The economic distress caused by the coronavirus threatens the housing security of millions of Americans. LeadingAge’s mantra that housing is health care has gained overnight converts. Stable housing is healthcare, and it’s also key to a stable workforce.
HUD and other federal housing regulators have begun to take steps to protect some homeowners and some renters from foreclosure and eviction.
On March 22, HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing and FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery released a statement to ensure stakeholders “understand the status of our operations and our plans as health and economic events unfold and evolve.”
“The responses of our stakeholders, as always, should remain faithful to our Constitution, to the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and to all Federal Laws and related regulations,” Commissioner Montgomery said.
The CDC has issued Interim Guidance, “Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in Retirement Communities and Independent Living Facilities.” This guidance is for owners, administrators, operators, workers, volunteers, visitors, and residents of independent living facilities and retirement communities that are not healthcare facilities, including federally-subsidized senior housing. The Interim Guidance notes several different kinds of independent housing “that is usually age-restricted” with support services for older adults it i
LeadingAge is at the forefront of seeking relief from Congress for affordable senior housing providers grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
LeadingAge is urging Senate and House members to include financial and regulatory relief in any next emergency supplemental bill. Action on emergency COVID-19 bills has been fast and furious, and LeadingAge is hopeful some of our key asks will be included in an emergency package.
The first national call of HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing regarding COVID-19 had significantly more interest than phone capacity. To catch our members up on the content of the March 18 call, we offer the following summary of the speakers’ main points below. This article references and mostly reiterates information in HUD’s March 16 Frequently Asked Questions document, which HUD is updating every couple of days.
In March hearings of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, HUD Secretary Ben Carson was asked to defend his department’s work to help HUD-assisted communities during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, March 12, HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing published a Question and Answer document to help housing providers navigate COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that was recently declared a global health emergency.
On March 6, LeadingAge wrote to the White House Coronavirus Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, urging increased HUD attention to senior affordable housing communities faced with the coronavirus outbreak.
LeadingAge affordable housing members and their residents are in need of HUD-specific guidance related to emergency equipment, supplies, and staffing, as well as guidance on how quarantines would work within an affordable community, visitor policies for health services staff and for non-health service staff, and for more communication with providers and residents.
LeadingAge is seeking feedback from affordable housing provider members on a proposal put forth by HUD as part of its fiscal year 2021 request to Congress.
HUD is proposing to transition five year Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts (PRACs) from their current annual renewal cycle with budget based rent increases to a five-year renewal cycle (subject to annual appropriations) with an operating cost adjustment factor.
The headlines are clear: The Administration’s overall request for HUD in FY21 is terrible. HUD is seeking a 15% cut to its own agency. The request seeks to eliminate the HOME and CDBG program, the national Housing Trust Fund, basically eliminate public housing as we know it today, cut homeless assistance grants, and appears to not provide enough funding for voucher renewals in FY21. These are all programs that serve older adults and are all proposals LeadingAge strongly opposes.
