HUD Awards $3.16 Billion to Public Housing Authorities
The funding will go toward modernizing public housing across the country.
(WASHINGTON, DC February 22nd, 2023) The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $3.16 billion in funding to nearly 2,770 public housing authorities (PHAs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The grants will be used to make important capital investments in the public housing stock.
“As I have traveled the country, I’ve heard time and again from families and seniors in public housing that a decent home in a safe community shouldn’t be too much to ask for,” said HUD secretary Marcia L. Fudge in a statement. “With this investment today, we are committing to work with our public housing authority partners to guarantee homes in public housing are worthy of the families and individuals who live there.”
The grants are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund program, which offers annual funding to PHAs to build, renovate, and/or modernize the public housing in their communities. Housing authorities can use the funding to complete large-scale improvements, such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to heating systems and installing water conservation measures.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published in last week’s Federal Register a notice of fiscal year 2021 (FY 21) fair market rents (FMRs) for the Housing Choice Voucher program, Moderate Rehabilitation SRO program and other HUD programs. The notice states that the trend factors used to determine FY 21 FMRs include updated economic assumptions to reflect the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The notice also enumerates how public housing authorities and other parties can request reevaluations of their FMRs. Comments on the notice are due Sept. 30 and the FMRs will be effective Oct. 1.
The most recent update provides additional guidance regarding the closings of FHA-insured transactions, loan application processing and projects already under construction:
Potential Closing Delays. HUD may temporarily pause initial endorsement of new construction and substantial rehab loans that involve tenant-in-place rehab work or tenant relocation, or in areas that have shelter-in-place orders. For projects that have time-sensitive restrictions or contractual obligations that will expire if closing is delayed, HUD may proceed with closing but will require evidence that mitigants are in place to offset construction delays.
Electronic/Mail Closings. HUD closing attorneys will rely on electronic transmission of closing documents in lieu of hard copies in performing their closing review. Closings will be conducted either by mail or through the use of electronic transmission of documents, however, there are various logistical challenges which the parties should build in extra time to address, such as notarization. While some jurisdictions have authorized remote notarization, many have not, and even in those jurisdictions where remote notarization is permissible there are frequently issues involving title companies and recording offices.
No Processing Delays. HUD staff are equipped to perform underwriting functions and all other duties remotely and HUD does not anticipate issues or delays in processing loans.
Electronic Submissions. HUD will permit applications and related documents to be submitted electronically. Plans and specifications should be sent directly to the processing construction analyst identified at the concept meeting to be reviewed remotely.
Relaxed Requirements for Third-Party Inspections.
No Relief from Contractual Obligations. HUD confirmed that there is no impact on the enforceability of contracts among parties to an insured loan except insofar as any provisions in the contracts provide for (e.g., force majeure).
Construction Impediments. All construction parties should stay engaged and provide regular updates to the lender and HUD to the extent possible. If a job site is shut down, the general contractor (or in the absence of the general contractor, the owner) must ensure that the site is properly secured and that all completed work and stored materials are protected. If limited work continues, workplace safety procedures and CDC advisories for “social distancing” should be observed.
P&P Bonds and Builder’s Risk Coverage. The parties should proactively ensure that surety bonds and Builder’s Risk insurance policies will remain in place and will not be impaired by any job slow-down or work stoppage.
Required Monthly Progress Updates. General contractors, owners and supervising architects should report construction work status on a monthly basis in connection with their monthly requests for reimbursement of costs and associated inspection trip report. Monthly reports and requests for reimbursements should continue for soft costs even if little or no work has been completed.
Relief for Repair Escrows for Section 223(f) and Section 223(a)(7) Projects. HUD will consider amending the Escrow Agreement for Non-Critical Repairs, which typically has a 12-month completion deadline for non-critical repairs, in those cases where owners and lenders have documented COVID-19 related delays.
Virtual Inspections. Reimbursement requests for completed work will be approved even if the supervising architect and/or the HUD Inspector are unable to conduct an onsite inspection based on the supervising architect’s verification of the work completed based on a recorded virtual inspection and virtual site meeting.
This article was reproduced by permission by Nixon Peabody. Original blogpost by Nixon Peabody published on April 6th, 2020. Original can be found via this URL.
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