NAHMA hosts housing policy discussion with committee members
This week, NAHMA hosted a joint call with our Government Affairs Committees to discuss Federal Affairs, Advocacy, Regulatory Affairs, Tax Credit, Senior Housing, Rural Housing, and Fair Housing updates.
Strong NAHMA member turn-out on the call lead to a rich discussion among committee members. Key items for discussion included regulatory barriers to affordable housing development, HUD oversight lead-based health hazards, changes to LIHTC compliance monitoring regulations, the launch of HUD’s physical inspection demonstration, and streamlining opportunities for rural portfolios.
The committee members also discussed current updates related to the status of federal funding, agency updates from the Rural Housing Service, current legislative trends, recent fair housing proposals, and more.
As NAHMA continues to advocate on behalf of housing community owners and managers, please consider sharing your insight with NAHMA on the following critical items:
- Regulatory Barriers – Submit comments for the White House Council
In your experience, what laws, regulations, land use requirements, and administrative practices increase costs of affordable housing development and contribute to shortages in housing supply? (please submit your feedback to NAHMA by January 15th)
- LIHTC Compliance Monitoring Regulations – Support NAHMA’s efforts to weigh in with the IRS
The IRS recently updated compliance monitoring regulations for Housing Credit properties, and the changes are being implemented this year. Most notably, the regulations update the minimum unit sample size and shorten the reasonable notice requirement for physical inspections and file reviews. Have you experienced these changes? How do you anticipate their effect on staff time and administrative cost? (please submit your feedback to NAHMA by January 15th)
- Rural Development Improvements – Assist NAHMA in presenting constructive feedback to the Agency
Do you have ideas for improving Rural Development owner/manager requirements? Do you have experience working with RD and tax credits, and have streamlining suggestions for the agencies? How can we improve owner forms? (please submit your feedback to NAHMA by January 23rd)
- NSPIRE Demonstration – Help NAHMA advocate for a better physical inspection protocol for the broader industry
Are you participating in HUD’s new REAC inspection demonstration? Keep us in the loop about your experiences so that we can. (ongoing opportunity for member feedback)
For more information on these key discussion items and to learn about current updates out of Washington, please view the PowerPoint from the call here. To join one of NAHMA’s policy committees, please reach out to Larry or Juliana.
Congress plans hearings on Community Reinvestment Act, Veterans Affairs, homelessness
Next week, Congress will host a number of hearings on housing topics. On January 14th, the House Financial Services Committee will examine proposed changes to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), one of the main drivers of affordable housing investment and a key tool for promoting opportunity across the country. The Committee will also host a separate hearing on gentrification and homelessness. An overview of the Committee’s hearings is available here.
Meanwhile, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hear testimony on the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. To view the hearing, please visit the Committee’s website here.