If you need information on affordable rural housing and rural America in a quick, easy-to-digest format, you need the HAC News.

HAC News: September 23, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

September 23, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 19

Senate committee approves FY20 funding for USDA and HUD, continuing resolution moves forward • HUD offers technical assistance for disaster-impacted cities under 40,000 • House passes rural rental preservation bill • HUD proposes regulations on income and assets for public housing and Section 8 • Community design awards announced • DJ LaVoy sworn in as Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development • Low-cost rental units show long-term decline in every state • White House homelessness recommendations include deregulation and policing • September 15 through October 15 is National Hispanic American Heritage Month • “Colonias Investment Areas – Texas” webinar set for September 26 • Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

September 23, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 19

Senate committee approves FY20 funding for USDA and HUD, continuing resolution moves forward.

  • On September 19 the Senate Appropriations Committee passed FY20 funding bills for several departments, including USDA and HUD. After the full Senate approves the bills, differences between the Senate measures and those previously passed by the House will need to be resolved by conference committees. Because there is not enough time to complete the appropriations for all federal agencies before the new fiscal year begins on October 1, a continuing resolution is expected to fund the government through November 21 and avoid a shutdown. The House approved a CR, H.R. 4378, on September 19 and the Senate should vote on it the week of September 23. It includes a provision allowing maintenance of HUD Section 202 rental assistance, even if the necessary funds exceed the FY19 amount.
  • The Senate’s FY20 USDA bill would keep most rural housing programs at FY19 levels with increases to Section 521 Rental Assistance and Section 542 rural housing vouchers. The version approved by the House in June, on the other hand, increased several programs above FY19 levels, including Sections 514 and 515 as well as self-help housing and the MPR rental preservation program. Details are on HAC’s website. The Senate bill also includes $25 million for relocating ERS and NIFA to Kansas City, while the House bill would block the move.
  • The Senate’s HUD bill increases the department’s overall funding above its FY19 level, but rejects a number of increases included in the House’s bill. The Appropriations Committee voted 15-16 against inclusion of an amendment that would have reauthorized NAHASDA; the bill does fund the Native American housing programs for FY20.

HUD offers technical assistance for disaster-impacted cities under 40,000.

HUD’s Distressed Cities Technical Assistance program is designed to assist local governments of communities with populations under 40,000 that experienced a presidentially declared disaster in or after 2015. The program focuses on financial management, economic development (including affordable housing) and disaster recovery planning. Instructions for requesting TA are posted online.

House passes rural rental preservation bill.

On September 10 the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3620, the Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act. The Senate seems unlikely to consider the bill, which would strengthen USDA’s rental preservation efforts.

HUD proposes regulations on income and assets for public housing and Section 8.

Comments are due November 18 on a proposed rule to implement provisions of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 that relate to income calculations and reviews for public housing and Section 8, with corresponding changes to the regs for HOME, the Housing Trust Fund, and the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program. Information contacts vary by program and are listed in the notice.

Community design awards announced.

Twenty-three communities from across the country were selected to join the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design, a collaboration among HAC, the National Endowment for the Arts and buildingcommunityWORKSHOP. The partner towns, tribes, nonprofits and other organizations were selected in a national competition to receive assistance in addressing design and creative placemaking goals. Three communities – Millinocket, Maine; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; and Athens, Ohio – will host multi-day design workshops that bring experts and locals together.

DJ LaVoy sworn in as Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development.

Donald “DJ” LaVoy, most recently the head of HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center, was sworn in September 17 as Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at USDA. The Under Secretary position, eliminated by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue and reinstated by the 2018 Farm Bill, remains vacant.

Low-cost rental units show long-term decline in every state.

Documenting the Long-Run Decline in Low-Cost Rental Units in the U.S. by State, a working paper from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, looks at the reduction in low-cost rentals from 1990 to 2017. These homes were a declining share of the housing stock in every state, and all but a few states also had declines in the absolute number of low-cost units. The steepest drop occurred from 2012 to 2017. The paper reports a strong correlation at the state level between the extent of losses of low-cost rentals and rising housing cost burdens for low-income households.

White House homelessness recommendations include deregulation and policing.

A new report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, The State of Homelessness in America, focuses on homelessness in major metro areas on the East and West coasts. It identifies the major causes of homelessness as high housing costs due to overregulation of housing markets, “tolerable conditions” including warm weather and policing policies, right-to-shelter policies offering “substitutes to permanent housing” and individual factors such as severe mental illness and low incomes. It criticizes past federal policies and expresses doubt whether homelessness has actually decreased since 2007 (as HUD has reported). Solutions offered include removal of regulatory barriers, expanded drug treatment, “an increased emphasis on serious mental illness,” support for police in promoting safe cities, and stronger encouragement for self-sufficiency.

Recent publications and media of interest

  • Income and Poverty in the United States: 2018 is an annual data report from the Census Bureau. The national median household income remained essentially the same in 2018 as in 2017, while the poverty rate fell by 0.5 percentage points to 11.8%. The drop in poverty was statistically significant for urban residents, but there was no statistically significant change for nonmetro or suburban residents.
  • New Partnership Addresses Affordable Housing in Rural Areas details how the South Dakota economy is benefitting from a $10 million partnership between Avery Health and the Rural Electric Economic Development Fund. These funds will go toward building quality workforce housing to help attract and retain skilled staff in all business sectors.
  • Rural References Bounce in and out of Democratic Debate, a Daily Yonder article, looks at the various ways contenders in the September 12 presidential debate touched on issues affecting rural America.
  • Small, Rural Markets Left Behind as Large Metros Struggle to Match Housing to Job Gains explains some results of rural housing markets’ and rural economies’ inability to rebound at the same rates as large metropolitan areas’ since the Great Recession (2007-2009). Before the recession housing and economic growth in rural areas were generally similar to those in large metropolitan areas, but now they are lagging in job creation and home value gains.
  • Something Special is Happening in Rural America, by writer Sarah Smarsh, argues that recent shift in public sentiment and increasing affordability challenges for large urban areas are indicators of a coming “brain gain” for rural areas. Smarsh, author of Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, recently launched a new podcast, The Homecomers, focused on providing “a more accurate story of those ill-understood spaces [rural communities.]”

September 15 through October 15 is National Hispanic American Heritage Month.

“Colonias Investment Areas – Texas” webinar set for September 26.
HAC, in partnership with Fannie Mae, will hold a webinar presenting data and research on Colonias Investment Areas, a geographic concept developed to target strategies and opportunities for mortgage finance and resource investment in colonia communities along the southwest U.S. border. The September 26 session will focus on colonias in Texas. Recent webinars on colonias in New Mexico and Arizona are available on HAC’s YouTube channel. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

HAC News: September 9, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

September 9, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 18

Administration releases housing finance reform proposal • Congress to resume work on FY20 appropriations • House will consider rural rental preservation bill • USDA offers Community Facilities grants for disaster relief • Eligibility calculations for Section 504 repair loans and grants revised • Comments requested on economic development in distressed areas • Census Bureau hiring for help with 2020 Census • Fair market rents released • USDA extends manufactured housing pilots • Vermont incentivizes local and rural job creation • “Colonias Investment Areas – Texas” webinar set for September 26 • Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

September 9, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 18

Administration releases housing finance reform proposal.

The Trump Administration’s proposed housing finance reform plan was released on September 5. In addition to the Treasury Department plan to release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government conservatorship and limit the federal role in the housing market, a separate document presents a HUD plan for FHA and Ginnie Mae. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has scheduled a September 10 hearing on “Housing Finance Reform: Next Steps.” HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria will be witnesses and the hearing will be webcast live.

Congress to resume work on FY20 appropriations.

The week of September 9, after the House and Senate return from their August recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee will begin to consider funding bills for FY20, which starts on October 1, 2019. Earlier this year the House developed its 12 appropriations bills and passed 10 of them, though its numbers will need to be adjusted because the summer budget deal provided a lower amount for non-defense and a higher amount for defense than the House bills assumed. The House is expected to vote the week of September 16 on a continuing resolution carrying FY19 funding levels until late November or early December. Bloomberg reports the Administration has requested a number of “anomalies” – changes in FY19 provisions – to be included in a CR. No rural housing anomalies are listed, but the request does include authority for HUD to renew contracts for rental assistance to Section 202 properties for the elderly, as well as additional funding for the 2020 Census.

House will consider rural rental preservation bill.

The House of Representatives is scheduled to take up H.R. 3620, the Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2019, on September 10, 11 or 12. The bill, which passed the House Financial Services Committee unanimously in July, would authorize the MPR and preservation technical assistance programs, authorize vouchers for tenants after a mortgage matures or is foreclosed (in addition to after prepayment), allow decoupling of Rental Assistance as a last resort, require USDA to develop a preservation plan and establish a stakeholders’ committee to advise USDA.

USDA offers Community Facilities grants for disaster relief.

Community Facilities grants will be awarded on a rolling basis to public bodies, nonprofits and tribes in rural areas impacted by FEMA-recognized natural disasters. For more information, contact a USDA Rural Development state office.

Eligibility calculations for Section 504 repair loans and grants revised.

USDA revisions to Handbook HB-1-3550, announced in Procedure Notice 527, change the methodology for determining eligibility for loan, grant and combination assistance. They also provide clarification to other program eligibility criteria including credit analysis, medical deductions, property considerations and construction contract considerations. The Section 504 program offers loans to low-income rural homeowners and grants to those who are age 62 or older. For more information, contact a local USDA Rural Development office.

Comments requested on economic development in distressed areas.

In connection with its work on the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, the Commerce Department seeks recommendations on spurring economic development in Opportunity Zones and other distressed areas. Comments are due October 18. For more information, contact Mara Quintero Campbell, 202-482-5479.

Census Bureau hiring for help with 2020 Census.

The U.S. Census Bureau needs to hire hundreds of thousands of workers to complete the upcoming census. Temporary jobs include census takers, recruiting assistants, office staff and supervisory staff, with locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Fair Market Rents released.

HUD has posted Fair Market Rents for FY20, effective October 1, 2019. Prices are available at the county and zip code levels for efficiency, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom units.

USDA extends manufactured housing pilots.

Two pilot programs are extended through the end of August 2020. One allows the Section 502 direct and guarantee programs to finance existing manufactured homes that are not already financed by USDA. The second reduces the required land lease term for energy-efficient homes in nonprofit communities. For more information related to Section 502 direct, contact Jeremy Anderson, USDA, 202-690-3971; related to Section 502 guaranteed, contact Kevin Smith, USDA, 517-883-6147.

Recent publications and media of interest

  • South Carolina Housing Needs Assessment estimates that high housing costs in the state cost a total of $8.4 billion in public assistance, private charity or personal deprivation. The report mentions that the housing crisis looks different in rural areas, where incomes are lower.
  • #MapMonday is a weekly social media series from the Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities at the University of Montana. For a new map each week related to people living with disabilities in rural America, follow RTC:Rural on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Vermont incentivizes local and rural job creation.

The Remote Worker Grant Program, which offers remote workers as much as $10,000 in payments and incentives to relocate to Vermont, has seen greater than expected participation and engagement. Since January 2019 a total of 170 people have relocated to the state as part of this program (this number includes family members that moved with the workers). The Vermont Department of Economic Development is hoping to expand on this success by offering another incentive program aimed at creating local jobs, with higher payouts for jobs created in rural communities.

“Colonias Investment Areas – Texas” webinar set for September 26.
HAC, in partnership with Fannie Mae, will hold a webinar presenting data and research on Colonias Investment Areas, a geographic concept developed to target strategies and opportunities for mortgage finance and resource investment in colonia communities along the southwest U.S. border. The September 26 session will focus on colonias in Texas. Recent webinars on colonias in New Mexico and Arizona are available on HAC’s YouTube channel. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

HAC News: August 23, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

August 23, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 17

HUD proposes new rules for fail housing claims based on disparate impact • “Public charge” rule for immigrants takes effect October 15 • ROSS grants available for nonprofits, PHAs and tribes • At end of July, funding obligations for some rural housing programs lagging • Lawmakers seek input on honoring U.S. promises to Native peoples • Effective date delayed for changes to Section 502 construction-to-permanent guarantees • Research offers strategies to improve rural census participation for 2020 • HUD requests comments on physical inspection demonstration • Foundation prize will honor communities working towards healthier lives for all • “Colonias Investment Areas – Texas” webinar set for September 26 • Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

August 23, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 17

HUD proposes new rules for fair housing claims based on disparate impact.

HUD proposes to change its regulations on the use of disparate impact to show housing discrimination has occurred even if it was not intentional. A new five-step process would make it more difficult to substantiate such a claim. Comments are due October 18. For more information, contact David H. Enzel, HUD, 202-402-5557. If possible, HAC will make its comments available online before the deadline.

“Public charge” rule for immigrants takes effect October 15.

A new regulation sets strict standards for how the Department of Homeland Security will determine whether an immigrant applying for admission to the U.S. or for citizenship is considered likely to become a “public charge” needing government assistance. For more information, contact Mark Phillips, DHS, 202-272-8377.

ROSS grants available for nonprofits, PHAs and tribes.

HUD’s Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Program funds service coordinators who help residents of public and Indian housing move towards economic independence. Applications are due October 15. For more information, contact ROSS-PIH@hud.gov.

At end of July, funding obligations for some rural housing programs lagging.

HAC’s monthly compilation of rural housing funding use shows that ten months into fiscal year 2019, which began with temporary appropriations and a 35-day federal government shutdown, some major rural housing programs are not using their funds as fast as they did in FY18. Programs with slower obligations include Section 502 guaranteed loans and Section 504 repair loans and grants. USDA has obligated $681 million of the $1 billion available for Section 502 direct loans, compared to $822 million at the same point last year, when the agency used the program’s full funding by the end of the fiscal year. Very low-income applicants have received about 35% of the loans so far and about 35% of the dollars obligated. Special authorizations to help use all Section 502 direct funds this year were issued in February and April.

Lawmakers seek input on honoring U.S. promises to Native peoples.

Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are developing a bill to be named the Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act, intended to implement recommendations from the 2018 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report, Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans. Input on the bill can be sent to HonoringPromises@mail.house.gov or HonoringPromises@warren.senate.gov by September 30.

Effective date delayed for changes to Section 502 construction-to-permanent guarantees.

Revisions to USDA’s regulation for Section 502 guaranteed single close loans, initially expected to be effective August 21, will now take effect October 1. For more information, contact Joaquin Tremols, USDA, 202-720-1465.

Research offers strategies to improve rural census participation for 2020.

Analysis from a research network in Mississippi indicates that census participation tends to be lower in rural places than in metro areas for a variety of reasons, even though the data is critical for allocating federal funds to communities. The piece also offers ideas for increasing participation, including word of mouth marketing and forming a local Complete Count Committee.

HUD requests comments on physical inspection demonstration.

HUD is asking for input on its new demonstration National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate, which will be used to test standards and protocols for assessing the physical conditions of housing assisted or insured by HUD (not including tenant-based or project-based vouchers). The NSPIRE demonstration will include approximately 4,500 properties nationwide. Comments are due October 21, and HUD says it will incorporate them into the demonstration. For more information, contact Daniel R. Williams, HUD, 202-475-8873.

Recent publications and media of interest

  • Shelterforce magazine’s summer issue focuses on rural housing and community development. Articles will be posted online over the next few months. To read them now, order a printed copy of the rural issue for $10.50 or subscribe to the magazine.
  • Rural Policy: ‘Here’s What We Need,’ Advocates Say shares ideas from rural leaders, including HAC’s David Lipsetz, about federal policy changes that would do the most good for rural America. Common themes in this Daily Yonder piece include increasing both dedicated funding and technical assistance, shifting the mindset from focusing on deficits to emphasizing assets and building partnerships.
  • American Indian Children Left Behind in Extreme Poverty reports that 17% of Native American children lived in families with incomes less than half the poverty level in 2017. The rate was 16% for African-American, 10% for Hispanic and 5% for non-Hispanic white children.

Foundation prize will honor communities working towards healthier lives for all.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize defines health in “the broadest possible terms” and honors communities of all sizes, where entities collaborate to “give everyone a fair and just opportunity to reach their best possible health.” Applications are due November 4. For more information, contact info@cohprize.wisc.edu, 608-263-6983.

“Colonias Investment Areas – Texas” webinar set for September 26.
HAC, in partnership with Fannie Mae, will hold a webinar presenting data and research on Colonias Investment Areas, a geographic concept developed to target strategies and opportunities for mortgage finance and resource investment in colonia communities along the southwest U.S. border. The September 26 session will focus on colonias in Texas. Recent webinars on colonias in New Mexico and Arizona are available on HAC’s YouTube channel. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

HAC News: August 12, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

August 12, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 16

Spending deal signed into law. •Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grants offered • HUD proposes to make disparate impact discrimination claims more difficult •Baxley departs USDA, Allen retires • Home Depot Foundation and HAC support rural veterans and local nonprofits • HAC examines the definition of colonias • Prior approval was needed to move ERS and NIFA, says USDA Inspector General • HUD to appoint monitor to oversee Puerto Rico disaster funds • RuralSTAT • Exchange Programs Bring Urban and Rural America Together • Mortgage Experiences of Rural Borrowers in the United States: Insights from the National Survey of Mortgage Originations • Where Blue-Collar America is Strongest • Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

August 12, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 16

Spending deal signed into law.

On August 2 President Trump signed H.R. 3877, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, passed by the House on July 25 and the Senate on August 1. The measure raises the 2011 Budget Control Act’s spending caps for FY20 and 21, though the total for non-defense discretionary programs (which includes housing) is lower than the total approved by the House for FY20. The Senate will begin marking up its FY20 appropriations bills when it reconvenes after Labor Day.

Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grants offered.

Apply by November 4 for grants to revitalize severely distressed public and/or HUD-assisted housing properties. Eligible applicants are local governments or tribes and PHAs, nonprofits or for-profits that own HUD-assisted housing and apply jointly with local governments or tribes, whether they have received previous Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grants or not. For more information, contact HUD staff.

HUD proposes to make disparate impact discrimination claims more difficult.

Politico obtained and published a proposal HUD has developed to change a 2013 regulation governing fair housing discrimination claims that are based on discriminatory impact without proof of discriminatory intent. The new provisions would require the charging party to prove several new aspects of a claim. The proposal is currently under review at OMB and is not officially available. When it is published in the Federal Register a 60-day comment period will begin.

Baxley departs USDA, Allen retires.

  • Joel Baxley, who was RHS Administrator and then Acting Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development, has left USDA. It is not clear whether USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue will name another Acting Assistant or an Under Secretary for RD. Perdue eliminated the Under Secretary position, but the 2018 Farm Bill required it be reinstated. In February, when USDA announced Baxley’s move to the Acting Assistant position, it said Perdue and the White House were working to identify an Under Secretary candidate.
  • Joyce Allen, RHS’s Deputy Administrator for Multi-Family Housing, retired at the end of June. Nancie-Ann Bodell is serving as Acting Deputy Administrator.

Home Depot Foundation and HAC support rural veterans and local nonprofits.

The Home Depot Foundation, working with HAC, has awarded a total of $300,000 to ten local nonprofits around the country to build or preserve housing for veterans in rural America. HAC CEO David Lipsetz said, “Together we build the capacity of local organizations to assist more veterans across rural America. The enduring service and sacrifice of our nation’s service women and men earns them the right to be called heroes and to have a safe and decent place to call home.”

HAC examines the definition of colonias.

In a two-part webinar series produced in partnership with Fannie Mae, HAC provided an overview of its research and analysis on defining colonias communities in New Mexico and Arizona. Both the New Mexico and Arizona webinars are now available on HAC’s YouTube channel.

Prior approval was needed to move ERS and NIFA, says USDA Inspector General.

USDA’s Inspector General conducted a review and concluded that USDA has the legal authority to relocate the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, but congressional approval was required for USDA to expend funds for the relocation. USDA’s Office of General Counsel disagrees, arguing that the law requiring approval is unconstitutional, and says the department will not request congressional consent. Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who requested the IG investigation, issued a statement saying USDA must wait for approval.

HUD to appoint monitor to oversee Puerto Rico disaster funds.

HUD announced on August 2 it plans to appoint a Federal Financial Monitor to oversee the disbursement of disaster recovery funds to Puerto Rico, citing the territorial government’s “alleged corruption, fiscal irregularities and mismanagement.” Disaster funds for states impacted by recent storms will be released before funds for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

RuralSTAT. Between 2015 and 2017, approximately 37% of all small dollar home loans (less than $75,000) were originated in rural areas. For more data and information on mortgage lending in your community, visit HAC’s Rural Data Portal. Source: HAC tabulations of 2015-2017 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data.

Recent publications and media of interest

  • Exchange Programs Bring Urban and Rural America Together is an article about the importance of bridging the rural-urban gap through interactions between individuals. The story describes how the Rural-Urban Exchange program in Kentucky has helped people see they have more in common than they think they do.
  • Mortgage Experiences of Rural Borrowers in the United States: Insights from the National Survey of Mortgage Originations, an article in HUD’s Cityscape magazine, reports that in 2014 mortgage borrowers in counties with urban populations under 2,500 paid slightly higher interest rates than others, were less satisfied that their mortgage was the best for their needs, and were less confident or less knowledgeable about some details of mortgages.
  • Where Blue-Collar America is Strongest dispels the myth that all rural America is suffering economic distress. As the author notes, some of the biggest increases in incomes over the last decade or so have been in rural areas. The Plains states in particular have enjoyed high income and employment numbers. This growth, much of which is attributable to energy sector expansion, is often overlooked in favor of the narrative that rural areas are all on the decline.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

HAC News: July 26, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

July 26, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 15

Deal clears the way for FY20 funding •House committee approves disaster recovery bill • Updated, “banded” income limits posted for USDA single-family housing programs •Broadband increases market value of rural homes • Changes finalized for Section 502 construction-to-permanent loan guarantees • Labor Department suggests changes to H-2A farmworker program • RuralSTAT • Federal court tells FHA to delay restrictions on downpayment aid • Rural areas farthest from cities more likely to lose jobs since May 2018 • HAC is hiring • HAC and Fannie Mae to hold webinar on colonias in Arizona • HAC offers Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits, August 6-8 in Michigan • Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

July 26, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 15

Deal clears the way for FY20 funding.
On July 25 the House approved H.R. 3877, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019. The Senate is expected to pass it during the week of July 29 and President Trump has said he will sign it. The measure raises the 2011 Budget Control Act’s spending caps for FY20 and 21 and suspends the public debt ceiling until July 31, 2021. Now that spending totals are established, Congress can proceed with its appropriations bills for fiscal year 2020, which begins October 1, 2019. The House has already passed funding bills for USDA and HUD. The Senate will begin marking up its bills in September after its August recess.

House committee approves disaster recovery bill.
The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019, H.R. 3702, would permanently authorize the federal government’s primary long-term resource for rebuilding after a disaster, the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program. The bill, passed unanimously by the House Financial Services Committee, is intended to help ensure housing recovery efforts are administered consistently, transparently, and with a priority for those most in need.

Updated, “banded” income limits posted for USDA single-family housing programs.
Implementing the regulation that adopts income banding nationwide for its single-family programs, USDA has posted new income limits online and incorporated them into its eligibility website.

Broadband increases market value of rural homes.
Based on a study of 887 “remote rural” U.S. counties, professors from Oklahoma State University and the University of Wisconsin Madison estimate that a 10% increase in the percentage of county residents with 200 kbps broadband access would create a $661 average increase in the housing value in that county. They project the increased housing value would result in increased property tax collections in remote rural counties that struggle to find funding for local services.

Changes finalized for Section 502 construction-to-permanent loan guarantees.
USDA has adopted changes it proposed last year for “single close” Section 502 guaranteed loans, including allowing lenders to charge a higher interest rate for the construction phase. It will also make single close loans available for the purchase and rehabilitation of existing homes. For more information, contact Kate Jensen, USDA, 503-894-2382.

Labor Department suggests changes to H-2A farmworker program.
The Department of Labor is proposing numerous changes to the regulations that govern employers’ use of the H-2A temporary visa program for farmworkers. Among the revisions are clarifications to the minimum standards required for H-2A worker housing, which must be provided by employers. DOL also hopes to streamline its process for reviewing employers’ applications. Comments are due September 24. For more information, contact Thomas M. Dowd, DOL, 202-513-7350.

RuralSTAT.
According to 2017 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, nearly 30% of all “high cost” home loans nationally were made in rural high need areas as identified under the Duty to Serve mandate for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. HAC provides more information on Duty to Serve and mortgage data online.

Federal court tells FHA to delay restrictions on downpayment aid.
After a ruling in an ongoing lawsuit, HUD has suspended the effective date of Mortgagee Letter 2019-06, which would have made it more difficult for government entities to provide downpayment assistance to homebuyers seeking Federal Housing Administration insurance. The Cedar Band of Paiutes and its mortgage agency, which filed the suit, announced on July 22 that the judge granted a preliminary injunction allowing current downpayment assistance guidelines to continue at least until a final determination is made in the case.

Rural areas farthest from cities more likely to lose jobs since May 2018.
A Daily Yonder analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data found that major cities continue to account for most of job growth, with the central counties of major metropolitan areas gaining six out of 10 new jobs. Rural America accounted for 5.5% of the total increase.

HAC is hiring!
Housing Specialist: based primarily in the Southwest or Western U.S. to provide direct technical assistance, coaching and training to nonprofits, government agencies and others.
Portfolio Manager: based in DC to manage a portfolio of loans made to entities engaged in affordable housing activities in rural communities.
Both positions come with competitive salaries, generous benefits and the opportunity to work in a fun and mission-focused environment.

HAC and Fannie Mae to hold webinar on colonias in Arizona.
HAC, in partnership with Fannie Mae, will hold a webinar presenting data and research on Colonias Investment Areas, a geographic concept developed to target mortgage finance and resource investment in colonia communities along the southwest U.S. border. The August 7 webinar will focus on Arizona. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

HAC offers Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits, August 6-8 in Michigan.
This three-day advanced course trains experienced participants to assist potential borrowers and work with RD staff, other nonprofits and regional intermediaries to deliver successful Section 502 loan packages. The training will be held in East Lansing, MI on August 6-8. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?
HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

HAC News: July 12, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

July 12, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 14

Rural rental preservation bill passes House committee unanimously • HUD’s mixed-status families proposal receives comments and analysis • USDA offers funds for farmworker housing and issues new guidance on renting to H-2A workers • Funding available to provide housing and services for victims of human trafficking • Census to proceed without citizenship question • Legality of ERS/NIFA relocation challenged • Deadlines extended for mortgage data comments • Affordable rental housing significantly further out of reach now than in 1989 • RuralSTAT • OMB publishes 2019 Compliance Supplement for federal audits • Unsheltered and Uncounted: Rural America’s Hidden Homeless • Americans in the Most Financially Distressed Zip Codes are Trapped in a ‘Really Troubling’ Catch-22 • The Education Deserts of Rural America • 2019 Kids Count Data Book • Rural America Faces Housing Shortage. How One Town is Addressing It • Rural Electrification 2.0: The Transition to a Clean Energy Economy • HAC is hiring! • HAC and Fannie Mae to hold webinars on colonias in New Mexico and Arizona • HAC offers Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits, August 6-8 in Michigan • Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

July 12, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 14

Rural rental preservation bill passes House committee unanimously.

The Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act, H.R. 3620, was approved by the House Financial Services Committee in a 57-0 vote on July 11. Introduced by Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), the bill would authorize the MPR and preservation technical assistance programs, authorize vouchers for tenants after a mortgage matures or is foreclosed (in addition to after prepayment), allow decoupling of Rental Assistance as a last resort, require USDA to develop a preservation plan, and establish a stakeholders’ committee to advise USDA.

HUD’s mixed-status families proposal receives comments and analysis.

HUD received nearly 29,000 comments on its proposed rule that would require landlords to evict tenants whose immigration status makes them ineligible for aid, even if other members of the family are eligible. HAC provided comments opposing the regulation. Analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that 95% of those who would be impacted by the rule are people of color, including 85% who are Latinx, 56% female, and 53% children. Another proposed change that would require tenants to verify their citizenship or immigration status would impact 9 million citizens currently receiving HUD rental assistance, 72% of them people of color, 39% children and 17% seniors. The Center for Migration Studies estimates up to 11.5 million people could lose eligibility for housing assistance under the proposal.

USDA offers funds for farmworker housing and issues new guidance on renting to H-2A workers.

Nonprofits, tribes and government entities are eligible to submit pre-applications for Section 514 loans and Section 516 grants to develop off-farm housing for farmworkers. The deadline is August 30. USDA has also published an Unnumbered Letter dated May 30, 2019 that replaces a July 5, 2018 UL and provides information about allowing farmworkers with H-2A visas to live in Section 514/516 housing. The new UL includes more details than the 2018 version. For more information, contact a USDA RD state office.

Funding available to provide housing and services for victims of human trafficking.

HUD and the Department of Justice will make grants to nonprofits, for-profits, local or state governments and tribes to provide safe housing and specialized services to assist victims of human trafficking. Applications are due October 30. For more information, contact Sherri L. Boyd, HUD.

Census to proceed without citizenship question.

On June 11, President Trump issued an Executive Order instructing federal agencies to provide the Commerce Department any data they have that might help determine numbers of citizens and non-citizens. The order says the Supreme Court’s recent decision questioning the Administration’s rationale for including a citizenship question on the 2020 Census left “no practical mechanism” for making the question part of the census. It also states that obtaining accurate data on total numbers of citizens and non-citizens “has nothing to do with enforcing immigration laws against particular individuals” and records will continue to be confidential.

Legality of ERS/NIFA relocation challenged.

Politico reports that NBL Associates, the landlord that leases Washington, DC space to USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, filed a formal complaint (subscription required) on June 28 with the Government Accountability Office. NBL charges that USDA’s search for new space for NIFA and the Economic Research Service violates federal procurement law. It argues the process should begin again and should include the DC area. USDA has not changed its plans to move employees to temporary office space in Kansas City beginning by August 1, but it did change its deadline to August 7 rather than July 7 for bids from building owners in the Kansas City area.

Deadlines extended for mortgage data comments.

In May, CFPB requested comments on two proposals that could limit available Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. The deadline for input on data points that are currently collected was July 8 but has been changed to October 15. The bureau also announced it will reopen the comment period on some aspects of a proposed rule to exempt lenders that originate small numbers of mortgages, but the official document has not yet appeared in the Federal Register.

Affordable rental housing significantly further out of reach now than in 1989.

Out of Reach 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of this National Low Income Housing Coalition report. In the late 1980s housing assistance reached only one in three eligible households, but today that figure is fewer than one in four. The report’s interactive site provides data for every county, state, and metro area.

RuralSTAT.

More than 3.5 million rural workers are employed in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing comprises 14% of rural jobs compared to 10% nationally. To learn more about industry and employment in your community visit HAC’s Rural Data Portal.

OMB publishes 2019 Compliance Supplement for federal audits.

The annual supplement to OMB’s Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to audits of entities that use any of a lengthy list of federal housing programs.

Recent publications and media of interest

  • Unsheltered and Uncounted: Rural America’s Hidden Homeless, a National Public Radio story, examines the growing problem of rural homelessness, where challenges in getting accurate counts still persist. Additionally, according to organizations working with the rural homeless in Kentucky, people are now less likely to be doubling up in crowded houses and more likely to sleep outdoors or in cars.
  • Americans in the Most Financially Distressed Zip Codes are Trapped in a ‘Really Troubling’ Catch-22 reports on an Economic Innovation Group analysis that found the most distressed zip codes are concentrated in the Southeast, rural West, and urban centers in the Northeast and Midwest, places that have the country’s most persistent pockets of really entrenched poverty. Rural areas are projected to never fully recover from the Great Recession and a lack of job opportunities continues to make rural areas less appealing places to live, the article says.
  • The Education Deserts of Rural America notes that the high-school education gap between urban and rural students has decreased but the college-completion gap has widened. (The author uses Economic Research Service data.) Rural students often have to travel greater distances than their urban peers to attend college, limited broadband access eliminates online education as an option, and many states have disinvested in public higher education.
  • 2019 Kids Count Data Book is the 30th edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s compilation of figures. The foundation reports that 11 of the 16 areas of child well-being it tracks have improved since 1990, though housing cost burden rates increased. Racial and ethnic disparities persist. Data are provided for the U.S. and each state.
  • Rural America Faces Housing Shortage. How One Town is Addressing It looks at how a town in Nebraska and other rural communities are addressing the need for more affordable housing, especially workforce housing. The piece quotes HAC CEO David Lipsetz and references HAC’s research on the looming rural rental housing crisis.
  • Rural Electrification 2.0: The Transition to a Clean Energy Economy reports that while many rural areas in the United States provide the infrastructure for clean energy, the power generated is not used locally. Rural electric cooperatives derive two-thirds of their energy from fossil fuels. The report authors argue that the decreasing cost of producing wind- and solar-powered energy makes the transition to renewable resources more affordable and makes economic sense in the long run.

HAC is hiring!

Housing Specialist: based primarily in the Southwest or Western U.S. to provide direct technical assistance, coaching and training to nonprofits, government agencies and others.

Portfolio Manager: based in DC to manage a portfolio of loans made to entities engaged in affordable housing activities in rural communities.

Both positions come with competitive salaries, generous benefits and the opportunity to work in a fun and mission-focused environment.

HAC and Fannie Mae to hold webinars on colonias in New Mexico and Arizona.

HAC, in partnership with Fannie Mae, will hold webinars in July and August presenting data and research on Colonias Investment Areas, a geographic concept developed to target mortgage finance and resource investment in colonia communities along the southwest U.S. border. A webinar on July 17 will focus on New Mexico, and one on August 7 will focus on Arizona. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

HAC offers Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits, August 6-8 in Michigan.

This three-day advanced course trains experienced participants to assist potential borrowers and work with RD staff, other nonprofits and regional intermediaries to deliver successful Section 502 loan packages. The training will be held in East Lansing, MI on August 6-8. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

HAC News: June 27, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

June 27, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 13

House passes USDA and HUD funding for FY20 • U.S. housing supply falls far short of needs, Harvard analysis finds • Supreme Court rules citizenship question on census needs a better rationale. • USDA expands pilot to help nonprofits preserve rural rentals, creates two-step transfer • Most USDA Research Service staff to quit, not move, union says • HUD offers grants for lead reduction and tribal healthy homes • White House council on regulatory barriers created • GAO suggests centralizing information on services to rural elders • Senate confirms two HUD appointees • RuralSTAT • Final rule adopts income banding for USDA single-family housing programs • The 2019 AARP Rural Livability Workshop •How to Make College Accessible to Students from Rural Communities • The June 24 Power Station podcast • A Town with No Bank: How Itta Benna, Mississippi, Became a Banking Desert • 2020 Democrats Offer Up Affordable Housing Plans Amid Surging Prices • NEW! HAC and Fannie Mae to hold webinars on colonias in New Mexico and Arizona • NEW! HAC offers Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits, August 6-8 in Michigan • Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

June 27, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 13

House passes USDA and HUD funding for FY20.

On June 25 the House passed H.R. 3055, a “minibus” that combines five appropriations bills for FY20, including both USDA and HUD. The measure would maintain or increase funding for housing programs in both departments. The Administration has threatened to veto the bill. Congress and the White House have not yet been able to agree to lift the spending caps imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act, which would require drastic funding cuts, and the Senate has not yet begun to consider appropriations bills.

U.S. housing supply falls far short of needs, Harvard analysis finds.

Harvard’s Joint Center on Housing Studies reports in The State of the Nation’s Housing 2019 that U.S. housing production has not kept pace with increases in household formation and a large proportion of new homes are for the higher end of the market. Cost-burden rates have declined for homeowners but 47.4% of renters still pay more than 30% of their incomes for housing. HAC is one of the sponsors of this yearly report.

Supreme Court rules citizenship question on census needs a better rationale.

The Supreme Court ruled on June 27 that including a citizenship question on the decennial census is permitted by the Constitution, but that the Commerce Department’s stated reason for adding the question is not supported by the facts. The case will return to a lower court and it is not clear whether a final determination can be made in time to include the question on the 2020 Census, even if different justification is provided.

USDA expands pilot to help nonprofits preserve rural rentals, creates two-step transfer.

USDA RD’s pilot program to assist nonprofits preserving Section 515 properties has been extended through April 30, 2021. An Unnumbered Letter dated June 14, 2019 announces the extension and expands the options for nonprofits to include a “two-step transfer process.” A nonprofit can now request permission to purchase a property before it has all funding in place for rehabilitation and, so long as it addresses health, safety and accessibility needs immediately, will have up to two years to do other rehab. The pilot will also expand to cover properties with mortgage maturations through 2035 (instead of 2030, the limit when the pilot began). Another UL dated June 14, 2019 offers guidance on using the Section 538 program to preserve Section 515 properties.

Most USDA Research Service staff to quit, not move, union says.

Politico (subscription required) reports that a preliminary survey by the American Federation of Government Employees found at least two-thirds of Economic Research Service staff who have been asked to relocate from Washington, DC to the Kansas City area will leave the agency instead of moving. Workers at ERS and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture recently voted overwhelmingly to join AFGE. Separately, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association has calculated that USDA’s cost-benefit analysis seriously underestimated the cost of moving ERS and NIFA, partly because it did not take into account the lost value of research from staffers who resign or retire rather than move.

HUD offers grants for lead reduction and tribal healthy homes.

State and local governments, some states and some tribes can apply by August 9 for HUD’s Lead Hazard Reduction Grant Program to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in privately owned housing. For more information, contact Yolanda Brown, HUD, 202-402-7596. August 9 is also the deadline for tribes and TDHEs to apply for the Healthy Homes Production Grant Program, which assists in identifying and remediating housing issues that contribute to health and safety concerns in urban tribal communities. For more information, contact Michelle Miller, HUD, 202-402-5769.

White House council on regulatory barriers created.

President Trump issued an executive order establishing a White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing. The order blames the current housing affordability crisis on a supply shortage caused by barriers such as restrictive zoning, rent controls, environmental regulations and labor requirements. Chaired by HUD, the council includes representatives from USDA and other departments and is charged with producing a report by June 25, 2020. HUD has worked for decades to reduce regulatory barriers imposed by federal, state, local and tribal governments, and since 2001 has maintained a Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse.

GAO suggests centralizing information on services to rural elders.

HHS Could Help Rural Service Providers by Centralizing Information on Promising Practices addresses services such as in-home care, meal delivery and transportation to medical appointments, which are funded by the Department of Health and Human Services to assist older adults to stay in their homes. Rural residents receive some services less frequently than their urban counterparts. GAO recommends that HHS centralize access to and promote awareness of promising practices or other resources to better serve rural seniors.

Senate confirms two HUD appointees.

On June 20, the Senate confirmed Seth Appleton as Assistant Secretary of Policy Development and Research and Hunter Kurtz as Assistant Secretary of Public and Indian Housing.

RuralSTAT.

Approximately 78.1% of American households have broadband subscriptions in their homes. In rural homes, the broadband subscription rate is 69.5%. (HAC tabulations of 2017 American Community Survey)

RuralSTAT

Final rule adopts income banding for USDA single-family housing programs.

Since 2016 USDA has tested broadening eligibility for the Section 502 direct loan program and the Section 504 loan and grant programs by establishing one income limit for families with one to four people and another for families with five to eight people, rather than eight different income limits. A new rule puts the change into effect nationwide as of July 22. RD will publish new income limits online. The definition of net family assets is also revised and, effective August 5, area loan limits will be calculated as a percentage of HUD’s Section 203(b) limits. For more information, contact Shannon Chase, RD, 515-305-0399.

Recent publications and media of interest

NEW! HAC and Fannie Mae to hold webinars on colonias in New Mexico and Arizona.

HAC, in partnership with Fannie Mae, will hold webinars in July and August presenting data and research on Colonias Investment Areas, a geographic concept developed to target mortgage finance and resource investment in colonia communities along the southwest U.S. border. A webinar on July 17 will focus on New Mexico, and one on August 7 will focus on Arizona. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

NEW! HAC offers Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits, August 6-8 in Michigan.

This three-day advanced course trains experienced participants to assist potential borrowers and work with RD staff, other nonprofits and regional intermediaries to deliver successful Section 502 loan packages. The training will be held in East Lansing, MI on August 6-8. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

HAC News: June 14, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

June 14, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 12

Resources offered for local rural design activities • June is National Homeownership Month • House moves appropriations forward • House committee passes bills to block recent HUD proposals • Disaster funding bill becomes law • Flood insurance program extended • HUD offers grants for technical health and housing studies • USDA moving ERS and NIFA to Kansas City • Revised income limits for HUD programs posted • RuralSTAT • Iowa inmates learn to construct affordable housing • RAPIDO disaster recovery home celebrated in Texas • Comments sought on Fair Market Rent calculation changes • A Piece of Mississippi: Retrospective on Rural Generation for CIRD • Reservation Profiles • Speak Your Piece: Rural Strength and Possibility •Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

June 14, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 12

Resources offered for local rural design activities.

The Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design is accepting applications through July 22 for stipends and technical assistance to enable rural and tribal communities to host rural design workshops or participate in a Learning Cohort. A webinar offering application guidance from HAC, the National Endowment for the Arts and buildingcommunityWORKSHOP is available online. “Open office hour” events will also be hosted by [bc] on Facebook live on June 18 and July 10. For more information, contact CIRD@bcworkshop.org.

June is National Homeownership Month.

USDA’s press release highlights the department’s homeownership programs.

House moves appropriations forward.

The House Appropriations Committee approved the proposed FY20 spending bills for USDA and HUD on June 4. Those two measures have been combined with the bills for Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment and Military Construction-VA to create a second “minibus” that is scheduled for a vote in the full House the week of June 17. The House began debate June 12 on the first minibus, comprised of appropriations bills for Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, State-Foreign Operations and Energy. The Financial Services bill, not included in either minibus, passed the House Appropriations Committee on June 11 and includes $300 million for CDFI Fund programs, compared to $250 million in FY19. The Senate has not yet begun to consider its appropriations bills.

House committee passes bills to block recent HUD proposals.

H.R. 3018, passed by the House Financial Services Committee on June 12, would block HUD’s proposal to allow homeless shelters to treat transgender and gender non-conforming people according to the sex they were assigned at birth. Similar language is included in the House’s HUD appropriations bill for FY20. Also approved by the committee was H.R. 2763, prohibiting implementation of HUD’s proposed rule to end housing benefits for families with mixed immigration status. Finally, H.R. 3154 clarifies that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients cannot be denied federally backed mortgage loans based on their DACA status; after the bill passed, a letter from a HUD official to Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) became public confirming that FHA considers DACA recipients ineligible for its mortgage guarantees, a policy previously denied by HUD Secretary Ben Carson.

Disaster funding bill becomes law.

On June 6, President Trump signed the disaster relief bill into law, providing $17.2 billion for recovery from 2018 and 2019 natural disasters.

Flood insurance program extended.

The new disaster relief law extends authorization for the National Flood Insurance Program through September 30, 2019, the end of the current fiscal year. The program would be authorized through the end of fiscal 2024 by H.R. 3167, which received unanimous approval from the House Financial Services Committee on June 12. That bill and H.R. 3111, also passed unanimously by the committee, make other changes to the program as well.

HUD offers grants for technical health and housing studies.

Nonprofits, for-profits, PHAs, state or local governments, tribes and educational institutions can apply by July 11 for HUD Lead and Healthy Homes Technical Studies Grants to improve detection and control of housing-related health and safety hazards. For more information, contact J. Kofi Berko, HUD.

USDA says ERS and NIFA will move to Kansas City.

The Kansas City region has been selected as the new location for the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced on June 13. With its press release, USDA provided the first publicly available cost-benefit analysis for the controversial move. The House’s FY20 appropriations bill for USDA includes language prohibiting use of FY20 funds for the relocation, but a timeline in the cost-benefit document shows the Department intends to begin the relocation by August 1 and complete it by September 30, before FY20 begins on October 1. NIFA workers voted on June 11 to join the American Federation of Government Employees, as ERS employees did in May.

Revised income limits for HUD programs posted.

The 2019 income limits for CDBG, HOME, HTF, HOPWA and NSP will be effective June 29. The limits for ESG are effective as of April 24.

RuralSTAT. The citizenship question on the 2020 Census has been hotly debated as of late. Data on citizenship already exists in the American Community Survey. From the ACS, the Census Bureau estimates that 2.8% of the rural and small town population are not U.S. citizens. To view the data for your community and its reliability, visit HAC’s Rural Data Portal.

Iowa inmates learn to construct affordable housing.

A new Iowa program, based on one in South Dakota, aims to help alleviate the state’s rural affordable housing shortage by recruiting the state’s prison population to build modular affordable housing. The program also hopes to provide inmates with training and apprenticeships that can help them find jobs upon reentry.

RAPIDO disaster recovery home celebrated in Texas.

An open house event allowed visitors to see a finished home where a family lived throughout construction, beginning with a small “core” house erected in three days and intended to replace a FEMA trailer after a natural disaster. The family occupied the core while the rest of the home was built onto it. Texas Housers, one of the partners in developing and testing the concept, declared this RAPIDO home ready to move to large scale use in future disaster rebuilding. Other partners were buildingcommunityWorkshop, Enterprise Community Partners, the Texas Organizing Project and Covenant Community Capital. A past issue of HAC’s Rural Voices magazine (p. 27) describes how the concept can be used for affordable housing in non-disaster situations as well.

Comments sought on Fair Market Rent calculation changes.

HUD is proposing changes in how it calculates trend factors that are used in determining Fair Market Rents. The changes are intended to make the determinations more local. Comments are due July 5. For more information, contact HUD’s Program Parameters and Research Division, 202-402-2409.

Recent publications and media of interest

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

HAC News: May 31, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

May 31, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 11

Rural Housing Service administrator named • Section 533 Housing Preservation Grants available • House subcommittees approve USDA and HUD spending bills for FY20 • Disaster bill passes Senate but not House • Section 504 repair pilot announced • USDA will propose rule on housing for mixed-status families • HUD drafting change to rule on gender identity protection • RuralSTAT • Recent publications and media of interest • HAC Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits in Nashville set for June 19-20 • Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

May 31, 2019
Vol. 48, No.11

Rural Housing Service administrator named.

Bruce Lammers has been appointed RHS administrator and began work on May 28. His career has been in banking with an emphasis on government-guaranteed lending.

Section 533 Housing Preservation Grants available.

State and local governments, nonprofits, federally recognized Indian Tribes, and consortia of eligible entities are eligible for these grants, which can be used to repair and rehab homes for low- and very low-income owners or rental units available to low- and very low-income tenants. Apply by July 8 to an RD state office or at grants.gov. For more information, contact Bonnie Edwards-Jackson, RD, 202-690-0759.

House subcommittees approve USDA and HUD spending bills for FY20.

FY20 funding bills for both USDA and HUD passed separate House appropriations subcommittees in May 23 and next will be considered by the full Appropriations Committee. No spending measures have been introduced in the Senate so far. Both House bills provide level funding or increases for housing programs, rejecting the Administration’s budget requests. USDA Rural Development would see increases in the Section 523 self-help program and rental housing preservation resources including Section 515, MPR and Section 542 vouchers, although technical assistance funding for preservation is not included. USDA’s funding bill would also prevent USDA’s planned move of ERS and NIFA out of the Washington, DC area.

Disaster bill passes Senate but not House.

The Senate passed the repeatedly delayed disaster relief bill, H.R. 2157, on May 23, after President Trump agreed to sign it into law. The House was not able to pass the bill, however, and Congress is now on recess until June 3.

Section 504 repair pilot announced.

In an attempt to increase use of the Section 504 repair loan program by low- and very low-income homeowners, USDA is waiving some regulatory requirements in 20 states and Puerto Rico for fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The pilot also raises the dollar limits in those places from $20,000 for loans and $7,500 for grants to $40,000 for loans and $10,000 for grants. For more information, contact an RD state office.

USDA will propose rule on housing for mixed-status families.

USDA is drafting a regulation on housing aid for families with mixed immigration statuses. The agency’s summary says it will “harmonize” its requirements with HUD’s. HUD recently proposed to evict people who are ineligible for HUD housing assistance because of their immigration status, rather than continuing to allow them to live in units with eligible family members and receive pro-rated aid. USDA hopes to publish its rule for public comment in August.

HUD drafting change to rule on gender identity protection.

HUD is preparing a change in regulations that would allow HUD-funded homeless shelters to treat transgender people as belonging to the sex they were assigned at birth rather than the sex with which they identify, eliminating a 2016 rule that requires recognition of individuals’ gender identities. HUD estimates that the revised rule will be published for public comment in September. The House’s HUD appropriations bill includes language that would block this change.

RuralSTAT. In 2010, 79.3% of U.S. households completed Census forms, resulting in a national non-response rate of 20.7%. Census response rates were not evenly distributed across the country and varied greatly by location. See the Census 2020 estimated response rate for your community using the Census Bureau’s ROAM tool. Over the next year HAC will provide updates and resources to help improve Census response in your community.

Recent publications and media of interest

HAC Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits in Nashville set for June 19-20.

This three-day advanced course trains experienced participants to assist potential borrowers and work with RD staff, other nonprofits, and regional intermediaries to deliver successful Section 502 loan packages. The training will be held June 19-20. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

HAC News: May 21, 2019

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News Formats. pdf

May 21, 2019
Vol. 48, No. 10

Competitive Indian Housing Block Grant funds available • HUD proposes to evict mixed-status families • Comments invited on changing inflation measurement for poverty limits • Mortgage data comment deadlines set • USDA announces top sites for ERS and NIFA relocations, agency staffs vote on unionizing • Congressional updates • Recent publications and media of interest • HAC Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits in Nashville set for June 19-20 • Need capital for your affordable housing project?

HAC News Formats. pdf

May 21, 2019
Vol. 48, No.10

Competitive Indian Housing Block Grant funds available.
Tribes and tribally designated housing authorities can apply by August 8 for IHBG funds. HUD will give priority to new construction, rehabilitation work, and infrastructure projects that will enable future construction or rehab of housing. For more information, contact HUD staff.

HUD proposes to evict mixed-status families.
A proposed regulation would require public housing authorities and private landlords with HUD-assisted tenants to check tenants’ immigration status and to evict those who are not eligible for HUD aid. (Eligibility is not determined solely by citizenship or undocumented status. Some non-citizens who are legally in the U.S. are eligible and others are ineligible.) Currently, when ineligible immigrants have family members such as citizen children who are eligible, the dollar amount of the assistance is pro-rated and all members of the mixed-status family are allowed to live in the unit. HUD’s analysis of the proposed change estimates that 25,000 families, including 55,000 children who are eligible for HUD assistance, would have to separate, move or be evicted. Comments are due July 9. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) has introduced H.R. 2763, which would block the rule. Keep-Families-Together.org also provides an opposing perspective. HUD’s contact for information is John Gibbs, 202-402-4445.

Comments invited on changing inflation measurement for poverty limits.
OMB is considering changing the inflation calculation that is used to adjust the Official Poverty Measure every year. It seeks public comments for consideration by a working group it has assembled to make a recommendation. The poverty guidelines that determine eligibility for a number of housing programs are calculated based on the Official Poverty Measure, so a change in the OPM would lead to a change in eligibility. Comments are due June 25. For more information, contact Bob Sivinski, OMB, 202-395-1205.

Mortgage data comment deadlines set.
Comments are due June 12 on a rule change proposed by the CFPB that would exempt small-volume lenders from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting requirements. Comments are due July 8 on HMDA data points required by a 2015 CFPB rule. For more information, contact CFPB’s Office of Regulations, 202-435-7700, or submit a question online.

USDA announces top sites for ERS and NIFA relocations, agency staffs vote on unionizing.
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the finalists for relocation of the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The proposal to move the agencies has generated opposition from concerned parties in the field, members of Congress and former USDA officials. On May 9, ERS employees voted 138-4 to join the American Federation of Government Employees, and a union vote at NIFA is scheduled for June 11.

Congressional updates

  • A HUD oversight hearing was held by the House Financial Services Committee on May 21. Secretary Ben Carson’s written testimony was posted in advance.
  • Several appropriations bills for FY20 have been developed and passed by the House Appropriations Committee, but work has not yet begun on a USDA spending measure. The Transportation-HUD subcommittee will take up the T-HUD spending bill on May 23. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not considered any FY20 bills. Party leaders and the White House are scheduled to begin discussions May 21 on lifting the spending caps imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act.
  • A disaster assistance bill, H.R. 2157, passed the House on May 10. The Senate may vote on its version of the long-delayed bill the week of May 20.
  • Short-term reauthorization for the National Flood Insurance Programpassed the House on May 14. The program is scheduled to expire May 31. The bill, H.R. 2578, reauthorizes it through September 30.

Recent publications and media of interest

  • USDA Rural Development Housing Funding Activity: FY 2018 Year-End Report, HAC’s annual compilation of data on USDA rural housing spending, reports that 131,487 loans, loan guarantees and grants totaling about $18.4 billion were obligated in FY18. Under the Section 521 Rental Assistance and Section 542 voucher programs, about $1.37 billion assisted 274,867 tenant households. All funding in the Section 502 direct loan program was obligated, with almost 33% of the funds going to very low-income households. The report includes tables and maps showing obligation data by program and by state, as well as data by fiscal year for each of the programs since program inception.
  • As Americans Spread Out, Immigration Plays a Crucial Role in Local Population Growth, published by the Brookings Institution, covers the importance of immigration in U.S. population increases. For the past two years growth rates have declined in large metro areas, while nonmetro areas have gained population.
  • Most of America’s Rural Areas are Doomed to Decline,a recent analysis by an Iowa State University economist, provides a gloomy economic outlook for many rural areas. Data indicates that most “smaller urban areas and rural counties are not growing and will not grow.” This is due, the author writes, to outmigration of people of prime working age and loss of skilled workforce.
  • A Small Bank Tackles Rural Housing Affordabilityis an episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast featuring Christie Obenauer, president of the family-owned Union State Bank in Hazen, ND. In the 19-minute conversation Obenauer discusses how her bank addressed a housing crunch brought on by a fracking boom in a neighboring county, approaches for financing housing deals, using manufactured housing to build quickly, and succession planning for small rural organizations.
  • This Map Shows How Much More Expensive It Is to Own a Home than to Rent in Every U.S. Stateis a CNBC analysis of American Community Survey data. The difference varies from $1,100 per month in New Jersey to $300 in Arkansas.

HAC Section 502 packaging training for nonprofits in Nashville set for June 19-20.
This three-day advanced course trains experienced participants to assist potential borrowers and work with RD staff, other nonprofits, and regional intermediaries to deliver successful Section 502 loan packages. The training will be held June 19-20. For more information, contact HAC staff, 404-892-4824.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?
HAC’s loan funds provide 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, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development and construction/rehabilitation. 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).

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