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), 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 agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), proposes to amend the current regulations for the Single-Family Housing (SFH) Section 502 Direct and the SFH Guaranteed Loan Program. The intent of this proposed rule is to allow the Agency to give borrowers increased purchase options within a competitive market and increase adequate housing along with an enhanced customer experience with the SFH programs.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) mission area of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of up to $50 million in grant funding through its Community Facilities Program (CF) to repair Essential community facilities damaged by Presidentially Declared Disasters in Calendar Year (CY) 2022, to remain available until expended. The supplemental disaster grant funding was received under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing this notification to waive four regulatory requirements for the Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants in a Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas (PDDAs) pilot program. The Agency's intention is to evaluate the existing regulations and remove regulatory barriers to assist eligible applicants in PDDAs to improve the program usage for very-low-income homeowners that are seeking to repair their damaged homes that are in PDDAs. This notification briefly discusses the four waivers and provides contact information for additional details about the pilot.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS), Rural Housing Service (RHS), and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), agencies of the Rural Development mission area within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), hereinafter collectively referred to as the Agency, offer loan guarantees through four programs: Community Facilities (CF) administered by the RHS; Water and Waste Disposal (WWD) administered by the RUS; and Business and Industry (B&I) and Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) administered by the RBCS. This notice provides applicants with the Guarantee Fee rates, Guarantee percentage for Guaranteed Loans, the Periodic Retention Fee, and Fee for Issuance of the Loan Note Guarantee Prior to Construction Completion for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, to be used when applying for guaranteed loans under the guaranteed loan types listed above. This notice is being published prior to the passage of a FY 2024 appropriation. Should the fees need to be adjusted after passage of the FY 2024 appropriations, the agency will publish a subsequent notice in the Federal Register.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces its' intention to request a revision of a currently approved information collection and invites comments on this information collection.

Notice is hereby given that the Rural Housing Service (RHS), as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, is issuing a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) with respect to the preliminary affordability determination of minimum energy standards.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is correcting a notice of funding availability (NOFA) that was published in the Federal Register on April 21, 2023, entitled, ``Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2023.'' The Notice announced the acceptance of applications under the Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) Grant Program for fiscal year (FY) 2023. The document contained an incorrect date. The purpose of this notice is to correct the application deadline dates published in the Federal Register on April 21, 2023.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, and the Rural Utilities Service, agencies of the Rural Development mission area within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), hereinafter collectively referred to as the Agency to request approval for a new information collection in support of compliance with the grantee accepting the conditions of the award that the grantee intends to meet them within a reasonable time.

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 Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) Grant Program for fiscal year (FY) 2023. The FY 2023 funding amount is $1,265,000.

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

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, and the Rural Utilities Service, agencies of the Rural Development mission area within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), hereinafter collectively referred to as the Agency to request approval for a new information collection in support of compliance with applicable acts for federal debt credit reporting and employment verification.

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 a pilot program for simple transfers of USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing properties. The Agency's intention is to evaluate the existing regulations and remove regulatory barriers to reduce application requirements for certain types of transfers, resulting in lower transaction-related costs for applicants and improved processing times.

The Under Secretary for Rural Development (RD) is seeking applications for the Strategic Economic and Community Development (SECD) priority, as reauthorized by Section 6401 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) for projects that support multi-jurisdictional and multi-sectoral strategic community investment plans. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, the Agency will implement SECD by reserving loan and/or grant funds from the appropriations of the programs covered by this funding priority. This notice describes the requirements by which the Agency will consider projects eligible for the covered programs' reserved appropriated funds and the information needed to submit an application. This NOSA is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations act for FY 2023 to allow potential applicants time to submit applications for financial assistance under the covered programs and to give the Agency time to process applications. Once the FY 2023 funding amounts are determined, the Agency will publish them on its website at https://www.rd.usda.gov/ newsroom/notices-solicitation-applications-nosas.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency) announces its' intention to request a revision of a currently approved information collection and invites comments on this information collection.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing a new calculation of the required Lease-up Reserve for the Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as amended, the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and Rural Housing Service, agencies that comprise the Rural Development Mission Area within the United States Department of Agriculture, announce their intention to request an extension of a currently approved information collection and invites comments on this information collection.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, is correcting a notice of funding availability (NOFA) that was published in the Federal Register on March 9, 2022, entitled, ``Section 514 Off-Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Off-Farm Labor Housing Grants to Improve, Repair, or Make Modifications to existing Off-Farm Labor Housing Properties for Fiscal Year 2022.'' The notice announced the acceptance of pre- applications for subsequent Section 514 Off-Farm Labor Housing (Off- FLH) loans and subsequent Section 516 Off-FLH grants to improve, repair, or make modifications to existing Off-Farm Labor Housing Properties for fiscal year 2022. The purpose of this notice is to correct the application deadline dates published in the Federal Register on March 9, 2022.

The Rural Housing Service (Agency), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces that it is accepting applications under the Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) Grant program for fiscal year (FY) 2022. This NOSA is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations act for FY 2022 to allow potential applicants time to submit applications for financial assistance under the program and to give the Agency time to process applications. Once the FY 2022 funding amount is determined, the Agency will publish it on its website at https:// www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/notices-solicitation-applications-no sas.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing a new fee structure for the Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP) initial and annual guarantee fees.

On December 10, 2021, Rural Development's Rural Business- Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, and Rural Utilities Service, agencies of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), published a final rule with comment for the oneRD Guarantee Loan Program (oneRD). The final rule made necessary revisions to the policy and procedures that strengthened the oversight and management of the growing Community Facilities, Water and Waste Disposal, Business and Industry, and Rural Energy for America guarantee portfolios. The final rule had an omission of information in the preamble and contained errors in the amendatory language. This document corrects the final regulation.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing a final rule to amend its Direct Single Family Housing Loans and Grants (DSFHLG) programs regulation. This final rule adopts most changes as presented in the proposed rule published on November 25, 2019, in the Federal Register. This final rule also addresses public comments received by the Agency and makes some modifications based on consideration of those comments, including revisions to the refinancing provisions which will help provide relief to homeowners who have difficulty keeping their accounts current (e.g., coming off a payment moratorium), based on the availability of funds and Agency priorities.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of $1 million in grant funding, and the timeframe to submit applications for Off-Farm Labor Housing Technical Assistance (Off-FLH TA) grants. This NOFA solicits applications from eligible private and public nonprofit (NP) agencies to provide technical assistance (TA) to organizations and groups qualified to apply for Section 514 Off-Farm Labor Housing (Off-FLH) loans and Section 516 Off- FLH grants. Work performed under these grants is expected to increase the availability of decent, safe, and sanitary housing for farm laborers.

Rural Development's Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, and Rural Utilities Service, agencies of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), are publishing this final rule for the oneRD Guarantee Loan Program (oneRD). The intent of this rule is to make necessary revisions to the policy and procedures which will strengthen oversight and management of the growing Community Facilities (CF), Water and Waste Disposal (WWD), Business and Industry (B&I), and Rural Energy for America (REAP) guarantee portfolios. This action is part of a continuing effort by the Agency to improve customer service for its lenders and create a more efficient work process for its staff.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, and the Rural Utilities Service, agencies of the Rural Development mission area within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), hereinafter collectively referred to as the Agency to request approval for a new information collection in support of compliance with applicable acts for planning and performing construction and other development work.