TOP STORIES 

FY26 funding set for HUD and many others

After a partial government shutdown over the weekend, on February 3 the House passed a Senate-approved fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill covering several federal agencies, including HUD, and the president signed the measure into law. Many HUD programs remain at the dollar levels they received in FY24 and FY25, while a few receive increases. Details are posted on HAC’s site. FY26 funding for USDA, along with some other agencies, was finalized in November.

The bill also protects Continuum of Care operations while litigation continues regarding program changes HUD proposed. It directs HUD to provide one-year non-competitive renewals of CoC grants that expire in the first quarter of calendar year 2026 and then to continue the same process for each quarter in which it does not make new funding awards.

HAC launches Heirs’ Property Central site

HAC has developed a new website to act as a central clearinghouse for many professionals to access common resources related to heirs’ property. The site, Heirs’ Property Central, is a multidisciplinary hub for cross-sector collaboration, designed to facilitate new connections and discussions around past, present, and future heirs’ property work. Heirs’ Property Central highlights new research, events like trainings, webinars, and conferences, and organizations currently working in the heirs’ property space.

February is Black History Month

The 2026 theme is A Century of Black History Commemorations. President Trump’s proclamation is posted here.

RuralSTAT

The American Bar Association estimates that 40% of all U.S. counties and county-equivalents are legal deserts, areas with fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. Attorneys are needed for property owners to manage their assets, perform estate planning, and probate the estates of family members. In rural areas, lack of access to the legal system for estate planning can lead to the creation of heirs’ properties. Source: American Bar Association, Profile of the Legal Profession 2020.

To learn more about heirs’ property and title resolution for your community, visit Heirs’ Property Central.

OPPORTUNITIES

USDA to apply Strategic Economic and Community Development priority for some programs

A new notice from USDA Rural Development explains applications for the Strategic Economic and Community Development priority, which applies to Community Facilities Loans, Grants, and Guaranteed Loans; Water and Waste Disposal Program Guaranteed Loans, Loans, and Grants; Rural Business Development Grants; and Community Connect Grants. These programs will reserve FY26 funds for projects that support multi-jurisdictional and multi-sectoral strategic community investment plans, making them eligible for the SECD priority. An applicant will submit its SECD forms when it applies for funding under one of these programs.

ROSS Rapid Response Program grants offered

HUD’s ROSS Rapid Response Program uses a simplified application process to help address urgent social needs caused by unanticipated emergencies such as natural disasters, public health crises, or economic disruptions. RRP provides one-time cost-reimbursable grants for service coordination and limited direct services for residents of HUD-assisted housing. Nonprofits, PHAs, Tribes and their housing entities, resident associations, and owners of multifamily properties are eligible. Apply by January 25, 2027.

YouthBuild applications open

Nonprofits, state and local governments, and Tribes are eligible for YouthBuild grants from the Labor Department. YouthBuild programs must offer participants construction training and hands-on experiences building affordable housing for their community. Programs may also include a Construction Plus component, providing vocational training in additional high-demand industries. A recorded webinar for potential applicants will be posted online. Apply by March 2.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

Green and Resilient Retrofit Program gets new guidelines

In 2024 and earlier, HUD announced award recipients in at least four rounds of its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program. The program was included in a lawsuit filed in March 2025 against several federal agencies for withholding funds appropriated by Congress. In April the judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering the agencies to proceed with the programs while the litigation continues. Responding to that order, HUD recently published a notice revising the terms of the awards previously announced. The differences include making awards that have not yet closed as loans rather than grants, eliminating solar energy as an allowable use of funds, establishing new timelines, and more. The notice also refers to “the former Green and Resilient Retrofit Program” and calls it simply “GRRP.”

HUD orders review of assisted tenants’ immigration status

HUD and the Department of Homeland Security announced they audited all tenants in HUD-funded housing nationwide, discovering that nearly 200,000 tenants require eligibility verification, nearly 25,000 were deceased, and nearly 6,000 are “ineligible non-American tenants.” Public housing authorities and owners have 30 days to verify the status of the tenants identified by the audit and initiate corrective action where it is needed.

FHFA deletes fair housing and equitable finance plans regulation

The Federal Housing Finance Agency finalized a proposal to delete its regulations requiring Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks to develop Fair Housing, Fair Lending, and Equitable Housing Finance plans every three years. FHFA argues that the statutorily required housing goals, Duty to Serve goals, and support for the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund meet the system’s public purpose to support access to credit in underserved markets.

FEMA Review Council extended

President Trump has issued an executive order extending the term of the FEMA Review Council, originally scheduled to end January 24. The council will now remain effective until March 25. After the cancellation of a December meeting at which council members had been expected to approve a final report recommending changes to the agency, the new EO in effect creates a deadline for council action.

VA audit finds gaps in follow-ups with homeless veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs requires screening to identify veterans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and need assistance. Medical facilities must complete screenings for veterans under their care, have a process for positive screenings, and ensure staff respond to requests for services within seven business days. Follow-up action must occur within 30 days. VA conducted an audit and found weaknesses in the referral and follow-up processes that put veterans at risk of not receiving assistance after they indicated they were experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

HUD sets Operating Cost Adjustment Factors

New Operating Cost Adjustment Factors will be used to adjust project-based rental assistance for eligible multifamily housing projects having an anniversary date on or after February 11, 2026. HUD also requests comments by April 6 on the methodology and data sources used to determine the OCAFs.

Energy efficiency deadlines delayed again

In April 2024, HUD and USDA adopted updated energy efficiency requirements for new construction under some of their programs. These standards have gone into effect for HUD’s HOME and Housing Trust Fund programs, but both HUD and USDA delayed the effective dates for other programs. HUD has now announced a further delay. December 31, 2026 is the new compliance date for Federal Housing Administration-Insured Multifamily and Single Family loans, the Public Housing Capital Fund, and Section 8 Project Based Vouchers. The deadlines for Choice Neighborhoods, Section 202, and Section 811 are extended until their funding availability announcements for FY26 are published. HAC has supported adoption and implementation of these standards.

EVENTS

Learn how arts and civic engagement come together in rural places

The Department of Public Transformation is hosting an online Engage Rural Intro Session introducing its new arts-based civic engagement program for rural community leaders and artists. The session will highlight creative strategies that strengthen civic participation and trust within communities of 20,000 people or fewer, and explain how the revamped Engage Rural offerings can support local engagement work. Register for the February 25 session here.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

It’s cold out there!  HAC publishes a research brief on home heating (and the lack of) in rural America

Home heating is a basic necessity with profound implications for health, finances, safety, and quality of life. Home heating dynamics and conditions, however, are not uniform across the country. Some rural communities and households face home heating challenges due to geography, infrastructure, and economic conditions. Read HAC’s new Rural Research Brief here.

Study reviews “State of the Dream 2026”

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies published State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession, which looks at the impacts on Black Americans of 2025’s housing policy, employment trends, tax policy, financial system, and more. It says the expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the permanent extension of the New Market Tax Credit, and the adoption of the HOME program’s final rule will help expand financing for affordable housing developments. It also notes that fair housing enforcement and affirmatively furthering fair housing efforts were rolled back, and Black homeownership remains at 45% compared to 74% for white households.

Maps of potential Opportunity Zones updated

American Community Survey five-year estimated data for 2020-2024, released by the Census Bureau in late January, will be used by the Treasury Department in determining what census tracts will be eligible for designation in the upcoming second round of the Opportunity Zones program. The Economic Innovation Group has updated its map of potentially eligible zones and Novogradac will update its map. Neither of these maps is official, but they illustrate possibilities. Governors will begin designating new OZs on July 1.

HAC

HAC issues statement about housing actions

In a January 26 statement, HAC applauds President Trump’s executive order barring institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes and supports the final appropriations bills passed in Congress to fund HUD and the CDFI Fund. While welcoming this progress, HAC also notes that “funds for several critical programs have yet to be distributed to applicants who are working daily to help low-income rural renters and homeowners. HAC looks forward to working with the Administration and the dedicated career employees at HUD, Treasury, and USDA, to ensure that this backlog, as well as newly appropriated fiscal 2026 funds, are brought to bear urgently on the housing challenges faced by rural Americans.”

HAC is hiring

HAC job listings and application links are available on our website.

• Research Associate

• Housing Specialist | Community Builder

• Social Enterprise Manager

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan fund provides low interest rate loans to support single- and multifamily affordable housing projects for low-income rural residents throughout the U.S. and territories. Capital is available for all types of affordable and mixed-income housing projects, including preservation, new development, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development, construction/rehabilitation and permanent financing. Contact HAC’s loan fund staff at hacloanfund@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.

Please note: HAC is not able to offer loans to individuals or families. Borrowers must be nonprofit or for-profit organizations or government entities (including Tribes).

Want to reprint a HAC News item?

Please credit the HAC News and provide a link to HAC’s website. Thank you!

TOP STORIES 

Congress begins new housing effort

The ROAD to Housing Act, which had been attached to the National Defense Authorization Act, was not included in the final NDAA, which has now passed both the House and the Senate. A new effort to enact housing changes is underway in the House. H.R. 6644, the Housing for the 21^st Century Act, has been approved by the House Financial Services Committee. For USDA, the House bill would allow up to 40% of Section 504 home repair loan funds to be used for low-income homeowners rather than very low-income and would raise to $15,000 the dollar limit for which a lien is required. It would also require faster processing of Section 502 and 504 applications, require USDA to provide an annual report on its housing programs, and ask the Government Accountability Office for a report on the Rural Housing Service’s technology. HAC issued a statement supporting the House bill and calling for passage of important rental preservation parts of the RHS Reform Act.

HUD withdraws homelessness funding announcement

HUD has cancelled its recent Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Continuum of Care program. The withdrawal was announced just before a December 8 hearing on two lawsuits that seek to block this NOFO, which proposed significant changes in the CoC program. A hearing covering both suits is now scheduled for December 19. HUD’s website says it will “make appropriate revisions to the NOFO … to account for new priorities” and will issue a modified version “well in advance of the deadline for obligation of available Fiscal Year 2025 funds.”

“Overwhelmingly negative” responses on USDA’s reorganization plan

USDA’s analysis of public comments on the department’s reorganization proposal reports “overwhelmingly negative” responses. Almost 47,000 responses were received, of which 14,000 were not form letters or spam, and 82% of those “expressed negative sentiment.” Commenters’ top recommendations included ensuring offices in every county, increasing stakeholder involvement in the reorganization, and protecting agriculture research and the Forest Service. Housing is not mentioned in the summary.

Happy holidays from HAC!

The Housing Assistance Council wishes everyone a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home! HAC will be closed from December 24 through January 1.

RuralSTAT

The homeownership rate in rural America (73.2%) is 8 percentage points higher than the overall national rate (65%). But from 2010 to 2023, rural homeownership levels declined for every age group except the youngest and oldest households. Source: Housing Assistance Council tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data.

Want to learn more about housing conditions and trends in your community? Visit Rural Data Central.

OPPORTUNITIES

HAC opens Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans Initiative

Local nonprofit housing development organizations can apply by January 19 for grants to meet or help meet the affordable housing needs of veterans with low incomes in rural places. Grants typically range up to $30,000 per organization and must support bricks-and-mortar projects that assist low-income, elderly, and/or disabled veterans with critical home repair or accessibility modifications, support homeless veterans, help veterans become homeowners, and/or secure affordable rental housing. HAC’s AHRV Initiative is funded through the generous support of The Home Depot Foundation. For more information, contact HAC staff, ahrv@ruralhome.org. No phone calls please. Program staff will be available to answer questions during the AHRV RFP overview webinar on January 7.

Opioid response planning grants posted

The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Planning, which funds planning activities only, is intended to be a critical first step to creating substance abuse disorder service systems in rural places. Public and private nonprofit and for-profit entities are eligible. Apply by April 6.

VA offers Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program funds

The Department of Veterans Affairs is offering funding for four of its Grant and Per Diem Program components. Nonprofits and consumer cooperatives that provide supportive services to very low-income veteran families residing in or transitioning to permanent housing can apply by February 19 for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program. Nonprofits, state and local governments, Tribes, and public/Indian housing authorities are eligible for three other programs. The Transition In Place program provides supportive housing services to facilitate veteran engagement in permanent housing. The deadline is February 17. The Per Diem Only program makes resources available for transitional supportive housing beds or service centers. The deadline is February 18. The Special Need Renewal program allows current SN grantees to continue their work. The deadline is February 17.

Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grants available

Local governments and public or Indian housing authorities that previously received Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants are eligible to apply for Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grants to support implementation of the plans they developed. Applications are due March 9.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

Disparate impact removed from one rule, removal from another proposed

The Justice Department has issued a final rule, without first making a proposal and obtaining public comment, that removes disparate impact – the legal concept that conduct is discriminatory if it has inequitable effects, even if there was no intent to discriminate – from its regulations that apply the 1964 Civil Rights Act to recipients of federal funding. At least two national housing organizations issued statements opposing the change: the National Fair Housing Alliance and the National Housing Conference.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a similar change to its Equal Credit Opportunity Act rules, along with some other revisions. HAC submitted a comment arguing that disparate impact is a necessary tool to identify discrimination in mortgage lending, including discrimination against rural residents.

USDA updates reserve request process for multifamily housing

USDA Rural Development is modernizing the reserve request process for multifamily housing. Starting in January and February 2026 (exact dates differ by region), borrowers must submit requests by email with standardized forms and attachments. Attend virtual info sessions on January 15 or February 5 to learn more.

Bank regulator proposes simplified strategy plan process under CRA

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposes to issue guidance on a simplified process for the community banks it regulates – those with under $30 billion in assets – to use when developing and implementing strategic plans for their Community Reinvestment Act performance. OCC intends to make the strategic plan option a more viable alternative for more community banks and to reduce their regulatory burden. Comments will be due 60 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.

National Housing Trust Fund allocations announced

The national Housing Trust Fund received $223 million for FY25 based on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s business volume. HUD announced the amount it is allocating to each state.

Section 8 Annual Adjustment Factors published

The annual adjustment factors that are applied to rents for some HUD Section 8 units have been established and are effective December 9, 2025.

FEMA reform report delayed

On December 11, the administration’s FEMA Review Council was expected to vote on a report providing recommendations for the agency, but the council’s meeting was cancelled. CNN reported exclusively that the plan suggested “dramatically reducing the federal agency’s role in disaster response by cutting its workforce in half and rolling out a new block grant system,” placing more responsibility for disaster response on state, local, and Tribal governments.

HUD reopens comment period for reverse mortgages

In October HUD requested input on the market for senior homeowners to access equity in their homes and possible improvements to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage and HECM mortgage-backed securities programs. The comment period ended on December 1, but has now been reopened until January 5.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Article encourages funding support to address heirs’ property

Inside Philanthropy’s new article, Heirs’ Property Issues are Causing Black Wealth Loss. Just One Major Funder is on the Case, highlights the impacts of heirs’ property on families and actions taken by the only private foundation investing in the space, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. RWJF supports the movement to address issues associated with heirs’ property and encourages other philanthropic entities to engage in this essential work.

“At 91, Eva Clayton is Still Fighting for Food Justice and Farmers’ Rights”

A profile published by Civil Eats covers the life story and continued activism of Eva Clayton, a former member of HAC’s board of directors. Among other achievements, she was North Carolina’s first Black congresswoman.

HAC

HAC submits comments on housing supply

Rural areas are lagging in production of new housing units, HAC pointed out in comments submitted to the House Financial Services Committee in connection with a hearing on housing supply issues. HAC also reminded lawmakers that preservation of the current housing stock is essential to provide an adequate supply.

HAC is hiring

HAC job listings and application links are available on our website.

• Housing Specialist | Community Builder
• Lending Loan Asset Manager
• Social Enterprise Manager
• Chief Financial Officer

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan fund provides low interest rate loans to support single- and multifamily affordable housing projects for low-income rural residents throughout the U.S. and territories. Capital is available for all types of affordable and mixed-income housing projects, including preservation, new development, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development, construction/rehabilitation and permanent financing. Contact HAC’s loan fund staff at hacloanfund@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.

Please note: HAC is not able to offer loans to individuals or families. Borrowers must be nonprofit or for-profit organizations or government entities (including Tribes).

Want to reprint a HAC News item?

Please credit the HAC News and provide a link to HAC’s website. Thank you!