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HUD recently issued a press release stating its intention to reopen for public comment its 2015 final rule on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) and made available a pre-publication of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which HUD will soon officially publish in the Federal Register. 

A recent HUD memo suspended use of the CNA etool for Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) budgeting purposes. Until further notice, HUD directs PRAC projects needing to submit a rent increase to follow previous guidance in HUD Handbook 4350.1, Chapter 7: Processing Budgeted Rent Increases.

The "CNA eTool for PRAC requirement" memorandum reads:

HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) recently published a notice in the Federal Register on the allocations, common application, waivers, and alternative requirements for funds allocated to address unmet needs from disasters that occurred in 2017. This $10.03 billion allocation supplements the $7.4 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds previously granted in February.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN), and a bipartisan group of their Senate colleagues recently introduced the Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act, which seeks to better understand and respond to America’s housing crisis by creating a bipartisan affordable housing task force. The task force created by today’s legislation would:

Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) recently introduced the “Rent Relief Act.” Under Harris’ Rent Relief Act, a refundable tax credit would be available to individuals who live in rental housing and pay more than 30 percent of their gross income for the taxable year on their rent including utilities. Eligible individuals would qualify for the tax benefit by determining the total amount spent yearly on rent, taking into account the family’s annual income...

To help low-income public housing residents increase their income and move toward self-sufficiency, HUD recently awarded $14 million to seven public housing authorities (PHAs). HUD's Jobs Plus Initiative connects public housing residents with employment, education, and financial empowerment services—a proven model to help public housing residents find and keep better paying jobs.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) recently released its annual report, Out of Reach. It documents the gap between wages and the cost of rental housing across the United States. According to the findings, even with the recent wage growth for the lowest-paid workers, there is still nowhere in the country where someone working a full-time minimum wage job could afford to rent a modest two-bedroom apartment.             

HUD Secretary Ben Carson recently announced an agreement with the nation's largest public housing authority to correct dangerous lead-based paint and other health and safety hazards. HUD, the Justice Department, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached a Consent Decree with New York City and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to resolve widespread issues of lead, mold, pest infestations, and other inadequate housing conditions.

HUD Secretary Ben Carson recently announced the first round of “EnVision Center” designations in 17 communities across the nation. One of Secretary Carson’s signature initiatives, EnVision Centers will offer HUD-assisted families access to support services that can help them achieve self-sufficiency, thereby making scarce federal resources more readily available to a greater number of households currently waiting to receive HUD assistance.

HUD recently announced that it will formally seek the public's comment on whether its 2013 Disparate Impact Regulation is consistent with the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. "HUD remains committed to making sure housing-related policies and practices treat people fairly," said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. "We will always challenge any practice that discrim...