Department of Housing and Urban Development News Briefs - August 2019

August 6, 2019                                                  By: Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits Volume 10 Issue 8

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a notice June 12 announcing the monthly per-unit fee rates used to determine administrative fees for each public housing agency that administers certain HUD programs. The fees involve the Housing Choice Voucher and Moderate Rehabilitation programs for calendar year 2019 (CY 2019). HUD provided two charts: one for the first 7,200 voucher units leased in CY 2019, the second for the remainder of the units. The notice is available at www.hudresourcecenter.com.

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order June 25 to establish a White House Council on eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing Development. The group will consist of members from eight federal agencies and the chairman will be Ben Carson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The council is tasked with measuring how federal, state and local regulations affect affordable housing, with the goal of reducing regulatory barriers.

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The percentage of cost-burdened renters dropped slightly, but there remains a significant gap in affordable housing, according to the State of the Nation’s Housing 2019 report issued June 27 by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. The annual report says that 1.5 million units of housing should be built each year, which is 260,000 units more than were built in 2018. According to the report, 31.5 percent of American households spend more than 30 percent of their income for housing, the standard for being cost-burdened. It was the seventh-straight year that figure declined, but the share of renters who are cost-burned is 47.4 percent. The report highlights that the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) remains the primary provider of assisted rental affordable housing in the United States, having produced 2.5 million homes since 1987.

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HUD awarded $63 million to 85 Native American communities throughout the country June 18 to improve housing conditions and stimulate community development for residents. Funding was provided through HUD’s Indian Community Development Block Grant program to support a wide range of community development and affordable housing activities. Award amounts ranged from $400,000 to $2 million.................Read More