Infrastructure week to include focus on housing

May 2, 2019/in Policy

In advance of Infrastructure Week later this month, Congress is abuzz with talk of an infrastructure package again this week, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Leader Chuck Schumer visiting President Trump at the White House to discuss this opportunity for bipartisan compromise. Housing advocates, including HAC, have long emphasized that housing is infrastructure and that such a package needs to include housing funding and priorities alongside repairs to our nation’s roads and bridges.

And in a letter to the President in advance of the meeting, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer said just that – listing housing among the other infrastructure needs that they hoped to address.

Building on that momentum, House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters held a hearing and released an accompanying bill on housing infrastructure this week. The bill includes funding for a variety of programs, including USDA’s MPR program and Section 504, as well as Native American Housing Block Grants.

The reach of housing investment can be deep and transformative, especially in rural areas. It is an economic driver and a job creator, it improves health and education outcomes, and it gives rural Americans a sense of pride in their community and hope for its future. As these conversations continue in the halls of government, we hope that rural housing continues to be a voice at the table.

After all, we need to invest in both our roads and what’s at the end of them – our homes.

infrastructure-fy19-announcement

HAC CEO David Lipsetz to testify on "The Affordable Housing Crisis in Rural America."

April 1, 2019/in Policy

On Tuesday, April 2nd at 2 p.m. EST, the House Financial Services Committee will be holding a Subcommittee hearing entitled “The Affordable Housing Crisis in Rural America: Assessing the Federal Response.” The hearing is the Subcommittee’s first of the 116th Congress and will cover the entire spectrum of rural housing issues, with a focus on rural rental preservation.

HAC CEO David Lipsetz was invited to testify, and is looking forward to engaging with Subcommittee members on a variety of issues important to rural housing and rural economic development. HAC’s 2018 “Platform for Preservation” report is the most comprehensive and timely research available on the rural rental preservation topic, and will likely provide a basis for much of the discussion.

The full witness list for the hearing is as follows:

Gideon Anders, Senior Staff Attorney, National Housing Law Project
Stan Keasling, President, National Rural Housing Coalition
David Lipsetz, Chief Executive Officer, Housing Assistance Council
Andres Saavedra, Senior Program Officer, Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Tanya Eastwood, President, Council for Affordable and Rural Housing

Tune in here on April 2nd at 2 p.m. EST to watch live!

And to get a sneak peak at HAC’s testimony, click here.

Administration Again Proposes Eliminating Many Housing Programs

March 11, 2019/in Policy

The Trump Administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2020, much like its FY19 and FY18 budgets, would eliminate most of USDA’s rural housing programs, along with CDBG, HOME, and SHOP. It would require tenants in both USDA and HUD properties to pay more for their homes. It would also cut USDA Rural Development staff below their already reduced levels.

Register Now for HAC’s webinar on the Administration’s FY 2020 Budget.

USDA

Like the Administration’s FY19 budget, this year’s proposal would zero out funding for all rural housing programs except Section 502 guarantees, Section 538 guarantees for rental housing production, and renewals of existing Section 521 Rental Assistance and Section 542 vouchers. It would require tenants in USDA-assisted rental housing to pay at least $50 per month unless they apply for and receive a hardship exemption from USDA. It would also rescind $40 million from the Section 521 Rental Assistance program; that amount represents funding carried over from one year to the next to avoid potential shortfalls in funding availability to renew RA contracts at the beginning of the fiscal year.

Voucher funding would be combined with RA in a single account. USDA’s budget summary shows a $1.407 billion line item for Rental Assistance, but that amount includes $32 million for vouchers and does not account for the $40 million proposed rescission. USDA says this is enough to renew current contracts.

The budget calls for 3,776 Rural Development employees, saying this is 613 staff years below the 2019 estimate.

USDA Rural Development Appropriations[tdborder][/tdborder]

USDA Rural Dev. Prog. (dollars in millions)	FY18 Approp.	FY19 Admin. Budget	FY19 Final Approp.	FY 20 Admin. Budget
502 Single Fam. Direct Self-Help setaside*	$1,100 5	0 0	$1,000 5	0 0
502 Single Family Guar.	24,000	24,000	24,000	24,000
504 VLI Repair Loans	28	0	28	0
504 VLI Repair Grants	30	0	30	0
515 Rental Hsg. Direct Lns.	40	0	40	0
514 Farm Labor Hsg. Lns.	23	0	27.5	0
516 Farm Labor Hsg. Grts.	8.4	0	10	0
521 Rental Assistance	1,345	1,331.4	1,331.4	1,335**
523 Self-Help TA	30	0	30	0
533 Hsg. Prsrv. Grants	10	0	15	0
538 Rental Hsg. Guar.	230	250	230	250
Rental Prsrv. Demo. (MPR)	22	0	24.5	0
542 Rural Hsg. Vouchers	25	20	27	32**
Rural Cmnty. Dev’t Init.	4	0	6	***
Rental Prsrv. TA	1	0	1	0

* For the self-help setaside in Section 502 direct, the figures in the table represent budget authority, not program levels.
** The budget would move vouchers into the Rental Assistance account.
*** The budget documents available on March 11 do not mention RCDI. Details scheduled to be released on March 18 should confirm whether the Administration proposes any funding for this capacity building program.

HUD

The budget would decrease HUD’s funding by 16.4 percent. It would eliminate CDBG, HOME, SHOP, and support for public housing’s capital needs.

It would impose work requirements on HUD-assisted tenants and would include the Administration’s April 2018 proposed rent increases. It would moderately increase HUD’s staffing and would finance improvements to outdated technology. HUD’s summary of the request says rental assistance would be maintained for all currently assisted tenants.

HUD Appropriations [tdborder][/tdborder]

HUD Program (dollars in millions)	FY18 Approp.	FY19 Admin. Budget	FY19 Final Approp.	FY20 Admin. Budget
CDBG	$3,300	0	$3,300	0
HOME	1,362	0	1,250	0
Self-Help Homeownshp. (SHOP)	10	0	10	0
Veterans Home Rehab	4	0	4	0
Tenant-Based Rental Asstnce. VASH setaside Tribal VASH	22,015 40 5	20,550 0 4	22,598 40 4	22,244 ? ?
Project-Based Rental Asstnce.	11,515	10,952	11,747	12,021
Public Hsg. Capital Fund	2,750	0	2,775	0
Public Hsg. Operating Fund	4,550	3,279	4,653	2,863
Choice Neighbrhd. Initiative	150	0	150	0
Native Amer. Hsg. Block Grt.	655	600	655	600
Homeless Assistance Grants	2,513	2,383	2,636	2,599
Hsg. Opps. for Persons w/ AIDS	375	330	393	330
202 Hsg. for Elderly	678	563	678	644
811 Hsg. for Disabled	230	132	184	157
Fair Housing	65.3	62.3	65.3	62
Healthy Homes & Lead Haz. Cntl.	230	145	279	290
Housing Counseling	55	45	50	45

FY19 Appropriations Agreement Fully Funds Most Housing Programs (updated Feb. 15)

February 14, 2019/in Policy

On February 13, 2019, congressional negotiators released an omnibus appropriations bill that will fund numerous federal agencies, including USDA and HUD, through the end of fiscal year 2019 on September 30.

UPDATE, February 15, 2019 – President Trump has signed the appropriations bill into law, funding the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2019.

The compromise’s funding levels for USDA and HUD housing programs keep many programs at FY18 levels, with a few increases and decreases. USDA rural housing programs receiving added monies include Section 514 and 516 farmworker housing loans and grants, Section 533 Housing Preservation Grants, the Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization (MPR) program, and the Rural Community Development Initiative. A small increase in Section 542 vouchers and a drop in Section 521 Rental Assistance are expected to accommodate changes in the level of usage of those programs. The bill renews technical assistance funding for rural rental preservation, again directs USDA to provide incentives for nonprofit organizations and public housing agencies to acquire and preserve rural rental properties, and continues the intermediary packaging program for Section 502 direct homeownership loans.

At HUD, funding for the HOME program drops by over $100 million in the bill. McKinney-Vento homeless assistance programs see an increase, as does Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS and healthy homes/lead hazard control. The appropriation for Section 811 housing for people with disabilities would fall.

HAC will post updates here as the bill’s future develops. The current continuing resolution expires at midnight on Friday, February 15.

USDA Rural Development Appropriations[tdborder][/tdborder]

USDA Rural Dev. Prog. (dollars in millions)	FY18 Approp.	FY19 Admin. Budget	FY19 House Bill	FY19 Senate Bill (S. 2976)	FY19 Conference Agreement
502 Single Fam. Direct Self-Help setaside (a)	$1,100 5	0 0	$1,000 5	$1,100 5	$1,000 5
502 Single Family Guar.	24,000	24,000	24,000	24,000	24,000
504 VLI Repair Loans	28	0	28	28	28
504 VLI Repair Grants	30	0	30	30	30
515 Rental Hsg. Direct Lns.	40	0	40	40	40
514 Farm Labor Hsg. Lns.	23	0	27.5	23.9	27.5
516 Farm Labor Hsg. Grts.	8.4	0	10	8.3	10
521 Rental Assistance	1,345	1,331.4	1,331.4	1,331.4	1,331.4
523 Self-Help TA	30	0	30	30	30
533 Hsg. Prsrv. Grants	10	0	15	10	15
538 Rental Hsg. Guar.	230	250	230	230	230
Rental Prsrv. Demo. (MPR)	22	0	25	24	24.5
542 Rural Hsg. Vouchers	25	20	28	26	27
Rural Cmnty. Dev’t Init.	4	0	4	6	6
Rental Prsrv. TA	1	0	0	1	1

(a) For the self-help setaside in Section 502 direct, the figures in the table represent budget authority, not program levels.

HUD Appropriations

HUD Program (dollars in millions)	FY18 Approp.	FY19 Admin. Budget	FY19 House Bill	FY19 Senate Bill (S. 3023)	FY19 Conference Agreement
CDBG	$3,300	0	$3,300	$3,300	$3,300
HOME	1,362	0	1,200	1,362	1,250
Self-Help Homeownshp. (SHOP)	10	0	10	10	10
Veterans Home Rehab	4	0	0	4	4
Tenant-Based Rental Asstnce. VASH setaside Tribal VASH	22,015 40 5	20,550* 0 4	22,476 40 5	22,781 40 5	22,598 40 4
Project-Based Rental Asstnce.	11,515	10,952	11,347	11,747	11,747
Public Hsg. Capital Fund	2,750	0	2,750	2,775	2,775
Public Hsg. Operating Fund	4,550	3,279*	4,550	4,756	4,653
Choice Neighbrhd. Initiative	150	0	150	100	150
Native Amer. Hsg. Block Grt.	655	600	655	655	655
Homeless Assistance Grants	2,513	2,383	2,546	2,612	2,636
Hsg. Opps. for Persons w/ AIDS	375	330	393	375	393
202 Hsg. for Elderly	678	563	678	678	678
811 Hsg. for Disabled	230	132	154	154	184
Fair Housing	65.3	62.3	65.3	65.3	65.3
Healthy Homes & Lead Haz. Cntl.	230	145	230	260	279
Housing Counseling	55	45	55	45	50

It is past time to end this shutdown

January 22, 2019/in Policy

Housing Assistance Council Statement on Federal Government Shutdown

by David Lipsetz, CEO, Peter Carey, Chair, Peggy Wright, President

It is past time to end the government shutdown. As the budget stalemate continues, the impact on small towns and rural families grows more severe. Every day Americans are losing out on billions of dollars’ worth of affordable housing, clean drinking water, and community facilities, like town halls, fire stations and hospitals. Like it or not, the federal government does important work, and must be reopened now.

The shutdown has thrown countless rural home sales into limbo. U.S. Department of Agriculture offices are closed, so the department’s Rural Housing Service is not making mortgages, guaranteeing mortgages made by banks, or processing requests for new mortgages.

The homebuying industry is central to the entire U.S. economy. Because USDA is closed, rural residents and businesses have lost the annual equivalent of more than $25 billion of business. Some of that activity will go forward when the government reopens, but some will not. Sellers have found other buyers. Buyers are losing out on the stability and wealth-building of home ownership. Businesses are not selling furniture and other goods and services to new home buyers. Realtors and local banks are losing time, money and, potentially even worse for the long-term health of the housing market, their customers’ confidence in publicly-backed privately-managed mortgages. Ripples from these, and all the other shutdown-related missed opportunities, will extend to the national economy, and will get bigger as the shutdown continues.

The Housing Assistance Council has been hearing about these ripple effects from rural community organizations we work with around the country. A group in Utah has to find $1.3 million to reimburse electricians, plumbers and others for work they have already done on USDA-financed houses under construction. A realtor in a small town in Tennessee has lost 90 percent of their business without USDA mortgages. In Alaska and elsewhere, families are hearing from their insurance companies that USDA has not made their homeowners’ insurance payments – the money is there, escrowed from the residents’ monthly mortgage payments to USDA, but there are no staff at USDA to send out the funds.

HAC is also keeping in close contact with rural tenants and landlords who rely on USDA. More than 268,000 tenant families receive USDA rental assistance. Their annual incomes average less than $11,000 and two-thirds of them are elderly or disabled. If the shutdown continues into February, USDA will run out of money to help thousands of those tenants pay their rent. This is putting renters and their landlords into an impossible situation. Renters will have to decide whether to divert their grocery money to cover the gap in rent or to risk eviction. Landlords will have to decide whether to punish renters for non-payment or stop paying for other things like insurance, taxes and property management staff.

At the same time, USDA’s multi-billion dollar loan programs for water systems, rural health clinics, schools and fire halls are shut down; tens of thousands of low-income tenants who rely on the Department of Housing and Urban Development for similar programs are losing their rent support; and countless other Americans are suffering in myriad ways.

This is no way to manage the public’s programs. End this shutdown now!

About the Housing Assistance Council

The Housing Assistance Council helps build homes and communities across rural America. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., HAC is a national nonprofit and a certified community development financial institution dedicated to helping local rural organizations build affordable homes by providing below-market financing, technical assistance, training, research, and information services. To learn more, visit www.ruralhome.org.

CLARIFICATION and shutdown update: January Rental Assistance payments will be made

January 15, 2019/in Policy

UPDATE, January 23, 2019

More of the many media reports related to the shutdown’s impact on USDA housing and rural residents:

Ignore full-rent letter, Newport tenants told; 2nd notice says shutdown “not your fault,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 23, 2019
How the shutdown is jeopardizing housing for rural Americans, NBC, January 22, 2019
Some fear federal safety net is unraveling for those in need, AP News, January 22, 2019
Tenants at Arkansas complex fret after notified rent aid held up; until shutdown ends, full payment up to them, tenants told, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 21, 2019
Relief comes for low-income tenants threatened with rent hike due to shutdown, Huffington Post, updated January 23, 2019
‘We’re left in the dark’: As many industries get shutdown relief, those without political clout feel left behind, Washington Post, January 19, 2019
Home buyers, low-income families likely feeling sting of shutdown, UPI, January 18, 2019
Arkansas eviction scare is a preview of shutdown hell, Huffington Post, January 17, 2019
Tribal members feeling the ripple effects of the shutdown, Center for Rural Affairs, NE, January 16, 2019

* * * * * *

As of January 16, 2019, parts of the federal government including USDA and HUD remain shut down. Limited functions are continuing at USDA’s national office in Washington, DC and the Customer Service Center in St. Louis, but loan closings are not taking place and applications are not being processed. RD staff provided a great service by getting December’s Section 521 Rental Assistance payments made on schedule in early January, and have unofficially assured HAC and others that January’s RA payments will be made in early February. RA payments each month are for the RA contracts that expired during that month, and obligate a full year of RA funding. It is HAC’s understanding that if the shutdown continues into February, RA contracts expiring that month will not be paid. It is not clear whether Section 542 vouchers will be paid for February.

Here are some recent reports related to USDA housing during the shutdown.This list was updated on January 16.

Some renters are already facing eviction, thanks to the shutdown, Huffington Post, updated January 16, 2019 (updated again on January 23)
As the government shutdown continues, would-be homeowners are stuck waiting on USDA aid, Desert Sun, Palm Springs, CA, January 15, 2019
One casualty of the government shutdown: low-income Texans who need housing assistance, Texas Observer, January 15, 2019
The U.S. government shutdown: Its impact on Indian Country is deep, Center for Indian Country Development, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, January 14, 2019
How the government shutdown is disrupting mortgage, real estate transactions, bankrate.com, January 14, 2019
Government shutdown derails real estate deals in rural communities, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 14, 2019
Housing market feels blowback of government shutdown, WHAM, Rochester, NY, January 13, 2019
Government shutdown threatens certain home loans, Houston Chronicle, January 11, 2019
What the government shutdown means for your mortgage, Chicago Tribune, January 11, 2019
Bangert: Home buying ‘nightmare’ as family waits out shutdown in mother-in-law’s basement, Lafayette (Indiana) Journal & Courier, January 10, 2019
U.S. government shutdown impacts USDA offices in Kentucky, Cincinnati Public Radio, January 9, 2019
Food stamps, rent aid and the safety net for America’s poorest at risk as shutdown drags on, Washington Post, January 9, 2019
Prospective homebuyers derailed by the government shutdown, CNBC, January 9, 2019
Shutdown impacts rural housing, National Rural Housing Coalition, January 8, 2019
Federal USDA home loans on hold during government shutdown, WCMH-TV, Columbus, OH, January 8, 2019
How is the government shutdown affecting the local housing market?, KOTA TV, Rapid City, SD, January 8, 2019
Government shutdown halts USDA housing loans and grants, KOMU, Columbia, MO, January 7, 2019
Government shutdown affects USDA loans, Ozarksfirst.com, January 6, 2019
Government shutdown 2019: Homebuyers with USDA mortgages can’t close on house sales, USA Today, January 3, 2019
Shutdown struggles loom for localities in need of infrastructure, affordable housing funding, Route Fifty, January 3, 2019

Federal shutdown continues, impact on rural renters still unclear

January 8, 2019/in News, Policy, Rural News Housing Affordability, Rental Housing

As of January 8, 2019, parts of the federal government including USDA and HUD remain shut down. HAC has not been able to learn any additional information about the impact on USDA Section 521 Rental Assistance and Section 542 vouchers since our December post.

The National Rural Housing Coalition has compiled information about the shutdown’s early impacts on rural housing organizations around the country.

– Posted by Leslie Strauss

HAC Shares Comments on OCC's "Reforming the Community Reinvestment Act Regulatory Framework" ANPR

November 16, 2018/in Federal Register Comments Community Reinvestment Act

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is presenting its comments to the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) on its “Reforming the Community Reinvestment Act Regulatory Framework” Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). Through this ANPR, the OCC is seeking stakeholder comments on avenues to modernize CRA and increase lending and investment where it is needed most, reduce reporting burden, and assess performance, all in a manner consistent with the statute’s original purpose. Given its organizational focus on rural housing, HAC has prioritized its remarks related to questions and issues that most impact rural communities and consumers.

Download HAC’s Comments: PDF

HAC Shares DRAFT Comments on USDA Proposed Rule on Income Banding

October 23, 2018/in Federal Register Comments

The Housing Assistance Council is making available its DRAFT comments on USDA’s proposed rule published August 31, 2018, The proposal seeks to amend USDA’s regulations to implement a two-tier income limit structure and revise the methodology to determine area loan limits for its Single Family Housing direct loan and grant programs and make other changes. The proposed change to the income limit structure is intended to minimize the observed disconnect between minimum wages and the low median income in many areas. The proposed change to the Area Loan Limit methodology is intended to streamline the process and improve the reliability of the data set used to establish the area loan limits. HAC agrees that these are desirable goals. However, we are concerned that the proposed solutions will divert limited program resources to applicants with much higher incomes. HAC strongly urges the Agency to take positive steps to assure the program continues to serve those who are most in need. Comments are due to the Agency on or before October 30, 2018.

Download HAC’s Draft Comments: PDF | Word

USDA Proposes to Make "Income Banding" Permanent

August 31, 2018/in Policy

In a Federal Register notice published August 31, 2018, USDA’s Rural Housing Service proposed changes to its single-family direct and guaranteed loan and grant programs (Section 502 direct, 502 guaranteed, and 504 loans and grants), including making “income banding” a permanent part of the program regulations. Comments are due October 30, 2018.

The proposed changes are:

(1) Revising the definition of very low-, low-, and moderate-income to allow for a two-tier income limit structure (also known as income banding) within the single family housing direct loan and grant programs.
(2) Clarifying that net family assets are not considered when calculating repayment income, and that net family assets exclude amounts in voluntary retirement accounts, tax advantaged college, health, or medical savings or spending accounts, and other amounts deemed by the Agency not to constitute net family assets.
(3) Revising the methodology used to determine the area loan limits to use a percentage(s), as determined by the
Agency, of the applicable local HUD section 203(b) limit.
(4) As a result of income banding, converting borrowers currently receiving payment assistance method 1 to payment assistance method 2 should they receive a subsequent loan.
(5) Revising the definition of low-income to allow for the two-tier income limit structure (income banding) within the single family housing guaranteed loan program.