- Percentage Limitation: Authorizes a PHA to project-base up to 20 percent of its authorized voucher allocation rather than 20 percent of its voucher funding. The bill also enables a PHA to provide up to an additional 10 percent of its authorized vouchers to create units targeting homeless individuals and families, veterans, or households with persons who are elderly or have disabilities; or units in areas where vouchers are difficult to use due to market conditions.
- Income Mixing: Allows a PHA to provide PBV assistance to properties where the assistance does not exceed 25 percent of the units in a project or 25 units, whichever is greater. (Current law does not include the 25 unit measure.) Further, in areas where vouchers are difficult to use, or in census tracts with a poverty rate of 20 percent or lower, PHAs may provide project-based assistance to up to 40 percent of units in a project.
- Contract Terms: Extends the permissible term of PBV contracts and extensions from 15 to 20 years, and requires PHAs in the event of insufficient funding to prioritize payments for units subject to a PBV contract if other cost-saving measures are available. Enables a PHA and private owner to add eligible units to a PBV contract without competitive process and to agree on additional conditions, subject to statutory limitations, or to enter into a PBV contract after construction has begun provided that the owner demonstrates compliance with applicable requirements prior to execution of a HAP Contract.
- Rent Adjustments: The amendment to this subparagraph allows PHAs and owners to agree to limit the amount of a requested rent increase to the operating cost adjustment factor (OCAF) permitted for most properties with Section 8 contracts with HUD, and similarly allows owners limited to annual OCAF increases to request an additional adjustment periodically up to the reasonable rent for the units.
- Project-basing of Special Purpose Vouchers: Clarifies that PHAs may project-base HUD- Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) and Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers under the same policies and procedures applicable to general purpose vouchers.
October 30, 2015
Congress Approves 2-year Budget Deal
Early Friday morning, the Senate passed a two-year budget deal that raises the debt ceiling. The deal was approved in a 64-35 vote, shortly after 3 a.m. The Senate’s passage of the agreement comes after the House of Representatives passed the deal, with a 266-167 vote, on Thursday. The bill is now goes to President Obama and he is expected to sign it into law.
The two-year budget deal suspends the federal borrowing cap until March 16, 2017, leaving the next needed hike to fall under the next President. The deal also provides funding relief to spending caps previously set by the sequester provision of the 2011 Budget Control Act. The deal provides an additional $80 billion in funding over the next two years. Specifically, the deal increases the total funding available to discretionary programs in FY 2016 by $50 billion and by $30 billion in FY 2017, split evenly between defense and domestic programs. The deal also provides additional funding for the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, which is used to finance military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and operations in Afghanistan.
NAHMA expects Congressional Appropriations Committees will begin distributing the additional spending authority to each of the appropriations subcommittees so they can rewrite their funding bills based on the new levels. NAHMA will continue to advocate that Congress should fully fund all affordable housing programs, specifically renew all project-based rental assistance contracts, both for HUD and USDA’s Rural Housing, restore HOME funding, and provide sufficient funding for the Housing Choice Voucher program. Grassroots advocacy alerts, targeted at funding levels for housing programs, will be provided to members over the next few weeks.
Representative Waters introduces the Project-Based Voucher Improvement Act of 2015
On October 23, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, introduced H.R. 3827, the Project-Based Voucher Improvement Act. According to the press release, “the bill would allow public housing authorities (PHAs) increased flexibility to develop new units of housing to serve vulnerable populations, including the homeless, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, and to create housing opportunities in areas where vouchers are difficult to use….The bill would facilitate the ability of PHAs to enter into agreements with private and nonprofit owners to use a share of its vouchers at a particular housing development. Through “project-basing” PHAs are able to partner with social service agencies to provide supportive housing.”
Key Provisions of H.R. 3827 include:
Posted