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This week’s announcements by the Department of Housing and Urban Development include:
- Up to 25 communities can receive $72M in funding for homeless youth
- Property owners and managers charged with sexual harassment and discrimination
- Stakeholders, advocates, and elected officials support PAVE task force
- Secretary Fudge make statement on White House FY23 budget
- HUD closes RAD conversion transaction for 287 homes in MN
- Disaster assistance announced for Puerto Rico
Up to 25 communities can receive $72M in funding for homeless youth
Date Posted: March 24, 2022
This week, HUD has made $72 million in Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program funding available for as many as 25 communities in the U.S.
According to the HUD press release, the “Funding will be utilized for developing and implementing coordinated community approaches to preventing and ending youth homelessness.”
HUD Secretary Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said:
“HUD has a responsibility to communities in this nation, especially youth. Housing greatly impacts our education, our employment, and our opportunities to thrive…These grants underscore HUD’s commitment to eradicating homelessness, especially among young people, who all need and deserve a safe place to call home.”
More information about this funding for youth homelessness can be found here.
Property owners and managers charged with sexual harassment and discrimination
Date Posted: March 24, 2022
Owners and managers of Leaf Property Investment, LLC are being charged by HUD for “discriminating against a former male tenant because of his sexual orientation and disability.”
The property involved with the charge is a 19-unit rooming house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
According to the HUD press release, “The Charge alleges that Parker’s harassing conduct included making unwelcome, sexually aggressive verbal comments; demanding sexual favors; sending unwanted, threatening, and degrading text messages; and using slurs and other demeaning language about the tenant’s sexual orientation and disability.”
Demetria L. McCain, HUD’s Principal Deputy Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, said:
“No one should feel unwelcome or unsafe in the sanctity of their own homes because of their sexual orientation or disability…Violating these rights is not only unacceptable, it is illegal.”
More information about this charge can be found here.
Stakeholders, advocates, and elected officials support PAVE task force
Date Posted: March 24, 2022
Several officials have publicly supported HUD’s Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) Action Plan, which is aimed to remove racial bias in the home lending and appraisal process for homebuyers.
The HUD press release includes comments from 13 officials, such as NAACP Legal Defense Fund Director of Policy, Lisa Cylar Barrett. Barrett said:
“We commend the Biden-Harris Administration for taking this important step to change the long-standing practice of undervaluing the homes owned by people of color, especially those in Black and Brown communities. This practice has had a profound, multi-generational impact on the ability of Black and Brown Americans to build wealth.”
More comments in support of this task force be found here.
Secretary Fudge make statement on White House FY23 budget
Date Posted: March 28, 2022
HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge has released a statement in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2023.
Secretary Fudge said:
“This Budget tells the American people that the President, and our agency, view housing as a foundational platform to help address the most urgent challenges facing our nation. This Budget will help us meet our mission to provide security and stability for those who live on the outskirts of hope, advance opportunity and equity on behalf of marginalized communities, and meet the existential threats posed by natural disasters and climate change.”
The budget proposal requests $71.9 billion for HUD. This is about $11.6 billion more than the 2022 annualized continuing resolution level.
According to the HUD press release, this budget would:
- Support Underserved Communities and Equitable Community Development
- Increases Supply of and Access to Affordable Housing
- Promote Homeownership and Wealth-Building
- Advance Sustainable Communities, Climate Resilience, and Environmental Justice
- Strengthen HUD’s Internal Capacity to Carry Out Its Mission
More information about this statement from Secretary Fudge can be found here.
HUD closes RAD conversion transaction for 287 homes in MN
Date Posted: March 28, 2022
Last week, HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing closed Rental Assistance Demonstration transaction to preserve 387 affordable homes in Duluth, Minnesota.
The homes that will be rehabilitated are in the connected buildings of King Manor and Tri-Towers, which are operated by Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) of Duluth, Minnesota.
More information about this RAD conversion can be found here.
Disaster assistance announced for Puerto Rico
Date Posted: March 29, 2022
HUD has announced disaster assistance for areas of Puerto Rico that were affected by a severe storm, flooding, and landslides from February 4 and February 6, 2022.
Assistance will be provided for the municipalities of Cataño, Dorado, Toa Baja, Vega Alta, and Vega Baja.
Effective immediately, HUD is:
- Providing immediate foreclosure relief in counties covered by the major disaster declaration
- Making mortgage insurance available
- Making insurance available for both mortgages and home rehabilitation
- Sharing information on housing providers and HUD programs
- Providing flexibility to Community Planning and Development Grantees
- Providing flexibility to Public Housing Agencies
- Ensuring HUD-approved housing counseling agencies are ready to assist
- Assisting with housing discrimination
More information about this disaster assistance for Puerto Rico can be found here.