The Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition (MAHC) held its annual Housing Day in Annapolis today. The event brings together over 200 affordable rental housing advocates to inform legislators of the value of affordable housing and funding needs to continue to develop and rehabilitate affordable housing in Maryland. Housing Day also provides the opportunity to hear from State… Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Trump administration released its proposed budget for the 2019 fiscal year. Overall, the budget proposes an $8.8 billion (18.3%) reduction in the HUD budget from the 2017 enacted level, a more drastic cut than the $6 billon HUD budget reduction the Administration proposed for fiscal year 2018. Significant proposals in the budget include:… Continue Reading
Our friends at NAHRO have alerted us that a new RAD notice will be issued tomorrow, August 23, 2017. The notice requires PHAs who already submitted a RAD letter of interest to preserve their spot on the wait list to submit a RAD application within 60 days if they want to continue in the RAD program.… Continue Reading
On August 9, HUD issued to Congress its 16th report on worst case housing needs in the United States, based on 2015 data. Households with “worst case needs” are those that are very low income, do not receive government housing assistance and either pay more than 1/2 of their income for rent or live in… Continue Reading
The Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously voted on July 27, 2017 to approve its FY2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill. The bill eliminates the cap in the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, which has been supported by Secretary Carson, and also removes RAD’s sunset date. In addition to the advancements in RAD, some… Continue Reading
On June 28, 2017, HUD issued Notice PIH 2017-10 (HA) (the “Notice”) providing guidance on the implementation of the Housing Choice Voucher (“HCV”) program funding provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (the “2017 Act”). Under the 2017 Act, HUD received a total of $20,292,000,000 in funding for the Housing Choice Voucher program for the… Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) released the Fiscal Year 2017 Housing Trust Fund (HTF) allocation amounts on June 20, 2017, setting forth the amounts awarded to each state or territory under the HTF. The total HTF allocation for Fiscal Year 2017 is $219,168,373.94, including $12,702,747.00 in unallocated funds from Fiscal Year 2016. The… Continue Reading
In an interview with U.S. News and World Reports on “The Future of Affordable Housing in the Trump Era,” Amy McClain, who leads Ballard Spahr’s government-assisted housing practice (and is a frequent Housing Plus blogger), cautions that while she doesn’t expect budget cuts to be as severe as those proposed, funding for affordable housing is under… Continue Reading
Last week, Ballard Spahr in conjunction with CSG Advisors hosted its 7th Annual Western Housing Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The Conference brought together a wide range of public and private housing professionals facilitating a dynamic conversation on current developments in government-assisted housing. The Conference opened with a “Washington Update” – a discussion on housing policy… Continue Reading
Ballard Spahr is committed to facilitating and leading the conversation within the affordable housing community, which makes us thrilled to announce our Eleventh Annual National Housing Conference in Washington, D.C., from November 3 to 4. This two-day, complimentary event features engaging discussions, panel presentations, special insights, and networking opportunities with the key influences and power… Continue Reading
Congress recently passed a short-term extension to keep the EB-5 Regional Center Program (commonly known as the EB-5 Program or the Immigration Investor Program) from expiring. The EB-5 program adds versatility to the financing options available to affordable housing, and can be used with certain Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The extension of this program… Continue Reading
Released in February, the 2016 budget set forth by the Obama administration takes a focused stance towards the country’s growing infrastructure requirements. The 2016 budget features tax-exempt bond proposals seen in the administration’s 2014 and 2015 budgets, and introduces four new bond proposals: 1) A New Category of Qualified Private Activity Bonds for Infrastructure Projects… Continue Reading
HUD has announced that it will end the regulatory relief granted under Notice PIH 2013-03 as of the end of March 2015. That relief, which HUD described in Notice PIH 2013-03 as “temporary,” allowed public housing agencies to: Use participants’ actual past income to verify incomes Allow households to self-certify as to having assets less… Continue Reading
As in prior years, the Obama administration’s FY 2016 budget includes a number of impactful, and generally positive, tax credit proposals. With respect to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the budget retains many of last year’s proposed modifications, and adds a new proposal to remove the population cap for Qualified Census Tract designations. Specifically, the… Continue Reading
Several exciting developments have recently brought changes to the affordable housing industry and we are inviting you to explore them with us at our fifth annual Western Housing Conference. Ballard Spahr and CSG Advisors are pleased to announce this year’s Best of the West in Affordable Housing Development and Financing conference on March 13, in… Continue Reading
Yesterday afternoon, HUD distributed it’s latest with supplemental guidance related to the implementation of statutory changes to the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and the processing of RAD applications in light of the increase of the unit cap for the first component from 60,000 units to 185,000 units. Key elements in the supplemental guidance include:… Continue Reading
Yesterday Ballard Spahr held its 9th annual National Housing Symposium in Washington, D.C.. The theme of the Symposium was “Beyond the Horizon: Housing and Community Development Strategies for the Future”. Government officials, investors, developers, lenders, and other housing professionals spent the day discussing affordable housing issues. To give a flavor of what was discussed, below is a… Continue Reading
Housing Plus is thrilled to announce that our very own Amy M. McClain has authored The Beginner’s Guide to Public Housing Conversion under RAD, published by the American Bar Association. The book focuses on the Rental Assistance Demonstration program’s utility as a financing tool for stimulating revitalizations to public housing properties. As an informative guide,… Continue Reading
Recently, a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania State Senators sponsored a bill to expand the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund, commonly known as the State Housing Trust Fund. If passed, Senate Bill No. 1380 would make additional funds available for low-income housing throughout the State. In the past, the State Housing Trust Fund, which… Continue Reading
The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved its draft Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2015. While the bill generally falls short of the funding levels requested in President Obama’s budget proposal, it proposed some significant changes to the Rental Assistance Demonstration, and proposes a “pay-for-success” energy and water… Continue Reading
On June 3, 2014, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) unanimously approved its FY 2015 spending bill. The bill includes an increase to the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) cap from 60,000 units to 185,000 units. While the legislative text has not yet been released, the Appropriations Committee posted a summary… Continue Reading
The House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Subcommittee has approved a budget for the coming fiscal year. In comparison to fiscal year 2014 funding levels, the THUD bill increases spending for many federal housing programs. However, it remains shy of the funding levels recommended in President Obama’s 2015 proposal. Some highlights from the… Continue Reading
On April 30th Ballard Spahr was proud to host representatives from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Maryland Attorney General’s office, Pennrose Properties and AGM Financial to discuss evolving trends in affordable housing development in Maryland. The briefing, held in Ballard Spahr’s Baltimore office, included: A discussion by Pat Sylvester, the… Continue Reading
“Housing is experiencing a calm before the storm”, is how National Housing Conference CEO Chris Estes described how housing programs fared in the President’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request during a presentation at the Ballard Spahr Best of the West Housing Conference this past Friday in San Francisco. While many of the rental assistance programs… Continue Reading
