HUD Training A Success
The Chicago Rehab Network hosted a special one
day training session Oct. 30 to provide HUD owners
and managers with an overview of critical information
for the administration of project-based Section 8
properties. The sessions included coverage of recent
revisions to the HUD Handbook 4350.3, Occupancy
Requirements of Subsidized Multifamily Housing
Programs, which became effective Sept. 24, 2007.
Illinois owners, property supervisors and site staff
responsible for implementing these updated
requirements were invited to attend the session. CRN
also provided an overview of the Illinois Preservation
Act, detailing how the act shapes the rights of HUD
tenants and how engaged tenants are crucial for to
preserving housing. The training, which drew over
300 people was held at the Hyatt McCormick Place.
The agenda for the day included presentations from
Edward Hinsberger, director of HUD's Chicago
Multifamily Hub (above photo) ; a training on
occupancy requirements by Curt Hayes, of
Compliance Solution, and a session on the Illinois
housing preservation law was led by the Illinois
Housing Development Authority and a session on
working successfully with HUD tenants was
conducted by the Chicago Rehab Network. Julia
Stasch, of the MacArthur Foundation, provided an
effective overview of the Preservation Compact.
"We believe it is possible for owners, managers and
tenants to work together to create the conditions
necessary for decent places to live and a thriving
housing business," said Rachel Johnston, Chicago
Rehab Network director of operations. The training is
designed to help managers and owners understand
new federal guidelines for tenant occupancy and
tenant participation in organizing. A presentation
devoted to Illinois' housing preservation law, which
gives tenants the right to buy properties that opt-out of
subsidized programs, generated a lot of interest.
Without active tenant participation it is virtually
impossible to preserve affordable housing. We
estimate that 9,000 units of 12,400 units could be lost
by 2010, in Chicago alone, unless federally restricted
mortgages and contracts are renewed. These
federally subsidized apartments are not linked to
individual housing vouchers, but are kept affordable by
the contracts between owners and the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Ms. Stasch talked to trainees about the Preservation
Compact, a Cook County-based initiative that aims to
protect 75,000 units of affordable housing by 2010.
She stressed the need for effective partnerships and
innovative ideas to meet the Compact's goals.
