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In HUD Notice H-2016-08, HUD announced that owners of privately owned apartment buildings under Section 8 contract can now offer Family Self-Sufficiency. HUD will now allow owners of multifamily properties to use funding from residual receipt accounts to hire service coordinators for their own Family Self-Sufficiency program.
HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes recently proposed amendments to lower the definition of “elevated blood lead levels” in young children to match the revised definition of “elevated blood lead levels” established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). HUD’s proposed new reference level for lead in a young child’s blood would be lowered from 20 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (µg/dL) to 5, and continue to be aligned with CDC recommendations in the future.
On July 29, President Obama officially signed into law H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). Although HOTMA touches on a variety of housing issues such as veteran’s assistance, rural housing, and mortgage insurance, the bulk of the legislation deals with reforms to the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program and Public Housing. The changes implemented by the new law won’t be effective until HUD publishes final regulations. The following are some of the changes to expect in the final regulations:
HUD recently announced the agency is making $2 million in grants available to help low-income families and young people apply for federal aid for college and other post-secondary educational opportunities. The funding is being offered through HUD’s longstanding Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) program.
HUD recently announced that the Springfield Housing Authority in Springfield, Mass., has entered into agreements settling allegations of housing discrimination based on disability. The allegations involved an 82-year-old deaf housing authority resident who allegedly did not receive the same access to communications as individuals without disabilities, as required by the Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
HUD, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) recently announced that the number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the United States has been cut nearly in half since 2010. The data revealed a 17 percent decrease in veteran homelessness between January 2015 and January 2016—quadruple the previous year’s annual decline—and a 47 percent decrease since 2010.
On July 14, 2016, the Senate passed H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2015 (HOTMA) by unanimous consent. It streamlines and reforms several federal housing assistance programs. The Senate passage of the House-passed version expedites the lawmaking process, as now H.R. 3700 is headed to the President’s desk and is expected to be signed into law soon.
Florida Senators Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R) introduced the Housing Accountability Act of 2016 on July 14. The bill would require a survey of residents at private properties with Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contracts twice a year to determine the existence of persistent problems with a property’s physical condition or management.
HUD and Comcast recently announced an initiative to provide broadband access to families living in HUD-assisted housing in 40 states across the nation. The effort scales up ConnectHome, a demonstration program hosted by HUD and Comcast that provides children and families living in HUD-assisted housing with high-speed Internet service, the opportunity to purchase a discounted computer, and digital literacy courses. Between 2011 and 2015, the pilot program connected more than 600,000 low-income families to the Internet.
The House Appropriations Committee recently approved its Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) funding bill by voice vote. The bill would fully fund project-based rental assistance contracts and funds the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) at its FY 2016 level of $950 million. Overall, the bill provides $58.19 billion in new spending on THUD programs, $889 million above FY 2016 and slightly higher than the Senate-passed THUD bill, which provides total funding of $57.7 billion. Highlights from the bill include:
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