The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) will be hosting six 30-minute introductory webinars about preserving HUD-assisted Multifamily housing. For every new affordable home created, two are lost due to deterioration, abandonment, or conversion to more expensive housing. Data from the NLIHC/Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation National Housing Preservation Database shows that nearly one out of ten publicly supported rental homes are subject to expiring affordability restrictions in the next five years.
Housing and tenants’ rights advocates play a key role in preserving affordable housing. All are welcome to join the webinars, regardless of experience with affordable housing preservation. Register for the full training series here.
Webinar Schedule (All webinars are from 1:00 pm-1:40 pm ET):
- March 8: Introduction to Affordable Housing Preservation & Identifying Key Risks in Your Community
This session will discuss how to identify what buildings are at risk in your community and highlight some of the greatest risks to affordable housing, and will explain the difference between HUD mortgage programs and HUD rental assistance programs. This session will also look at the loss of affordable housing units nationwide and explain why preservation is so important.
- March 22: Understanding Project-Based Rental Assistance
The project-based rental assistance (PBRA) program provides rental assistance for 1.2 million low and extremely low income households across the country. This session will provide an overview of the structure and oversight of PBRA units, including how PBRA differs from other HUD housing programs.
- April 19: Understanding HAP Contract Renewals, Terminations, and Opt-Outs
Because project-based rental assistance is provided through a contract between HUD and private owners, any contract violations or failure to renew the contract at the end of its term puts the affordability of a property at risk. This session will explain those risks and discuss how advocates can identify and respond to them.
- May 3: Understanding Mortgage Prepayments and Maturities
HUD mortgage programs also ensure housing affordability and come with a different set of risks. This session will provide an overview of the types of HUD mortgage programs, affordability risks, and strategies for responding to them.
- May 17: Ensuring Decent, Safe, and Sanitary Housing Conditions in PBRA Properties
Property owners have an obligation to maintain HUD-subsidized properties in decent, safe, and sanitary conditions. Too often, this requirement is not adequately enforced. When building conditions deteriorate to a significant extent, the property is at risk of closure. This session will provide an overview of habitability requirements, HUD enforcement mechanisms, and local strategies to respond to poor building conditions in project-based rental assistance properties.
- May 31: Recapitalization and How to Finance the Repair of Affordable Housing
Often, additional financial resources are needed to repair a property and/or encourage a property owner to continue to receive HUD assistance or support a preservation sale. This session will provide an overview of the basic economics of affordable housing properties and recapitalization tools, and will address why a lack of financial resources threatens the preservation of affordable housing.