Every Tuesday in April, HUD webinars will feature sessions on how you can help HUD-assisted residents access and manage their economic impact payments from March’s American Rescue Plan.
As part of HUD's Financial Capability Month, for follow webinars are offered:
House Committee on Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) is circulating a sign-on letter to her House colleagues in support of strong rental assistance funding levels for several HUD programs, including Section 202 Housing for the Elderly and Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance. Once the signatures have been gathered, the letter will be sent to House majority and minority appropriators. Representatives have until April 21 to sign the letter.
HUD is promoting a free webinar on Integrated Pest Management geared toward multifamily housing.
The webinar will provide an overview of cockroach management, including their prevalence in low income communities, what factors contribute to high infestation rates, how to reduce cockroach infestations using IPM, and the benefit of IPM for reducing cockroach allergens and insecticide residues.
Within 48 hours during the week of April 5, HUD has announced dispersal of nearly $5.7 billion to state and local governments for housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness or other people with low or extremely low incomes.
As HUD moves forward with its overhaul of physical inspections, the agency posted an updated set of draft building standards that will be evaluated during inspections under the new NSPIRE model. HUD's NSPIRE website now hosts a fully revised version of the new standards (Version 2.1, dated April 2, 2021), which will eventually be incorporated into the final NSPIRE inspection protocol.
To celebrate the 53rd anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, HUD hosted a virtual celebration on April 7 featuring FHEO Acting Assistant Secretary Jeanine Worden and HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, among other speakers.
During the webcast, Acting Assistant Secretary Worden described the barriers and discrimination that she faced growing up. In response to a question about what HUD's FHEO is doing to align with the President's goals on equity and diversity, Worden answered that the department has to start by "dismantling" in order to "go in the right direction."
On March 26, LeadingAge president and CEO Katie Smith Sloan sent a letter to housing authorizing committees on our wish-list for affordable housing within any infrastructure package. President Biden is expected to release an outline of his infrastructure proposal, Build Back Better, the week of March 29 and congressional hearings have begun on the topic.
LeadingAge’s housing priorities for an infrastructure bill include:
The House Committee on Financial Services is circulating a discussion draft of the Supporting Seniors and Tenants in Subsidized Housing Act. The draft bill, a version of 2020’s Emergency Housing Assistance for Older Adults Act introduced in the House (as HR 6873) and Senate (as S 4177). The draft bill is sponsored by Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), the chair of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance.
On March 22, HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing released new tools for residents and owners. HUD has a new guide for tenants and owners, “Rights and Responsibilities for Tenants & Property Owners” and a new guide for tenants, “Managing Your Finances During COVID-19 Pandemic.” Both are available in English and Spanish.
On March 9, the Department of Homeland Security, on behalf of the U.S. government, announced it will no longer defend the Trump Administration’s 2019 public charge rule.
