Rural Housing Service – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces that it is soliciting competitive pre-applications for Section 514 Off-Farm Labor Housing (Off-FLH) loans and Section 516 Off- FLH grants for the construction of new Off-FLH units for domestic farm laborers, retired domestic farm laborers, or disabled domestic farm laborers. The program objective is to increase the supply of affordable housing for farm laborers. This Notice describes the method used to distribute funds, the pre-application and final application process, and submission requirements.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations for the Multi-Family Housing Direct Loans and Grants Programs to require that Section 515, 514, and 516 Multi-Family Housing program borrowers provide tenants with written notification a minimum of 30 days prior to a lease termination or eviction action for nonpayment of rent, as statutorily required by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, (CARES Act). The ``30-day notice'' requirement applies regardless of the existence of a presidentially declared national emergency or the availability of emergency rental assistance funds. This rule will require this notice to include instructions on how a tenant can cure the nonpayment to avoid eviction, and how to recertify household income. This final rule also adds that the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) may require MFH Section 515 and 514 borrowers and Section 516 grantees to issue information as provided by the Secretary during a presidential declaration of a public health emergency.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is amending the current regulation for the Multifamily Family Housing (MFH) Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP). This final rule will align the current criteria of priority projects with the Housing Act of 1949 while improving the customer experience with more timely and proactive responses to housing market demands and Administration priorities.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is updating its regulations and implementing changes related to the administration of property reserve accounts under the Multi-Family Housing (MFH) section 515, Rural Rental Housing (RRH), and section 514, 516 Farm Labor Housing (FLH) programs. This final rule will increase flexibility in project refinancing for additional capital improvements needed at MFH section 515, RRH, and section 514, 516 FLH properties.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), proposes to amend its regulation to implement changes related to the smoke alarm requirements for properties that receive funding from the MFH Section 515 Rural Rental Housing and the Section 514/516 Farm Labor Housing Direct Loan and Grant programs. These proposed changes are intended to align the Agency's smoke alarm requirements with the new qualifying smoke alarm standards set forth in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (Act). The Act requires each unit of federally assisted housing to contain hardwired or 10-year non- rechargeable, sealed, tamper-resistant, battery-powered smoke alarm devices.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), an agency in the Rural Development (RD) mission area of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), proposes to amend the current regulation for the following Single Family Housing (SFH) Direct Programs: Section 502 Direct Loan Program and the Section 504 Loan and Grant Program. The Agency also intends to update the Section 306C Loan and Grant Programs which is a program administered under the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), and where RHS is designated to make grants to eligible individuals. The intent of this proposed rule is to reduce the regulatory burdens on applicants, borrowers, and partners by enhancing program delivery, expanding customer service, promoting consistency between the direct and guaranteed SFH loan programs where feasible and aligning the programs with current housing market conditions and mortgage loan practices.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), proposes to amend its regulation to implement changes related to insurance requirements under the Multi-Family Housing (MFH) Direct Loan and Grant programs. The intent of this proposed rule is to align RD insurance coverage types, amounts, and deductibles with affordable housing industry standards to simplify the coverage amounts, deductible limits, and improve the customer experience with updated and understandable insurance requirements.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing an extension of the public comment period by 15 days for the notice of proposed rulemaking for the ``Updating Manufactured Housing Provisions.'' The intent of the extended comment period is to allow the public additional time to review and provide comments on the proposed changes.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), proposes to amend the current regulation for the Off-Farm Labor Housing (Off-FLH) program by clarifying the grant agreement term and adopting the period of performance as required by Federal award information requirements. The changes in this proposed rule are expected to clarify for applicants and grantees their obligations and requirements as Federal award recipients.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces that it is accepting applications under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, for the Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Disaster Repair Grant Program to provide technical assistance for repairing essential community facilities damaged by Presidentially declared disasters in calendar year 2022. The funding amount is up to $2,500,000 and will remain available until expended. The grant funds will be administered in accordance with this notice of funding availability and all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements of the Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training (CF TAT) Grant Program.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing the implementation of two pilot programs for the Section 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP), which are the Tribal Property Valuation Pilot Program and the Tribal Rehabilitation Pilot Program. Both pilot programs will provide flexible options for obtaining financing on tribal lands, one with a flexible appraisal option and the other permitting rehabilitation loans for homeowners. The Agency's intention is to evaluate the existing regulations, expand opportunities for economic development, and improve the quality of life in rural tribal communities. Details about these two pilot programs are provided in this notification.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is correcting a rule document that published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2023, entitled, ``Loan Guarantees Under the Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program.'' The purpose of the notification was to announce updates in the process of submitting complete applications, updating the names and contact information for key personnel and changes in priority scoring. The purpose of this notification is to correct inadvertent errors that were previously published in the rule document on April 28, 2023, in the Federal Register.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is correcting a notice that published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2023, entitled, ``Notice of Funding Availability for Native Community Development Financial Institution (NCDFI) Relending Demonstration Program FY 2023.'' The purpose of the notice was to announce the opening and closing dates for receipt of applications for the NCDFI Relending Demonstration Program from eligible applicants, as well as submission requirements. The purpose of this notice is to correct inadvertent errors and omissions that were previously published in the Notice on May 18, 2023, in the Federal Register.

In accordance with a Congressional directive in the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), will be hosting two virtual listening sessions to obtain stakeholder information on potential decoupling of section 521 Rental Assistance from section 515 Rural Rental Housing loans at the time of loan maturity. Both sessions will be open to the public.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), an agency within the Rural Development mission area (RD) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of funding for applications under its Native Community Development Financial Institution (NCDFI) Relending Demonstration Program for fiscal year (FY) 2023. The purpose of this notice is to announce the opening and closing dates for receipt of applications for the NCDFI Relending Demonstration Program from eligible applicants, as well as submission requirements. These loans will be made to qualified NCDFIs to relend funds to low- and very low-income ultimate recipients to acquire, build, rehabilitate, improve, or relocate dwellings on Tribal Land in rural areas. This program has $7,502,000 available for FY 23. Applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in developing their applications.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the USDA, announces the availability of funding for Multifamily Housing Nonprofit Transfer Technical Assistance (MFH NP TA) Grants and Off-Farm Labor Housing Technical Assistance (Off-FLH TA) Grants. This funding is available for eligible technical assistance (TA) providers seeking grants to provide technical assistance services to qualified applicants.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the acceptance of applications under the Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) program for fiscal year (FY) 2023. These grants will be made to qualified intermediary organizations that will provide financial and technical assistance to recipients to develop their capacity and ability to undertake projects related to housing, community facilities, or community and economic development that will support the community. Congress, in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 appropriated $6,000,000 in FY 2023 for the RCDI program. Of this amount, $1.6 million will be made available to projects located in Persistent Poverties Counties. Eligible applicants for the Persistent Poverty Counties set aside must demonstrate that 100 percent of the benefits of an approved grant will assist recipients in Persistent Poverty Counties.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), an agency within Rural Development (RD), announces updates in the process for competitive lender submissions (responses) regarding proposed projects for the Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP). The amount of program dollars available for the GRRHP will be determined by the Appropriations Act for each fiscal year.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) mission area agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of funding under the Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program for fiscal year (FY) 2023, making available grant funds to sponsoring organizations for the repair or rehabilitation of housing owned or occupied by low- and very-low- income rural citizens under the HPG Program. The purpose of this notice is to announce the opening and closing dates for receipt of preapplications for HPG funds, including the availability of calendar year 2022 disaster assistance, from eligible applicants, as well as submission requirements. Expenses incurred in developing preapplications will be at the applicant's cost.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), proposes to amend the current regulation for the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) to implement changes related to the use of Special Servicing Options for Non-performing Loans. This proposed rule is intended to benefit borrowers by offering a less cumbersome option to eliminate documentation and eligibility challenges for borrowers who do not require payment reduction, provide lenders more flexibility in their servicing options, and reduce program risk of the guaranteed loan portfolio.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), proposes to amend its regulation to implement changes related to the administration of property reserve accounts under the Multi-Family Housing (MFH) section 515, Rural Rental Housing, and section 514 Farm Labor Housing programs. The intent of this proposed rule is to increase flexibility in project refinancing for additional capital improvements needed at MFH section 515, Rural Rental Housing, and section 514 Farm Labor Housing properties.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing a temporary exception to the tenant recertification requirements for the Section 515 Rural Rental Housing (RRH) Program and Section 514 Off-Farm Labor Housing (FLH) Program.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing this notice to waive two regulatory requirements for the Section 502 Direct and Guaranteed Manufactured Housing pilot program. The Agency's intention is to evaluate the existing regulations and remove regulatory barriers to assist eligible applicants with improved ease of use for very low- to moderate-income homeowners seeking to purchase affordable housing. The pilot also supports the current Administration's Housing Supply Action Plan which seeks to boost new financing mechanisms to build and supply quality affordable housing units. This notice briefly discusses the continuation of the existing waivers and provides contact information for additional details about the pilot program.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service announces its intention to request approval of a new information collection and invites comments on this information collection.