NCSHA Presents Testimony at House Hearing on Resident Health and Safety in HUD Housing

WASHINGTON, DC — Oregon Housing and Community Services Executive Director and NCSHA Secretary/Treasurer Margaret Salazar represented the nation’s state housing finance agencies (HFAs) today at a hearing before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance focused on the health, safety, and soundness of HUD-assisted rental and public housing.

Salazar testified to the effectiveness and results state HFAs and local public housing authorities have delivered as Performance-Based Contract Administrators (PBCAs) on behalf of HUD. PBCAs, including 33 state HFAs, administer more than 88 percent of HUD Project-Based Rental Assistance contracts. Fewer than 5 percent of the more than 31,000 properties PBCAs oversee are “high risk” or “troubled.” Ninety-five percent passed their most recent HUD property inspections, and 92 percent received “satisfactory or above” ratings on their most recent management and occupancy reviews.

“PBCAs are an important touchpoint for low-income residents, act as an ‘early warning system’ for HUD monitoring, and reinvest new funding in HUD-assisted properties that need it,” Salazar said.

Salazar urged the subcommittee to ensure HUD does not allow for-profit commercial entities that lack the mission and resources of state HFAs to take on responsibilities for managing these critical community assets.

Salazar’s written testimony and video of the hearing can be accessed here.

About the National Council of State Housing Agencies
For more than 50 years, state housing finance agencies (HFAs) have played a central role in the nation’s affordable housing system, delivering financing to make possible the purchase, development, and rehabilitation of affordable homes and rental apartments for low- and middle-income households.

The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization created to advance, through advocacy and education, the efforts of the nation’s state HFAs and their partners to provide affordable housing to those who need it. NCSHA’s vision: An affordably housed nation. Learn more at www.ncsha.org.

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