Articles Tagged With: HUD News

November 20, 2017

HUD To Provide $5 Billion For Hurricane Harvey Recovery In Texas

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a multi-billion dollar pledge to help Texas recover from Hurricane Harvey. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the funds will “support the repair of damaged homes, businesses and critical infrastructure in the State.” According to the press release, the funds are possible via the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017. This “appropriated $7.4 billion in CDBG-DR funding for major disasters declared in calendar year 2017. To distribute these funds, the Act requires HUD to direct the funds to the areas most impacted by qualifying disasters.” The press release adds that HUD will announce additional grants “to other jurisdictions as more data become available on the unmet needs | more...

November 17, 2017

HUD Charges Kansas Property Owners With Fair Housing Violations

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is charging a Kansas landlord with Fair Housing Act violations after allegations of sexual harassment. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the agency “announced today it is charging the owner and landlord of several rental properties in Wichita, Kansas, and his wife, who co-owned one of the properties, with housing discrimination after the landlord allegedly sexually harassed two female tenants at his properties. HUD’s charge further alleges that he also made discriminatory statements based on one of the women’s race”. The Fair Housing Act prohibits a wide range of discriminatory practices in housing including sexual harassment. According to the HUD official site, it is a violation of Fair Housing laws to “discriminate against individuals on the basis of | more...

November 9, 2017

HUD Makes Disaster Relief Available For California Wildfire Victims

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced disaster relief for victims of California wildfires, following a presidential declaration of federal disaster areas in the state. According to a press release published on the HUD/FHA official site, “HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of California and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes due to wildfires” in the counties affected by the major disaster declaration. Those counties include: Butte Lake Mendocino Napa Nevada Orange Sonoma Yuba Those in federally declared disaster areas are eligible for a variety of measures from the FHA and HUD including FHA loan foreclosure relief in the form of a 90-day moratorium for all FHA mortgage foreclosure actions in the affected areas. Home owners may also be eligible | more...

November 8, 2017

FHA and HUD Announce Extended Foreclosure Relief For Hurricane Victims

By Joe Wallace

The FHA and HUD have announced extended foreclosure relief for victims of recent hurricanes. According to the FHA/HUD official site, those in federally declared disaster areas created by Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Harvey, and Hurricane Maria will have time added to the original 90-day foreclosure moratorium. According to the HUD press release, “FHA is extending this foreclosure relief in Presidentially declared counties and municipalities where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is operating its Individual Assistance Program.” “Under the expanded moratorium, FHA is instructing lenders and servicers to suspend all foreclosure actions against borrowers until the following dates: Hurricane Harvey – February 21, 2018 Hurricane Irma – March 9, 2018 Hurricane Maria – March 19, 2018” Who Qualifies For Extended Foreclosure Relief? According to HUD, those with FHA-insured mortgages qualify for | more...

November 7, 2017

HUD Takes Measures To Speed Up Hurricane Recovery Efforts

By Joe Wallace

HUD has announced it is taking measures to speed up hurricane recovery efforts through a series of red tape-cutting waivers that affect regulatory and administrative procedures. According to a press release on the official site, a set of 19 waivers have been created, intended to help communities “to accelerate their recovery from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. While HUD granted a number of individual waivers following disasters in the past, today’s announcement represents one of the largest collections of regulatory and administrative waivers ever issued by the Department at one time” according to the HUD official site. A variety of programs are affected by these new waivers. They include: The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program Emergency | more...

October 5, 2017

HUD Secretary Ben Carson On Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief

By Bruce Reichstein

The head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development has written an open letter to the victims of Hurricane Harvey discussing the FHA/HUD outreach to affected areas and options for disaster relief. According to the FHA/HUD official site, HUD Secretary Ben Carson addressed those in the federal disaster areas in Texas stating, “HUD is tasked with comprehensive, long-term disaster relief and has been working on the front lines in Texas. We are your ear on the ground and your voice in Washington, and we are committed to providing a compassionate and effective response.” Secretary Carson’s remarks included options for those recovering from Hurricane Harvey. “We are currently locating vacancies and moving displaced residents into safer housing.” “We are also working closely with homeless shelters and with temporary shelters, ensuring | more...

October 4, 2017

HUD Announces Settlement In Fair Housing Complaints Against The State Of Maryland

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a Fair Housing case involving complaints against the State of Maryland. According to HUDNo.17-088, the agency has “…announced an agreement to resolve a discrimination complaint brought by fair housing advocates against Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) challenging the fairness of the State’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.” Under the terms of the agreement, new or modified policies, incentives, and “more flexible program rules” will be enacted to “streamline the creation of affordable housing in higher opportunity neighborhoods in the Baltimore region”. The origin of the case involved a complaint filed with HUD in 2011. The Baltimore Regional Housing Campaign (BRHC) reported to HUD that the state of Maryland, “maintained a policy requiring local jurisdictions to | more...

September 25, 2017

HUD Announces Further Disaster Relief For U.S. Virgin Islands

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced disaster relief for St. Croix Island, the latest of the U.S. Virgin Islands to be declared a major federal disaster area. There have been a string of announcements for areas in Puerto Rico and elsewhere as the damage has been surveyed and, in some cases, when additional concerns are raised by new tropical storms and hurricanes. St. Croix is now able to receive federal disaster assistance from FEMA, HUD, and the FHA among other agencies. Home owners in presidentially-declared major disaster areas should contact FEMA as soon as possible to determine what benefits and relief are available to them. Those who own property damaged in the natural disaster should contact their lenders and insurance agents to determine next steps in recovery, | more...

September 22, 2017

HUD Announces Disaster Relief For Puerto Rico

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced federal disaster relief for natural disaster victims in Puerto Rico. According to a press release on the FHA/HUD official site, the following municipalities have been declared major disaster areas: Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamón, Caguas, Canóvanas, Carolina, Cataño, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guayama, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Humacao, Jayuya, Juana Díaz, Juncos, Las Piedras, Loíza, Luquillo, Manati, Maunabo, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Ponce, Rio Grande, Salinas, San Juan, San Lorenzo, Santa Isabel, Toa Baja, Toa Alta, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba and Yabucoa. Those in a federally declared disaster area have options for relief from agencies including FEMA, the FHA, and HUD. According to the press release, “HUD’s | more...

September 19, 2017

HUD Announces Disaster Relief For Virgin Islands, Georgia

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced disaster relief for parts of Georgia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As more parts of the United States and its’ protectorates are affected by hurricanes and tropical storms, many of those areas are being declared federal disaster areas and as such become eligible for certain aid from HUD, FEMA, and other agencies. The disaster declaration for St. Thomas and St. John islands, plus Camden, Chatham, and Glynn counties in Georgia mean that the FHA “activates a mortgagee letter making a variety of insured loan programs available for disaster victims and putting into play use of special loan servicing and underwriting requirements” according to the FHA/HUD official site. What options are available in these areas? According to HUD, those directly affected | more...