Feb. 29 (UPI) — The Biden administration Thursday announced new actions it said would create tens of thousands of affordable homes while promoting fairer and more transparent rental markets.
Among dozens of actions aimed at improving federal actions to improve access to affordable housing the White House said it would indefinitely extend the Federal Housing Administration and Federal Financing Bank Risk Sharing program, which was suspended by the Trump administration but restarted in 2021 under Biden.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Treasury Department will use extensions of program to provide “an ongoing source of capital so that state and local housing finance agencies (HFAs) can continue to offer FHA insured multifamily loans at reduced interest rates to create and preserve high-quality, affordable rental homes.”
Since it was resumed, the White House said, more than 12,000 affordable housing units have been created or preserved with nearly $2 billion in FHA-insured loans. By extending the program, an estimated 38,000 new units will be created over ten years.
HUD will also modernize and streamline the HOME program, described by the White House as the largest annual block grant to support housing supply.
During the Biden administration HUD has allocated $4.35 billion for that program to both build and preserve rental homes and to help families be able to own homes.
HUD grant funding of $115 million for an estimated 1,100 housing units for low-income seniors was also announced Thursday.
HUD is also launching an effort to increase the supply and affordability of manufactured homes through $225 million in grants in the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement program.
These PRICE grants can be used for repairs and improvement of homes in manufactured housing communities. It’s the first time federal grants are being made available specifically for investments in manufactured housing communities.
For renters HUD will be releasing new resources while clarifying policies and laws prohibiting “certain non-rent fees in its multifamily, public housing, and housing choice vouchers and project based vouchers programs.”
It’s being done to help make sure tenants aren’t charged or penalized by impermissible fees, according to the White House.
A Tenants Bill of Rights has also been adopted on all 200 Department of Defense military bases, covering roughly 203,000 houses for service members.
