and the appeal procedures available to tenants or tenant organizations.
HUD recently announced that it’s permitting owners and developers of federally funded construction projects to use an alternative design standard to meet the accessibility requirements under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. With a few exceptions, owners may use the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 2010 Standards (2010 Standards) for accessible design as an alternative to the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) when undertaking new construction or alterations to existing structures on or after May 23, 2014.
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) recently released a report that examines the health implications of a proposed policy to align affordable housing inspections. Physical inspections of affordable rental housing communities are a key mechanism to assure that the properties meet quality and safety standards. Given the correlation between housing and health, the report focuses on the efficiency of inspections, housing quality related to the alignment of physical inspection policies, and the potential health impacts on vulnerable residents.
RSS