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Home >Newsroom > April 2009 Newsletter
April 2009
In this issue:
Weatherizing Multifamily Housing: A Unique Opportunity to Help Low Income Families and Reduce Energy Consumption>>
MacArthur Foundation Announces Support for Innovative State and Local Preservation Strategies >>
Housing Finance Agencies Respond to ARRA>>
Join the Discussion: Online Rental Housing Preservation Forum Launched >>
News from D.C. >>
Preservation Commentary
"We're creating jobs immediately by ...weatherizing 2 million homes...Why wouldn't we want to make that type of investment?" (President Barack Obama, Press Conference, February 9, 2009).
We all know that affordable rental housing preservation not only ensures that families have stable affordable homes, but also quickly creates jobs: repairing existing housing can be done quickly, speeding the economic impact of the federal stimulus investment.
The tie between quick job creation, energy savings and affordable housing is not lost on the Obama Administration. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will create tens of thousands of jobs through funding targeted to the repair of Sec. 8 and public housing, investment in stalled tax credit properties, and the rehabilitation of foreclosed homes.
In addition to $250 million for energy retrofits of HUD assisted housing and $4 billion to repair public housing, there is considerable opportunity to make much needed improvements to affordable multifamily housing using Dept. of Energy resources- principally through Weatherization and State Energy Program grants. More than $8 billion was provided through these programs. Our summary of these programs can be found here.
In this newsletter, we suggest how you can influence state plans for allocating these energy resources.
ARRA also devoted significant new funding to state housing finance agencies to re-ignite the low income housing tax credit market. The Trust is tracking how states are responding and we encourage our readers to respond to agencies seeking public comment on the investment choices they will make over the next year.
If a significant amount of energy conservation funding and new state housing resources can be harnessed for affordable multifamily homes it will mean the preservation of much needed housing, wide scale energy savings for low income families, and dramatic reductions in carbon emissions-- a classic win, win, win.
Stay Tuned,
Michael Bodaken
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| Weatherizing Multifamily Housing: A Unique Opportunity to Help Low Income Families and Reduce Energy Consumption
      The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included a dramatic increase in Weatherization funding for residential energy efficiency improvements, but many state policies will need to change for multifamily housing to benefit.
When it comes to achieving wide scale residential energy savings, our nation's multifamily homes should not be ignored. One-third of families are renters and energy retrofits of rental housing are eligible under the Weatherization program. Older multifamily housing- which is home to many of our nation's low and very low-income residents- are at risk from disrepair.
But in many states, Weatherization funding has been exclusively targeted to single-family housing. In order to reach the goals set out by Pres. Obama, we encourage states deploy these funds for both single and multifamily housing.
Right now, state administering agencies are developing plans to distribute these funds. State plans are due to the federal government by May 12. Many states are holding public forums. These forums are an opportunity to explain the critical need to make energy efficient improvements in multifamily housing and improve the lives of the low-income tenants who call it home.
(Click here to print a one page policy brief with specific recommendations.)
Using Weatherization funds in multifamily homes achieves several goals:
+ Energy retrofits of multifamily housing can help states meet their required goals. States must demonstrate they are making progress towards their goals or risk having funds withheld.
+ Putting the funds to immediate use in multifamily properties will preserve much needed affordable rental housing
+ Deploying the funds for multifamily will produce much needed green jobs in the shortest amount of time.
+ Where acquisition and rehab projects are stalled due to lack of resources, using Weatherization could help fill financing gaps.
+ Energy retrofits of multifamily housing would dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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| MacArthur Foundation Announces Support for Innovative State and Local Preservation Strategies
 The MacArthur Foundation is investing $32.5 million in innovative, replicable state and local strategies that will preserve more than 70,000 affordable rental homes. The funding went to 12 state and local governments that are performing path breaking roles in affordable housing preservation.
According to the Foundation, these new projects will assist military families in Maryland, seniors in rural Iowa and Vermont, low-wage workers in Florida and Oregon, and people who have been homeless in Los Angeles. They will promote energy efficiency in Pennsylvania, save distressed buildings in Minnesota, improve management of rental housing in Washington State, and ensure that rental homes are available in gentrifying areas near public transit in Denver.
These investments are expected to spur a wave of policy reform in cities and states that will make it possible to preserve one million homes this decade.
For more information about the state and local preservation leaders, click here to visit the MacArthur Foundation's website.
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| Housing Finance Agencies Respond to ARRA
State housing finance agencies nationwide are moving to adopt policies and implement the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act's (ARRA) housing provisions. These provisions include an extraordinary amount of new resources intended to stimulate the Low Income Housing Tax Credit market: $2.25 billion for the Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP) to assist stalled low income housing tax credit transactions and a $3 billion program that allows agencies to "exchange" 9% tax credits to the Treasury for 85 cents per dollar of credit. The programs require that 75% of TCAP funds be expended by February 17, 2010 and that exchange dollars be committed by January 1, 2011.
The National Housing Trust is tracking how states are responding to ARRA and is working with state agencies to streamline implementation of these funds in a way that maximizes their ability to serve low-income households living in affordable rental housing. Our latest summary of agency responses can be found here.
The landscape for implementation of these new resources and tools is ever changing. Some agencies have developed draft detailed plans (e.g. California and Michigan), while others await upcoming guidance from HUD and Treasury before adopting their policies. The Trust's tracking chart will be updated as additional information becomes available.
We urge you to contact your state housing finance agency as it determines how to best allocate these new resources.
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| Join the Discussion: Online Rental Housing Preservation Forum Launched
 If you've ever wondered where to go to pose questions and exchange ideas with peers about preservation policies and practices, we have the place for you! The National Housing Trust, in partnership with the Center for Housing Policy, is managing an ongoing, online discussion forum dedicated to rental housing preservation. The forum is hosted through the Center's policy solutions website, HousingPolicy.org.
The forum will allow you to pose questions to your peers, share experiences, and keep up- to-date on the latest policy developments.
Joining the discussion is easy: visit www.forum.housingpolicy.org and click "Sign Up". Once you've created a profile, select the Rental Housing Preservation forum and click the "Join Rental Housing Preservation" link that now appears at the top of the page. Please email Todd Nedwick (tnedwick@nhtinc.org) if you have any trouble.
We look forward to seeing you in the forum!
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| News from D.C.
 Appropriations update: Project-based Sec. 8 funding receives major boost. Congress included $2 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to renew project-based Sec. 8 contracts. An additional $7.5 billion was provided in the subsequent fiscal year 2009 appropriations bill.
Prior to ARRA, the project-based Sec. 8 program was significantly underfunded, leading to short term contracts and late payments to owners.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the program needs $8 billion to renew all expiring contracts for fiscal year 2010 appropriations. President Obama is expected to release details on his FY 2010 budget plan in early May.
Appraisal fix will help local governments preserve distressed affordable housing. Section 237 of the FY09 HUD appropriations act corrects property appraisal rules that required local governments to pay market prices for distressed HUD properties without taking into account the cost of needed property repairs. This provision requires HUD to use standard industry appraisal practices for these sales, thereby making it more feasible for cities to acquire these properties.
President Obama moves to fill key HUD positions. Carol Galante has been appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs at HUD. Galante is currently the President of BRIDGE Housing Corporation, the largest nonprofit developer of affordable apartments and homes in California.
David Stevens has been nominated for Housing Assistant Secretary and FHA Commissioner. Stevens currently serves as the president and chief operating officer of the Long & Foster Companies.
Helen R. Kanovsky has been chosen for General Counsel of HUD. Helen R. Kanovsky is currently the chief Operating Officer of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust.
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