TOP STORIES

Senate committee rejects House’s HUD funding cuts

The full Senate Appropriations Committee approved its proposed Transportation-HUD spending bill for FY25 on July 25, rejecting the 60% HOME program cut proposed in the bill that passed its House counterpart on July 10. The Senate bill would also increase funding above FY24 levels for other HUD programs, including SHOP, Rural Capacity Building, Native American housing, Homeless Assistance Grants, and the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. Details are posted on HAC’s website. The next step will be for the full House and full Senate to vote. Congress is not expected to be able to finalize FY25 appropriations by the beginning of the fiscal year on October 1. It is likely that legislators will adopt a continuing resolution to temporarily maintain federal funding; the alternative would be a government shutdown.

Senate expected to vote August 1 on tax bill

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) has moved to hold a floor vote August 1 on the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. This bipartisan bill, H.R. 7024, passed the House in January. It includes provisions that would strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and expand the Child Tax Credit. The August 1 action, which requires a 60-vote majority to pass, is procedural and will determine whether the Senate can debate and vote on the bill after its August recess.

RuralSTAT

According to the most recent estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an estimated 908,000 workers outside of metropolitan areas were unemployed in June 2024, resulting in a 4.3% rural unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted). Consistent with national and metropolitan trends, the unemployment rate for outside metropolitan workers increased by 0.8% between May and June of 2024. Source: Housing Assistance Council Tabulations of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics data.

OPPORTUNITIES

HUD opens two more lead and healthy homes programs

The Lead Hazard Reduction Capacity Building Grant Program will help states, Tribes, and local governments with developing and expanding the infrastructure necessary to undertake comprehensive programs to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in privately owned rental or owner-occupied housing. The deadline is September 4.

The Healthy Homes Production Grant Program is for nonprofits, states, Tribes, and local governments. The program takes a comprehensive approach to addressing multiple childhood diseases and injuries in the home by focusing on housing-related hazards in a coordinated fashion, rather than addressing a single hazard at a time. The deadline is September 3.

These are in addition to the Lead and Healthy Homes Technical Studies Grant Program, the Healthy Homes and Weatherization Cooperation Demonstration, and the Lead Hazard Reduction Grant Program covered in the 7/3/24 HAC News, all of which have deadlines in August.

Homeless funding notice posted

HUD has issued a notice of funding opportunity offering FY24 and FY25 Continuum of Care funds and renewal or replacement of Youth Homeless Demonstration Program Grants. CoCs can apply for funding for both years by October 30, 2024, or for FY25 by August 29, 2025.

Community Facilities disaster grants offered

Public bodies, community-based nonprofits, and federally recognized Tribes are eligible for these funds, which can be used to repair essential community facilities damaged by presidentially declared disasters in calendar year 2022 or to repair or replace essential community facilities damaged by presidentially declared disasters or other disasters in calendar year 2023. Grants may cover up to 75% of total project cost.

Permanent supportive housing funds available for Continuums of Care

HUD’s new Continuums of Care Builds program offers funds to CoCs, including newly forming CoCs, for new construction, acquisition, or rehabilitation of permanent supportive housing. To support Tribal communities, CoCBuilds offers incentives for funding projects in partnership with Indian Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities. Of the $175 million available, HUD is setting aside $65 million for CoCs that are located in states with populations of fewer than 2.5 million people. The deadline is November 21.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

New loss mitigation option to be tested for USDA guaranteed mortgage holders

A demonstration program will assist borrowers with Section 502 guaranteed mortgages who experience hardship and are unable to make monthly mortgage payments. Through the Payment Supplement Account demonstration, USDA will pay a partial claim to the mortgage servicer, enabling the servicer to advance funds on behalf of the borrower to satisfy the borrower’s arrearage and cover costs. The demonstration will be in effect from July 24, 2024 to July 24, 2026, at which time the agency may extend, modify, or terminate it. For more information or to express interest in participating in the demo, contact the Loan Servicing Branch, SFHGLPServicing@usda.gov, 202-720-1452.

Mortgage servicer regulatory update proposed

To help avert avoidable foreclosures, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests amendments to its regulations regarding the responsibilities of mortgage servicers. CFPB says the proposed changes would streamline existing requirements when distressed borrowers seek payment assistance and would add safeguards. They would also require servicers to provide some communications in languages other than English. Small servicers – generally, those that service 5,000 or fewer mortgage loans that they or their affiliates own or originated – would be exempt from all new requirements. Comments are due September 9.

Guidance added for Housing Choice Voucher mobility demonstration

A new notice supplements the documents that currently govern HUD’s Community Choice Demonstration, a Housing Choice Voucher mobility pilot.

Regulators set final guidance on appraisal reconsiderations

The Federal Reserve Board, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued final guidance for financial institutions highlighting risks associated with deficient appraisals of residential real estate. The agencies describe how lenders can incorporate reconsiderations of value processes and controls into established risk management functions, and provide examples of relevant policies and procedures.

Comments requested on Affordable Housing Program application process

The Federal Housing Finance Agency seeks input on ways to improve the application processes for competitive Affordable Housing Program funding from the regional Federal Home Loan Banks. Comments are due August 19.

HUD considers direct rental assistance

HUD seeks public input on the concept of “direct rental assistance” – providing a rental housing subsidy directly to the renter rather than to the landlord as the Housing Choice Voucher program does. A National Low Income Housing Coalition article describes questions and concerns raised by the proposal. Comments are due August 30.

USDA distributes discrimination-based aid to farmers, closes program

The Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (Section 22007) was created by the Inflation Reduction Act to provide one-time financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination prior to January 2021. USDA announced on July 31 that it has distributed the funds to over 43,000 recipients in all 50 states, D.C, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. The decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Rural left-behind counties see economic recovery but are still falling behind

“Left-behind counties,” most of which are outside metropolitan areas, have experienced a vigorous economic recovery since 2020, but the economic gap between these counties and the rest of the country continues to grow, according to a study by the Economic Innovation Group. Economic Renaissance or Fleeting Recovery? Left-Behind Counties See Boom in Jobs and Businesses Amid Widening Divides identifies 972 counties as left-behind because their population and median household income growth rates lagged far behind national rates from 2000 to 2016. EIG defines 90% of these counties (largely those outside metro areas) as rural. As a group, the rural left-behind counties are seeing a faster post-pandemic employment recovery and are now closest to regaining pre-COVID employment levels. They are still making up lost ground from decades of stagnation, however, and fewer workers are employed in these counties now than almost a quarter-century ago.

Property insurance crisis examined

Rising Property Insurance Costs: The Threat to Affordable Housing, a video and several related articles published by Shelterforce, explore the increasing tension between the need for insurance in a changing climate and its rising cost or unavailability. More articles may be added to the series.

HUD convened a summit on the topic and issued a fact sheet covering the issues and HUD’s efforts to address them.

Court decision may signal trouble for California farmworker unionizing law

A lawsuit brought by agricultural employers in Kern County, CA argues that a California law allowing farmworkers to unionize more easily undermines the rights of employers. A state court judge recently issued an injunction to stop union organizing at one company while the litigation proceeds, indicating that the unionization law “is likely unconstitutional.” The outcome of this case could have far-reaching consequences for farmworker unions and their ability to organize and advocate for better working conditions. Details are available from a number of news sources including the Fresno Bee, Los Angeles Times, Cal Matters, and Ag Daily. To learn more about farmworkers and recent housing trends, check out HAC’s latest publication on farmworkers.

Oregon affordable rentals get solar power

An article in Solar Power World entitled Rural Oregon Solar Installer Finds Niche in Multifamily Housing describes a company that has connected affordable rental housing with renewable energy. Enterprise Electric, based in a rural, sparsely populated county, has become a major residential solar contractor, working with another business that develops subsidized affordable housing with renewable energy sources.

HAC

HAC comments on proposed rule for HOME program

HAC recently submitted comments on a HUD proposal that would make a variety of revisions and updates to the regulations governing the HOME program. The proposed rule would make changes across HOME, from homeownership to rental, and included a specific focus on improving Community Housing Development Organization availability and capacity in rural areas. HAC’s comments applauded many of the proposed changes and pushed for additional rural-focused priorities. Key points included the challenges posed by varying HOME program administration across Participating Jurisdictions, concerns about the proposal to allow for statewide CHDOs, and the need for statutory changes as well as regulatory actions.

HAC is hiring

HAC job listings, each with application instructions, are available on our website.

• Accountant
• Manager of the Center for Rural Multifamily Housing Preservation

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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