Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans Initiative
Housing Assistance Council

HAC Seeks Proposals for its 2026 Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans (AHRV) Initiative

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HAC’s Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans (AHRV) Initiative supports local nonprofit housing development organizations that 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, 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. Applications are due by 4:00PM (EST) on or before Monday, January 19, 2026. For more information, contact HAC staff, ahrv@ruralhome.org. No phone calls please. Program staff will be available to answer questions during the Grant Funding Opportunity HAC 2026 AHRV RFP Overview webinar on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at 2PM (ET).

Download the Application Package: Application (WORD) | Application Guidelines

Download Application (WORD) Application Guidelines Register For Webinar

Webinar: Request for Proposals – Overview HAC 2026 Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans

HAC hosted a webinar on January 7, 2026 providing guidance on how to apply for the AHRV program. Access the power point presentation here or view the recording below.

HAC News: January 8, 2026

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TOP STORIES 

Congress faces deadline for funding HUD, other agencies

Although USDA and some other parts of the government received final FY26 appropriations in the November law that ended the government shutdown, other agencies including HUD did not. Those agencies’ funding will end on January 30 unless Congress enacts another continuing resolution or full-year measures. Appropriations committees in both the House and the Senate approved HUD bills in July, but neither bill has moved further. In all, nine of the standard 12 appropriations bills remain unresolved beyond the end of this month.

Judge puts Continuum of Care changes on hold

HUD faces two lawsuits related to the significant changes in its Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Continuum of Care program. Just before a December 8 court hearing covering both cases, HUD withdrew the contested version of the NOFO. After another hearing on December 19, the judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring HUD to process applications under the original NOFO (but not to make funding awards) while the cases continue. HUD has posted a revised NOFO with a notice saying it will not implement the new version until a court allows it to do so.

One-third of USDA Rural Development staff left in first half of 2025

An analysis by USDA’s Office of Inspector General shows that 1,745 USDA RD staff left the department for various reasons between January 1 and June 14, 2025, amounting to 36% of the agency’s staff. The data is also presented by state and by pay period, but does not indicate how many RD employees departed in each state or at what point in time. Attrition rates at other USDA agencies ranged from 7% to 67%.

RuralSTAT

According to recently released Labor Department data, rural consumers spent an average of $22,600 on housing in 2024. Source: HAC tabulations of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey.

OPPORTUNITIES

VA offers new and renewal Supportive Services for Veteran Families grants

The Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Services for Veteran Families program funds private nonprofits and consumer cooperatives to assist very low-income veteran families residing in or transitioning to permanent housing. SSVF provides case management and supportive services to prevent the imminent loss of a veteran’s home or identify a new, more suitable housing situation for the individual and his or her family; or to rapidly re-house veterans and their families who are homeless and might remain homeless without this assistance. Priorities this year include renewal of existing grants that were awarded to expand services to rural communities. Applications are due February 19.

Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans Initiative funding available from HAC

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. A recorded webinar provides an overview of the RFP. For more information, contact HAC staff, ahrv@ruralhome.org. No phone calls please.

Activate Rural Learning Lab competition opens

Teams of creative entrepreneurs, artists, community activators, elected leaders, and small business owners in rural Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota are eligible for funding and technical assistance to cultivate creative third places in rural communities. The 2026-2028 Activate Rural Learning Lab, offered by the Department of Public Transformation, will support 10 building activation projects in communities with populations under 20,000. An informational webinar is scheduled for January 21.

Grants for Arts Projects application window is open

The National Endowment for the Arts’ Grants for Arts Program is now accepting applications for arts projects across many disciplines. Nonprofits, state and local governments, and federally recognized Tribes or Tribal communities are eligible if they have five years of arts programming and an operating budget of $20,000 or more. Applications are due February 12.

Funding offered for rural workforce programming

Education Design Lab is accepting applications for its Rural Workforce Collaborative design challenge, an initiative focused on helping rural communities in the Southeastern U.S. build more equitable workforce pathways. The program supports cross-sector collaboratives as they work together to design and test solutions aligned with local employer and worker needs. Selected groups will receive funding and participate in a multi-year, human-centered design process to strengthen regional talent pipelines. The challenge aims to foster innovation and long-term economic mobility in rural areas.

CAPITOL HILL

Senate approves bill with timelines for BIA actions on Tribal homeownership

The Senate unanimously approved the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act (S. 723) on December 11. The bill would set timelines for Bureau of Indian Affairs actions in the process of approving mortgages on trust land. It must now be considered by the House.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

Government-wide environmental regulations removed

In February 2025 the Council on Environmental Quality issued an interim final rule rescinding the regulations that have directed other federal agencies in implementing environmental protection requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act. CEQ has now adopted that rule without changes and effective immediately. CEQ guidance for other agencies remains in effect.

2026-28 housing goals set for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The Federal Housing Finance Agency established revised 2026-28 housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reducing some of the goals related to housing for low-income and very low-income residents.

Continued CFPB funding ordered

In a lawsuit brought by an employees’ union and a number of other organizations, a judge has ruled against the administration’s reasons for refusing to request funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Another case challenging the administration’s actions with respect to the CFPB was filed recently and is now also pending.

Section 184 Indian housing program compliance date delayed

Compliance with HUD’s final rule entitled “Strengthening the Section 184 Indian Housing Loan Guarantee Program,” previously scheduled for December 31, 2025, is now indefinitely delayed until HUD completes necessary updates to the handbook that will provide necessary guidance for implementing the final rule.

HOTMA compliance date extended

HUD has changed the date to January 1, 2027 for required compliance with the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act’s provisions on tenant income and assets. A Federal Register notice establishes this date for Community Planning and Development programs such as HOME and CDBG. Notice H 2025-07 applies to properties using HUD’s multifamily programs.

HUD announces members of Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee

The committee includes both new and returning members. It supplements the Tribal consultation process and is intended to facilitate intergovernmental communication between HUD and Tribal leaders, to make recommendations regarding HUD regulations, and to advise in the development of HUD’s American Indian and Alaska Native housing priorities.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Rural vacation area home prices jumped rapidly

A Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies report entitled Rural Housing Shift: Vacation Area Home Prices Surge Post-Pandemic explores the rapid increase in home prices outside metro areas that occurred during the Covid pandemic and early post-pandemic period (2020-2023). Rural counties with significant shares of vacation and second homes experienced the largest home price increases, but others did see appreciation also.

HAC

HAC is hiring

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

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).

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

  

Applications Now Open for HAC’s Service Coordination Technical Assistance Program

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We are pleased to announce open applications for the cohort of the Service Coordination Technical Assistance Program.  Thanks to a generous grant from the AARP Foundation, HAC will provide technical assistance to an initial group of 8-10 owners of USDA 515 rental properties to build a resident service coordination program.  We suggest reading the SCTAP Program Overview and Program Implementation Details prior to filling out the application.

Please reach out to Center for Rural Preservation Manager, Seth Leonard, at Seth@ruralhome.org with questions.


2026 SCTAP Program Overview 2026 SCTAP Implementation Details Apply Now

HAC News: December 18, 2025

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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 21st 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.

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!

  

Policy News from Congress

HAC CEO Applauds Markup of Housing Supply Package, Urges Further Bipartisan Action to Address Rural Housing Affordability Crisis

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On December 16 and 17, 2025, the House Financial Services Committee marked up the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a package of housing supply reforms. This package came together in response to the Senate Banking Committee’s ROAD to Housing Act package, which passed in the Senate earlier this year but has not been considered in the House.

“This package of housing supply modernizations is a welcome example of bipartisan compromise in a challenging policy environment,” said David Lipsetz, President & CEO of the Housing Assistance Council. “Rural communities need more housing and passing this bill will help. But we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that most of the rural-specific provisions were left out of the House bill.”

The  version passed by the Senate Banking Committee over the summer included HAC’s top policy priority, the Rural Housing Service (RHS) Reform Act (S. 1260 and H.R.4957). This bill would provide the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Housing Service (RHS) with new tools to address the preservation of rural rental housing; authorize successful pilot programs; modernize the single-family housing programs; and improve USDA’s internal infrastructure, technology, and reporting.

While the House removed the key RHS Reform Act provisions for preserving USDA’s flagship multifamily program (Section 515), several other provisions remained that will help rural communities in need:

  • Increased Section 504 Loan Limits: Raises the maximum that can be loaned without a mortgage from $7,500 to $15,000 for critical home repairs and expands eligibility to low-income applicants, not just very low-income applicants.
  • Annual Rural Housing Report: Requires USDA to publish transparent data on Rural Housing Service program performance.
  • Technology Modernization Study: Directs GAO to assess funding needed to modernize outdated USDA systems; current system is about 20 years old.
  • 90-Day Processing Goal: Establishes expectations for timely application review and requires reporting on delays.

“Rural housing organizations were disappointed to see USDA Section 515 multifamily preservation left on the cutting room floor during negotiations on the House package. Rural housing markets deserve better,” said Lipsetz. “We are part of a large coalition of national and local partners working to preserve the remaining 385,000 units in this deeply affordable USDA portfolio. Appropriators have started to provide the necessary tools and flexibilities on a pilot basis. Now we need the multifamily provisions of the RHS Reform Act to execute a long-term preservation strategy that keeps these rural families in good quality rental housing.”

Between 2013 and 2023, rural areas experienced only an estimated 1 percent overall increase in their housing stock compared to a 10 percent increase for non-rural areas. Measuring the change in housing units includes two components: 1) new homes – housing units added between 2013 and 2023; and 2) lost stock – the decrease in homes built in earlier periods. This basic analysis reveals that rural areas experienced a relatively minor increase in new homes constructed over the 10-year period. But simultaneously, there was a substantial reduction in the existing rural housing stock. Homes built before 2013 declined by 6.5 percent in rural counties, compared to only a 1.6 percent decline for non-rural areas. To learn more, read HAC’s latest issue of Rural Voices, which is focused on rural housing supply, and read HAC’s comments for the record for the House Financial Services Committee’s recent housing supply hearing.

Policy News town

HAC Opposes Proposed Changes to ECOA Equal Lending Rule

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed to change its rules for the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which requires fairness in lending, including mortgage lending. The revisions would eliminate use of disparate impact — the legal concept that conduct is discriminatory if it has inequitable effects, even if there was no intent to discriminate — and would revise provisions on discouragement of applicants or prospective applicants and on special purpose credit programs. HAC’s response argues that disparate impact is a necessary tool to identify discrimination in mortgage lending, including discrimination against rural residents.

CFPB ECOA disparate impact HAC Final
Policy News from Congress
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HAC Comments on Rural Housing Supply

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The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing December 3, 2025 titled Building Capacity: Reducing Government Roadblocks to Housing Supply. HAC submitted written comments to the committee, pointing out that rural areas are lagging in development of new housing. HAC also reminded lawmakers that preservation of existing housing is essential to provide an adequate housing supply, and that rural places face a rental housing preservation crisis.

HAC Comments for the Record on Housing Supply for HFSC Hearing 12.03.25

Takeaways from the 2025 Summit on Rural Homelessness

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On November 4th the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) hosted the second Summit on Rural Homelessness in Washington, D.C. at the National Rural Housing Conference. As national levels of Americans experiencing homelessness reaches an all-time high, rural homelessness often goes overlooked or go unseen. In 2023, the Housing Assistance Council worked with partners at the National Alliance to End Homelessness and many other key stakeholders[1] to host the first Summit on Rural Homelessness to create a full day of programming addressing challenges and opportunities with a uniquely rural lens. The 2025 Summit on Rural Homelessness included speakers who are field leaders that are actively transforming how communities, regions, states, and our nation address rural homelessness. The Summitt offered a series of presentations, panels, and discussions uniquely focused on Rural Homelessness. Attendees learned about practical on-the-ground approaches to addressing rural homelessness across the nation, explored innovations in data and technology, dove into approaches to support Special Needs Populations, and consider the impact of our shared narrative around rural homelessness.

Key Takeaway One: An increase in federal resources via the CARES Act and ARPA allowed Local, regional, and state Continuums of Care to drive innovation and impact between 2020-2025.

Unprecedented investment by the CARES Act and America Rescue Plan Act opened doors for Rural Continuums of Care to make meaningful progress in building effective programmatic infrastructure to address rural homelessness.

Key Takeaway Two: Use of data, technology, and artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping how resources are deployed to address rural homelessness.

Attendees learned about opportunities to utilize data to inform programming and policy, through the Housing Assistance Council’s Rural Data Portal. Looking locally, Dr. Huan-Ta Hsu from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, shared reflections from his work in   Missouri to apply machine learning to lower barriers for access to services.

Key Takeaway Three: Rural Homelessness, and the diversity of needs among individuals who experience homelessness in a rural context, require an adaptive set of policies and approaches to meet a wide spectrum of needs.

Key Takeaway Four: In a time where federal funding, policy, and leadership on rural homelessness is increasingly uncertain, local and state leadership will shape policy and programmatic impacts on the ground in rural America.

Unfortunately, developments since the Summit have threatened the progress shared by panelists and participants.  Even as the CARES and American Rescue Plan Act funds for addressing rural homelessness have largely come to an end, on November 13, 2025, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) substantially revised the fiscal (FY) 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition – the largest federal program providing housing and services to people experiencing homelessness.

This NOFO dramatically altered HUD’s funding commitments, including placing a 30 percent cap on permanent housing investments for people experiencing homelessness (nationwide 88 percent of CoC funding currently flows to permanent housing).   Estimates suggest 170,000 people people  across the country may lose their supportive housing as a result.  Continuums of Care that encompass rural communities are at heightened risk, because they lack either the number or scale of alternative funding sources from the public, private or philanthropic sector.  HAC is working with a number of the Summit co-sponsors, including the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the National Alliance to End Homelessness  to advocate with HUD and Congress to reverse these sudden, harmful changes to the NOFA.  On December 8, HUD withdrew the NOFO and indicated it intends “to make appropriate revisions.”

[1] Summit co-sponsors included: the Corporation for Supportive Housing, Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the National American Indian Housing Council, the National Council of State Housing Agencies, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, and Neighborworks.

First day of HAC 2025 rural housing conference, Washington, DC, 11/4/25. Photo: Jay Mallin

HAC News: December 4, 2025

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TOP STORIES 

HUD says many grant programs are restricted for non-citizens

Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, only some non-citizens such as permanent residents, asylees, and refugees can receive “federal public benefits.” A recent notice announces that HUD will interpret “federal public benefits” to cover any grants it administers that are not explicitly governed by another statute. These include HOME, HOME-ARP, National Housing Trust Fund, CDBG, CDBG-DR, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS formula and competitive programs, Emergency Solutions Grants, Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing), the PRICE manufactured housing program, Continuum of Care, congressional earmarks, and SHOP. Nonprofits that administer these programs are not required to conduct eligibility verification, but states and other governmental entities must ensure compliance, HUD’s notice says. The department plans to issue new guidelines related to verification, including for benefits distributed by nonprofits, and will rely on guidance issued by the Department of Homeland Security once that is published.

Passage of ROAD to Housing Act remains uncertain

Members of Congress are still negotiating the final National Defense Authorization Act, which must pass Congress and be signed by the president by December 31. The Senate passed a version of the NDAA that included the ROAD to Housing Act and several CDFI provisions as amendments, but the House NDAA did not incorporate those.

Advocates sue to block Continuum of Care changes

Two lawsuits challenge HUD’s changes to the funding notice for the Continuum of Care program. A group of states and governors launched one suit on November 25. Then the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, two Rhode Island nonprofits, and several city and county governments filed suit on December 1. Both actions seek remedies including reinstatement of the original version of the CoC funding notice.

December 21 is National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day

The National Coalition for the Homeless offers an organizing manual for communities that wish to host public events on or near December 21 to remember their neighbors who have died homeless in the past year.

RuralSTAT

Mortgage companies made up approximately 17% of rural lenders in 2024, but they originated 58% of all rural home-purchase mortgages that year. Source: Housing Assistance Council tabulations of the CFPB’s 2024 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data.

To learn more about mortgage lending and financing in your community, visit Rural Data Central.

CAPITOL HILL

Hearing covers ways to increase housing supply

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing December 3 titled Building Capacity: Reducing Government Roadblocks to Housing Supply. The event covered dozens of legislative proposals, including several provisions of the Rural Housing Service Reform Act, which HAC supports: expanding the Section 504 home repair loan program, making accessory dwelling units eligible for Section 502 loan guarantees, requiring an annual rural housing report from USDA, studying technology modernization needs, and establishing an expectation for timely application review. Committee chair French Hill (R-AR) said during the hearing that the committee will develop a legislative package during markups to be held later this month.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

HUD encourages criminal screening of tenants

In a November 26 letter, HUD Secretary Scott Turner “strongly recommend[ed]” that public housing agencies and owners of HUD-assisted rental properties “take advantage of all available tools to improve safety for communities and residents.” He rescinded guidance issued in 2015, 2016, and 2022 related to the use of criminal records for screening prospective tenants.

Judge orders homelessness council reinstated

In March President Trump ordered several agencies, including the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and the CDFI Fund, to be reduced to the bare minimum functions required by law. Twenty-one states filed suit to protect four of the agencies. (The CDFI Fund is not included in this litigation.) On November 21, a federal judge, concluding that the agencies had cut their staffs and activities below the levels needed to comply with the law, vacated the downsizing carried out so far and prohibited such actions in the future. The administration could appeal this decision.

Homeland Security rescinds public charge rule

Under U.S. immigration law, when a non-citizen applies for permanent resident status, officials can consider the likelihood that the person may become a “public charge,” someone who uses certain kinds of federal assistance including housing aid. The Department of Homeland Security proposes to rescind a 2022 regulation interpreting the public charge provision and will give its staff “broader discretion” on applying it. DHS says it will develop replacement policy and guidance in the future. Comments are due December 19.

Audit requirements compliance supplement published

The 2025 Compliance Supplement for the Office of Management and Budget’s guidance on uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements for federal awards is now available. It applies to fiscal year audits for any period beginning after June 30, 2024. Comments are due January 26.

Bank regulators propose changes to reduce burdens on lenders

Several recent proposals would reduce regulatory requirements for some lenders.

·  Effective immediately, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have rescinded the interagency Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for large financial institutions – those with over $100 billion in assets.

·  OCC is considering rescinding its Fair Housing Home Loan Data System regulation, saying it is obsolete and duplicates or is inconsistent with other requirements. Comments are due December 18.

·  OCC proposes to rescind its Guidelines Establishing Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain Large Insured National Banks, Insured Federal Savings, and Insured Federal Branches. Comments are due December 18.

·  OCC wants to give community banks – those with less than $30 billion in total assets – “all currently available expedited or reduced filing procedures.” Comments are due January 20.

Levenbach nominated to head Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Stuart Levenbach, an official at the Office of Management and Budget, has been nominated to become the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB’s current Acting Director is Russell Vought, who is also the Director of OMB.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Worst case housing needs increase in places outside metropolitan areas

The total number of U.S. households with the most significant housing needs dropped slightly from 2021 to 2023, but increased by 2% in counties outside metropolitan areas, according to HUD’s 2025 Worst Case Housing Needs report. Households with worst case housing needs are defined as renters with very low incomes who do not receive government housing assistance and pay more than one-half of their incomes toward rent, live in severely inadequate conditions, or both. There were 8.46 million renter households with worst case needs nationwide in 2023, close to the 8.53 million record high in 2021.

Coalition posts rural housing success stories

The National Rural Housing Coalition’s new Stories portal is built to elevate the voices, experiences, and successes of its members – rural housing and community development providers across the country. The Coalition plans to continue adding to the collection.

Rural housing costs outpace wages

A recent Redfin analysis found that in many rural areas, housing costs are rising faster than incomes, intensifying affordability challenges. Rural homebuyers need to earn $74,500 to afford a typical home, up from $36,200 before the pandemic. The median home sale price in rural areas is up 61% from before the pandemic, compared with a 49% increase in suburban areas and 46% in urban counties. Meanwhile, the rural median household income has climbed 33%, less than the 37% in suburbs and 39% in urban areas.

Reports show CDFIs’ impacts

A study by the Opportunity Finance Network, CDFI Fund Financial Assistance Awards and OFN Member Loan Funds, examined the impact on OFN members of receiving a first award from the CDFI Fund’s Financial Assistance programs for CDFIs or for Native American CDFIs. Members’ financial strength improved significantly, they were able to attract more additional capital, and their lending volume increased. Those that received larger awards relative to their total assets experienced the greatest proportional growth. Similarly, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation revealed in CDFI Impacts on Wealth and Assets that CDFI financing measurably strengthened the financial health of its borrowers.

Article considers community land ownership

A part of a series on innovations in community ownership, Shelterforce’s What Would it Take to Make Community Ownership the Rule, Not the Exception? explores models of community real estate ownership across the country and presents recommendations for steps that may make communal ownership more common and feasible.

Report outlines barriers and solutions for rural access to justice

The Legal Services Corporation’s Rural Justice Task Force was created to identify the unique challenges faced by rural Americans in accessing the legal system. Justice Where We Live: Promising Practices from Rural Communities reports on the Task Force’s findings. It includes recommendations and successful strategies for practitioners, policymakers, legal service providers, and others to make the legal system more accessible in rural areas.

HAC

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).

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HAC News: November 14, 2025

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TOP STORIES 

Shutdown ends, USDA gets funding for all of FY26

A compromise funding measure has ended the federal government shutdown after a record 43 days. Most agencies, including HUD, will continue to be funded at fiscal year 2025 levels through January 30, 2026, and then will need another continuing resolution or full-year appropriations. USDA (along with VA, military construction, and the legislative branch) receives appropriations for the entire fiscal year, through September 30. The bill provides full back pay for federal workers who were not paid during the shutdown. It also cancels layoffs the administration announced during the shutdown, including the RIFs of all CDFI Fund staff and over 400 HUD employees, and prohibits further RIFs until after January 30. In addition, it extends the Farm Bill through September 30 and the National Flood Insurance Program through January 30.

USDA’s final FY26 funding includes $1 billion for Section 502 direct homeownership loans, $25 million for Section 523 self-help grants, $50 million for Section 515 and $30 million for the Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization program, $1.715 billion for Section 521 Rental Assistance, and $48 million for Section 542 vouchers. Up to 5,000 RA units will be permitted to be decoupled from maturing mortgages. Details are posted on HAC’s website.

HUD offers homelessness funding with major changes

HUD’s funding notice for the Continuum of Care program, released on November 13 with a January 14 application deadline, limits each CoC to spending 30% of its award on permanent supportive housing, rather than the previous 90%. It emphasizes transitional housing and supportive services-only programs. It also adds new conditions, including recognition of strictly binary genders, and a ban on providing harm reduction programs such as needle exchanges. The revised conditions will apply to new awards and to renewal funding for existing grants, including those funded under the 2022-23 special NOFO for unsheltered and rural homelessness. Politico reports that internal HUD documents estimate the reduction in support to permanent housing will leave 170,000 currently housed people at risk of homelessness. In addition, the National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that one-third of CoCs will run out of funding between the January 14 deadline and the anticipated May or June award date.

Rural Voices discusses affordable housing development in rural America

Rural America needs – and deserves – more housing. In a new edition of HAC’s Rural Voices magazine, Time to Build: How Do We Develop More (Affordable) Rural Housing?, experts in the field articulate how access to resources and innovations can better enable solid decisions, strategies, and solutions for adding housing in rural communities across the nation. From the debate around using public lands to the evolving dynamics of factory-built housing, the authors share tools, processes, and advice about how to build in today’s housing landscape.

National Rural Housing Conference convenes stakeholders to “Build Rural”

Nearly 600 rural housing practitioners and policymakers came together in Washington, DC on November 4-7 for the 2025 National Rural Housing Conference. Recordings of the plenary sessions are available online, including a discussion with the CEOs of Enterprise Community Partners, Habitat for Humanity International, and NeighborWorks America. Anyone who registered for the conference can access workshop materials and other resources through the conference app or by logging into the Attendee Hub. HAC thanks our many sponsors, scholarship contributors, and partners for helping to make the event possible.

November honors veterans and military families, HAC updates Veterans Data Central

Marking National Veterans and Military Families Month, HAC’s Veterans Data Central website has been updated with the most recent information and data. Veterans Data Central is a simple, easy to use, on-line resource that provides essential information on the social, economic, and housing characteristics of veterans in the United States. This data and information can help support sound strategies and policies to help veterans.

November is National Native American Heritage Month

Information and resources are posted at https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/.

RuralSTAT

Between 2013 and 2023, rural counties experienced an estimated 1% overall increase in their housing stock compared to a 10% increase for non-rural counties. HAC’s analysis reveals that rural counties experienced a relatively minor increase in new homes constructed over the 10-year period. Simultaneously, there was a substantial reduction in the existing rural housing stock. Homes built before 2013 declined by 6.5% in rural counties, compared to only a 1.6% decline for non-rural counties. This 1.62 million rural housing unit decline offset many of the 1.87 million new homes constructed or placed, resulting in an estimated 246,053 net increase in rural homes. Source: HAC tabulations of U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

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OPPORTUNITIES

Technical assistance offered to improve energy efficiency of affordable rental housing

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy will provide free technical assistance to local governments and their community-based partners for programs that support rental efficiency upgrades while also preserving and/or expanding housing affordability. This TA can guide research, community engagement, program reviews, and development of implementation guidance, focused primarily on growing local governments’ and CBOs’ knowledge, resources, and information sharing. ACEEE will hold an informational webinar on November 18. Applications are due January 9.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

Administration says CFPB will run out of funding in early 2026

The Justice Department has determined that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cannot draw more funds from the Federal Reserve – its usual method of obtaining operating resources – and will run out of funding within a few months unless Congress appropriates money for it. Courts have previously ruled against Justice’s interpretation of the governing statute, Politico reports, and a congressional appropriation seems unlikely.

Changes proposed to equal credit regulations

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed revisions to its regulations implementing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which applies to mortgage lending as well as other types of lending. The changes would eliminate recognition of disparate impact claims, revise provisions related to discouraging applicants, and change standards for special purpose credit programs. Comments are due December 15.

HUD again delays compliance date for energy efficiency requirements

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 earlier this year both HUD and USDA delayed the effective dates for other programs. In July, the agencies requested comments on the standards, saying they were reviewing them again. Now HUD has extended the compliance date to May 28, 2026 for the Federal Housing Administration’s multifamily and single-family insurance programs, the Public Housing Capital Fund, and Section 8 project-based vouchers. The compliance dates for Choice Neighborhoods, Section 202, and Section 811 are extended until the FY26 funding notices for those programs are issued. HAC has supported adoption and implementation of these standards.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac met most 2024 housing goals

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, issued a report on their 2024 achievements related to housing goals, Duty to Serve goals, and funding allocations for the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund. Both met their single-family and multifamily housing goals, except for Fannie Mae’s single-family very low-income home purchase goal. Both also met their Duty to Serve goals, with both rated Low Satisfactory for rural housing activities.

Toolkit helps communities advocate around disasters

Resources for Disaster Response, Recovery, and Resilience: A Toolkit for Advocates and Community-Based Organizations offers communication tools that advocates can utilize before and after disasters. Published by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, the toolkit is designed to arm organizations grappling with a disaster or preparing for a future disaster with information, enabling them to easily understand major issues that may arise during disaster recovery and respond effectively through advocacy.

Native CDFIs vary to meet their communities’ needs, survey finds

The Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis surveyed Native Community Development Financial Institutions nationwide. CICD reports that 94% are nonprofit organizations and 73% are independent entities rather than Tribally owned. More of them offer home improvement loans than home purchase loans (39% compared to 29%). When loans become delinquent, Native CDFIs tend to rely on nonpunitive measures such as working with borrowers to restructure their loans. More than half (52%) reported that scarcity of capital has been one of their biggest challenges. Other reported challenges include hiring staff, lack of donor awareness, lack of potential client awareness, infrastructure, geographic location, and funder requirements.

Migration offset rural population loss in many counties but is slowing

Counties outside metropolitan areas, as a whole, lost population for much of the 2010s, but from 2021 to 2024 their populations grew, according to Post-Pandemic Migration Has Reshaped Rural Population Change, a recent blog post from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. The growth was driven by a sharp increase in domestic migration and a smaller increase in international migration, which together offset aggregate natural population loss (more deaths than births). Counties farther from metro areas saw smaller increases in migration than counties adjacent to metro areas. Now, the research indicates, migration is slowing while natural population loss is increasing, leaving non-adjacent counties at higher risk of near-term population loss.

HAC

HAC is hiring

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

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!

  

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