An “Unnumbered Letter” allowing state RD offices to reallocate unused rental assistance (RA) within their states without approval from the national office, reversing a policy in place since 2013 requiring state offices to return unused RA to the national office to be recaptured. […]
Read More… from USDA Rural Development Unnumbered Letter on Management of Unused Rental Assistance
Eliminates the requirement that HOME Participating Jurisdictions commit HOME funds within 24 months or face recapture, for FY 2016 through FY 2019.
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While we support the goals articulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) AFFH regulations, we are deeply concerned that the state tool, which states must use to conduct the Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) under AFFH, imposes unreasonable requirements on states that go well beyond what is necessary to achieve meaningful fair housing planning. […]
At last measure in 2013, over one in four renters, or 11.2 million renter households, were severely burdened by rents that took up over half their incomes. […]
Read More… from Enterprise and JCHS: Projecting Trends in Severely Cost-Burdened Renters: 2015–2025
One telling indicator of the state of the nation’s housing is the drop in the homeownership rate to just 64.5 percent last year, erasing nearly all of the increase in the previous two decades. The number of homeowners fell for the eighth straight year, signaling persistently weak demand in this key market segment. And the trend does not appear to be abating, with the national homeownership rate down to 63.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015. […]
The decade-long surge in rental demand is unprecedented. In mid-2015, 43 million families and individuals lived in rental housing, up nearly 9 million from 2005—the largest gain in any 10-year period on record. In addition, the share of all US households that rent rose from 31 percent to 37 percent, its highest level since the mid-1960s. […]
This edition of Out of Reach highlights some of the economic challenges facing low income renters, including lagging wages, inconsistent job growth, and the rising cost of living. […]
Read More… from National Low Income Housing Coalition | Out of Reach 2015
I would like to raise awareness of a critically important program that, although not within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Financial Services, is very often used to complement and strengthen a number of the affordable rental housing programs over which this Committee and Subcommittee does have jurisdiction. […]
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), joined by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland, Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson and the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign will urge Congress to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. […]
