Department of Housing and Urban Development July 16, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the Mark-to-Market program, HUD preserves the affordability of eligible multifamily housing projects by modifying above-market rents while restructuring project debt to an amount supportable by the modified rents. This proposed rule would revise the Mark-to-Market program regulations to clarify that all annual rent adjustments for projects subject to a restructuring plan are by application of an operating cost adjustment factor (OCAF) established by HUD. The current regulations contain a provision authorizing HUD to approve a request for a budget-based rent adjustment in lieu of an OCAF. However, this provision is both contrary to the governing statutory framework and inconsistent with Mark-to-Market renewal contracts, which allow only OCAF rent adjustments. The proposed rule would conform the regulations to the governing statutory provision, the terms of Mark-to-Market renewal contracts, and the programmatic practice of adjusting rents annually only by OCAF.