Housing News

On August 31st HUD published the Fiscal Year 2019 Fair Market Rents (FMRs). FMRs are used to determine payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, initial renewal rents for some expiring project-based Section 8 contracts, rent ceilings for the HOME Investment Partnership program, among others. Public housing agencies and other interested parties may comment on the FMRs and request a reevaluation within 30 days.

On September 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded nearly $99 million to provide affordable housing to people with disabilities. The awards will result in new vouchers to provide permanent housing to an additional 12,000 low-income residents, including 550 in Massachusetts.

New research from Boston University shows that local political participation in housing and development policy is dominated by individuals who are older, male, longtime residents, voters in local elections and homeowners. Moreover, the research finds, these individuals overwhelmingly oppose new housing construction. The authors of the study conclude that these participatory inequalities may be contributing to rising housing costs.

The first set of Community Health Initiative (CHI) awards from Boston Children’s Hospital were announced on August 28th under the Determination of Need Program. Determination of Need (DON) is the state’s mandatory public regulatory program and approval process that healthcare facilities must abide by for the approval of major capital projects.

The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) will host an information session on the newly-announced supportive housing competition on Thursday, September 13.  The session will be held in DHCD’s Boston offices at 100 Cambridge Street, 2nd floor conference room C, and will begin at 11:00 a.m. 

On August 17, CHAPA submitted a comment letter to HUD in response to the department’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to reconsider its 2013 Disparate Impact rule under the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, HUD seeks public comment on whether the rule is consistent with the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v.

CHAPA is currently seeking 2-3 additional communities under the Municipal Engagement Initiative. Complete applications must be submitted via email to Dana LeWinter, Municipal Engagement Director, at dlewinter@chapa.org by 5 PM on Monday, August 20, 2018.

On July 26, Representative James E. Clyburn (D-SC) introduced legislation to strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program by increasing the amount of credits states can allocate in a given year and increasing the credit percentage for individual projects.

Read CHAPA's August Housing Briefs for state and federal housing updates and recent research and reports.

On August 7, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), working with the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), announced an upcoming funding round for supportive housing. The funding competition will be held in December 2018.