The omnibus fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill, released March 9, includes a 21% increase for HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program and the largest funding for new Section 202 homes since fiscal year 2010.

The final FY22 bill, to be enacted more than five months into the fiscal year, includes other LeadingAge priorities, funding and improvements for the participation of Section 202/PRACs in HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program, full renewal funding for existing Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts (PRACs), Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, and Service Coordinator grants, and instructions for HUD on helping to address the gap in broadband access among HUD-assisted households. The bill also appears to provide funding for new Service Coordinators; LeadingAge is confirming this.

The bill is expected to be passed quickly by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Biden before the March 11 end of the current Continuing Resolution, although a one or two day extension of the CR is possible.

A LeadingAge funding chart comparing FY21 and FY22 funding levels is here.

Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly

Overall, the bill provides $1.003 billion for the Section 202 program, an increase of $178 million or 21% compared to FY21 funding for the Section 202 program.

The bill provides $199 million for new Section 202 homes. Appropriators estimate the funds could result in 2,200 new Section 202 homes with the deep operating subsidy provided by PRACs. This is the largest annual funding for new Section 202 homes since fiscal year 2010, before funding before funding for new homes under the program went dormant for several years. LeadingAge has worked feverishly to increase funding for new Section 202 homes for several years; the expansion of affordable senior housing is out top housing policy priority. In negotiations between the House and Senate versions of the FY22 HUD funding bill, LeadingAge had urged Congress to adopt the House’s $205 million vs. the Senate bill’s $52 million for new Section 202 homes. At $199 million, the FY22 funding level is almost double what was requested by HUD for FY22 ($100 million). Of the $199 million for new Section 202 housing, $10 million is for intergenerational housing.

The bill’s explanatory statement directs HUD to make all remaining funding provided in fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 for new Section 202 homes available within 60 days of enactment of this act, and to award that funding within 180 days of enactment of this act. LeadingAge estimates remaining funds from these years to total about $80 million. HUD shared it was waiting for new Section 202 funds to be enacted prior to release of the next notice of funding opportunity (NOFO); hopefully, the enactment of the FY22 bill will result in the national competition for the currently remaining $80 million (approximately) plus the new bill’s $199 million (minus the funding for intergenerational housing, which will be released in a separate NOFO).

The bill fully funds the renewal of Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts as well as contracts for existing grant-funded Service Coordinators.

Service Coordinators

The bill’s $125 million for Service Coordinators is sufficient to renew all existing contracts. It is unclear if the amount above what is needed for these grant renewals is to be used to expand the number of Service Coordinators (as HUD and the House bills would have) or to augment salaries of existing Service Coordinators (as the Senate bill would have), or some combination of the two. The bill directs HUD to expend the Service Coordinator funding within 120 days of the bill’s enactment; such language was in the Senate’s version of the bill and had LeadingAge’s support.

The bill’s explanatory statement directs HUD to implement the following recommendations from a 2016 GAO report, Elderly Housing: HUD Should Do More to Oversee Efforts to Link Residents to Services. These recommendations include continuing to improve the accuracy of HUD’s data on Section 202 properties with service coordination; developing and making available written guidance on assessing compliance with supportive services requirements; and developing and implementing procedures for verifying and analyzing performance data.

Rental Assistance Demonstration

For the success of the Section 202 PRAC program in the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, the bill provides up to $6 million to support PRAC rents for conversion to the Section 8 platform, an amount that was in the Senate’s FY22 HUD bill and which LeadingAge strongly supported. The funds will give HUD the ability to increase PRAC rents prior to conversion to ensure the transition to Section 8 PBRA or project-based vouchers occurs at rent levels sufficient to preserve these affordable senior housing homes well into the future.

The bill also includes language, again from the Senate’s bill and following HUD’s request, to allow Section 8 rents post-RAD conversion to be above 120% of Fair Market Rent to accommodate continuation of services provided by the Section 202 PRAC. LeadingAge strongly supported these RAD for PRAC improvements.

The bill also expands the RAD program to include Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities communities.

PBRA, Inspections, and REAC

In addition to fully funding the renewal of Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance contracts, the bill’s explanatory statement directs HUD to submit a report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations regarding the status, results, and enforcement actions, if any, of all physical inspections over the last five years of properties that received funding under this heading.

The bill’s explanatory statement directs HUD to report to appropriators on REAC inspections of all HUD assisted and/or insured properties. This report must include: the percentage of all inspected properties that received a REAC-inspected score of less than 65 since calendar year 2013; the number of properties in which the most recent REAC-inspected score represented a decline relative to the previous REAC-inspected score; a list of the ten metropolitan statistical areas with the lowest average REAC-inspected scores for all inspected properties; and a list of the ten states with the lowest average REAC-inspected scores for all inspected properties.

The bill also directs HUD to brief appropriators during fiscal year 2022 at key milestones in implementation and rulemaking related to the National Standards For The Physical Inspection Of Real Estate (NSPIRE0 inspection model, including HUD’s progress in addressing its inspection backlog.

Broadband

The bill encourages the HUD to help address the gap in broadband access among HUD-assisted households by: continuing the ConnectHome initiative; working in partnership with the USDA and FCC to improve broadband connectivity and promote the Lifeline universal service program; and providing relevant data, guidance, and technical assistance to HUD grantees to target resources efficiently to increase broadband connectivity. The agreement encourages HUD to consider needs of specific populations, such as older adult residents and residents with disabilities, in implementing these actions.

Further, the bill directs HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research to undertake an analysis of the extent to which broadband infrastructure barriers and high monthly costs result in HUD-assisted households receiving inadequate access to Internet, including potential methods for providing high-quality, subsidized broadband to HUD-assisted households.

LeadingAge has worked steadfastly to improve internet access to all HUD-assisted households.

Home Modification Grants

Once again, the bill provides $15 million through HUD’s Office of Hazard Control And Healthy Homes for “aging-in-place home modification grants” to enable low income older adult homeowners to remain in their homes through low-cost, high-impact home modifications. Currently, the program does not allow beneficiaries of this program to be low income older adult renters, despite the fact that 22% of older adult households are renters. The share of older adult households that are renters is projected to increase. Nonprofit organizations are eligible grantees of this modification program.

The full text of the bill is here.