Rural Housing Service June 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces the timeframe to submit pre-applications for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing (FLH) loans and Section 516 FLH grants for the construction of new off-farm FLH units and related facilities for domestic farm laborers and for the purchase and substantial rehabilitation of non-FLH property. The intended purpose of the loans and grants are to increase the number of available housing units for domestic farm laborers. This Notice describes the method used to distribute funds, the application process, and submission requirements. The Agency will publish the amount of funding received from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141, March 23, 2018) on its website at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/notices- solicitation-applications-nosas. Expenses incurred in developing applications will be at the applicant's risk. Pursuant to section 759 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141, March 23, 2018), the Agency will set aside 10 percent of the FLH funds for project proposals in persistent poverty counties. The Agency will also assign additional points to pre- applications for projects based in or serving census tracts with poverty rates equal to or greater than 20 percent over the last 30 years. This emphasis will support Rural Development's mission of improving the quality of life for rural Americans and commitment to directing resources to those who most need them.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency) proposes to amend the current regulation for the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) on the subject of Single Close Combination Construction to Permanent Loans. The Agency proposes to amend the regulation to provide increased flexibility in loan terms that affect the costs of interim construction financing and the viability of combination construction to permanent loans on the secondary market in a manner which will enable more lenders to make these combination construction to permanent loans to SFHGLP borrowers. Specifically, the Agency proposes to: Allow and define a maximum interest rate for interim construction financing that is different than the underlying rate; allow for the escrow or reserve of regularly scheduled principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) payments; and remove the requirement for loan modification or re-amortization once construction is complete.