The House and Senate are poised to pass the FY2012 Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill by the end of the week. The THUD appropriations bill is included in the "Mini-Bus Appropriations" package which will also include year-long funding for the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce. Further, the bill contains a stop-gap spending measure for the remaining departments (Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services) until December 16, 2011.
Below is a summary of some of the highlights from the THUD Conference Report:
Preservation of Rent Supplement, RAP and Section 8 Mod Rehab properties by converting tenant protection vouchers to project-based vouchers.
Sens. Merkley (D-OR) and Scott Brown (R-MA) championed a provision that would enable owners to convert tenant protection vouchers to project-based vouchers in order to preserve the property as long-term affordable housing. Rent Supplement and Rental Assistance Payment(RAP) contracts do not have an option for renewal. This important provision will help save thousands of affordable rental homes across the country. (This provision can be found on pg. 84 of the conference report which can be accessed
here.)
Extension of the Mark to Market Program through October 1, 2015.
The Mark to Market program is critical for minimizing loss claims on the FHA insurance fund and preserving affordable rental homes.
$10 million for tenant protection vouchers to maturing mortgage properties.
The conference report retains language to provide $10 million in tenant protection vouchers to residents of unassisted maturing mortgage properties. Without this provision, residents are at risk of paying higher rents or being evicted when the mortgage matures.
Project-based Section 8 Account funded at $9.3 billion for FY2012.
This number is slightly lower than both the House and Senate Appropriations bills and it leaves questions as to whether the final appropriated amount is sufficient to fully renew all contracts for the full year.
Rental Assistance Demonstration language included to preserve public housing.
This proposal would authorize the conversion of up to 60,000 public housing apartments to project-based section 8 contracts. The authority does not come with any new funding. (This provision can be found on pg. 79 of the conference report which can be accessed
here.)
Community Development programs remain funded, but with cuts.
The CDBG account received $3.3 billion of which $400 million can be used for disaster recovery assistance in certain areas. This is a reduction of $192 million from FY2011. The HOME fund received $1 billion, a reduction from FY2011 by $600 million. In addition, the bill includes new oversight requirements for community development program funds, including a requirement that homeownership units unsold after six months must be rented and that funds for projects uncompleted after four years must be repaid, with a one-year discretionary extension.
Other Provisions.
The bill also includes two other provisions that are vital to the preservation of affordable rental housing, such as allowing the transfer of project-based Section 8 contracts from physically or financially troubled buildings and retaining the project-based Section 8 contract for a building before and during the foreclosure process.
