TOP STORIES

Nominees announced for USDA, HUD, OMB

President-elect Trump has nominated Brooke Rollins to become Secretary of Agriculture, Scott Turner to lead HUD, and Russell Vought to direct OMB. All three worked in the first Trump administration. Rollins was a founder of the America First Policy Institute and serves as its President and CEO. Turner, a former NFL player, previously worked on Capitol Hill, served in the Texas legislature, and ran the first Trump White House’s Opportunity Zones efforts. He is currently the chair of the Center for Education Opportunity at America First. Vought was Trump’s director of OMB, then founded and led the Center for Renewing America. He wrote a chapter on the Executive Office of the President for Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership book.

HAC article explores CDBG set-aside for colonias

Since 1991, a portion of funding for HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program has been set aside for colonias on the U.S.-Mexico border. Organizations and people that serve these communities have seen great impacts in places that were able to access these funds. HAC researchers Keith Wiley and Manda LaPorte explore the data, benefits, barriers, and recommendations from experts in the field in a recent publication in HUD’s Cityscape journal.

RuralSTAT

Housing received about 20% of the CDBG nonentitlement setaside for colonias from 2014 through 2023. A majority of the setaside’s dollars, about 57%, were awarded for use on water/sewer treatment facilities. Source: HAC tabulations of HUD data, Cityscape.

OPPORTUNITIES

USDA launches pilot program to speed home repair

USDA has started a new pilot under its Section 504 home repair loan and grant program. To reduce the time before repairs begin, which may be especially important after disasters, the pilot allows homeowners to use Section 504 funds to pay for construction materials before they are delivered. USDA chose 25 states and U.S. territories to participate and expects the pilot to be in effect through 2026.

Guide helps Veterans use VA home modification programs

A Veterans Home Benefits Guide from AARP is intended to help navigate VA’s home modification grants and related programs. The guide is designed to help determine what home modifications may apply, explain the benefits offered by VA and other organizations, understand how to apply, and get (no-cost) help from certified Veterans’ representatives.

Public-facing arts projects to be funded in Central Appalachia

Mid Atlantic Arts offers Central Appalachia Living Traditions Experiences grants of $1,000 to $10,000 for public-facing projects and events that bring community members together around traditional arts and cultural knowledge. Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, Tribes, and individual artists/practitioners who live or are based in an Appalachian Regional Commission-designated county in Ohio, Virginia, or West Virginia. Apply by March 10.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

Simple transfer pilot for rental preservation extended, Section 514 properties added

USDA’s pilot program for simple transfers of rental properties is extended through December 9, 2025. The agency is making some changes to the pilot, including broadening it to include Section 514 farmworker housing properties.

Self-help technical assistance revisions proposed

USDA proposes changes in the regulations governing its Section 523 program, which funds the organizations that run local self-help housing efforts. Comments are due February 3.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set plans to address housing needs

On November 25, the Federal Housing Finance Agency released new three-year plans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under two separate sets of requirements. Their 2025-2027 Duty to Serve Underserved Markets Plans seek to improve access to financing for rural housing, affordable housing preservation, and manufactured housing. Their 2025-2027 Equitable Housing Finance Plans are intended to provide housing opportunities for homeowners and renters in all communities. To meet its duty to serve rural markets, Freddie Mac’s activities will include six “Develop the Developer” academies to help build rural development capacity. Fannie Mae will focus on enabling rural Community Development Financial Institutions to access secondary markets.

Court decisions suspend parts of new H-2A farmworker rule

Federal courts in Mississippi and Kentucky have issued orders in two separate lawsuits challenging the Labor Department’s recent regulations aimed at protecting farmworkers with H-2A visas. The Mississippi court suspended implementation of parts of the regulations. Its order applies to the entire country but is effective only while the lawsuit continues. The Kentucky court’s order is final and covers more of the regulations’ provisions, but applies only in Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. The Labor Department has not yet announced what it will do in response to the rulings.

HUD releases rent adjustment factors

HUD’s FY25 Annual Adjustment Factors will apply to some Section 8 properties/units’ contract rents when the contracts are renewed during this fiscal year.

Multifamily and community facilities regulations updated

Revisions to USDA’s multifamily housing and community facilities regulations will be published on December 6, updating the language related to audits and financial statements to align with revisions adopted by the Office of Management and Budget.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Report addresses barriers to Tribal use of federal funds

Tribal Issues: Barriers to Access to Federal Assistance, a new “snapshot” report from the Government Accountability Office, reviews GAO’s past findings and recommendations on the subject and is summarized in a blog post. Identified challenges include capacity limitations, financial constraints, limited agency communication, Tribes’ remoteness, federal agencies’ limited awareness of Tribal traditions and cultures, and some common program characteristics. The snapshot includes information about what federal agencies have done to help address these barriers.

Black-white homeownership disparities continue

“Black homeownership is hampered by a mortgage finance system that continues to discriminate,” states the National Association of Real Estate Brokers in 2024 State of Housing in Black America: National Leadership is Essential to Increase Black Homeownership. In 2023, the homeownership rate was 45.7% for Black households and 74.3% for white households. The report examines disparities in mortgage applications, interest rates, appraised values, wages and wealth, and the impacts of climate change.

Record number of households cost burdened in 2023

Recently released 2023 American Community Survey data shows record high numbers of cost-burdened households, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Fifty percent of U.S. renters and 24% of homeowners were cost burdened (paid 30% or more of income for their housing). Rates were highest among those with the lowest incomes: 74% for owners and 83% for renters with incomes under $30,000. Cost burden rates were also generally higher for people of color than for white people. JCHS’s analysis did not include a geographic breakdown.

Housing shortage calculations examined

A Brookings Institution brief looks at reasons for differences in recent estimates of the U.S. housing supply shortfall, which range from 1.5 to 5.5 million units. Make It Count: Measuring Our Housing Supply Shortage presents a preferred methodology that calculates a shortage of 4.9 million units at the end of 2023. The researchers note the importance of adapting the methodology to estimate housing shortages at the local level, as well as for different income levels because housing for lower-income households is likely to be in particularly short supply.

Rental housing preservation challenges are growing

Picture of Preservation 2024, published by the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, uses data from the National Housing Preservation Database to characterize the federally assisted housing stock and document its preservation risks. The research covers units assisted by USDA’s multifamily programs as well as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and numerous HUD programs. It identifies three types of preservation risks – exit, depreciation, and appropriations risks – and calculates that exit risk is growing across the federally assisted housing stock. Staff from NLIHC and PAHRC will present their findings in a webinar on December 11.

Kansas seeks to increase affordable rural housing production

A Kansas Reflector article titled Rural Kansas Needs Thousands of Homes per Year to Address Shortage, Lawmakers Hear describes efforts in the state legislature to address a shortage of affordable housing. Kansas is already providing tax credits and investment incentives. Legislators are considering additional solutions such as giving localities more zoning flexibility, helping homebuilders recoup some costs, and supporting community land trusts.

Brief covers combining mental health and substance use services

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s new issue brief, Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Services, highlights the importance of evidence-based holistic care for the 21.5 million adults living with both mental illnesses and substance use disorders, including access to stable and safe housing. It encourages state agencies and providers to collaborate on joint initiatives, making service delivery more efficient and accessible.

HAC

HAC is hiring

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

• Research Associate
• Financial Controller
• External Affairs Specialist
• Training Implementation Specialist

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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