HUD will publish sub-regulatory guidance regarding the NHTF Allocation Plan and maximum per-unit subsidies in early spring 2016. First expected in this fall, this guidance will add more detail to the interim rule implementing the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) first published in January 2015 (see Memo, 2/2).
Some state officials who will be administering their state’s NHTF may be reluctant to begin the process of getting public input for the NHTF Allocation Plan until HUD provides more guidance. However, NLIHC urges residents, advocates, and nonprofit developers to engage with their state officials right away so that ideas about priorities can be discussed. The NHTF is targeted to rental housing for extremely low income (ELI) households, those with income below 30% of the area median income or the national poverty level, whichever is greater. Developing and maintaining rental housing for ELI households with affordable rents warrants considerable input to identify creative ways to achieve the goals of the NHTF.
In August, HUD encouraged states to use informal means to notify stakeholders about the NHTF and to obtain their ideas for shaping the state’s NHTF Allocation Plan ahead of the formal, required public participation process (see Memo, 8/31).
In other NHTF news, HUD’s NHTF webpage lists agencies in 33 states and the District of Columbia designated by a governor or legislature to administer the NHTF. A number of other states have designated their state agencies, but have not yet made it to HUD’s official list. Advocates are urged to monitor the status of agencies designated to administer the NHTF in their states.
The HUD list is at https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/htf/grantees