APARTMENT ADVOCATE
NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION /
NATIONAL MULTIFAMILY HOUSING COUNCIL
HUD Announces Widespread Changes to
Rental-Assistance Programs
H
UD announced on April
25 that they plan to
pursue an overhaul of
rental assistance programs,
which assist about 4.7 million families and
account for about 80 percent of HUD’s
overall budget.
Among the proposed changes, HUD
intends to increase the resident rent
contribution to 35 percent of a household’s
gross income – an increase of five
percent. A yearlong freeze on annual rent
adjustment increases, minimum resident
rental payments and alterations to the
54 | TRENDS MAY 2018
current resident rent deduction policy have
also been proposed.
This announcement comes on the
heels of the White House’s 2019 budget
proposal, which outlined support for “work
and self-sufficiency” in rental assistance
programs. According to HUD, the proposed
changes are necessary to fiscally sustain the
Department and better support those in
need of affordable housing. In a press release,
Secretary Carson noted, “The system we
currently use to calculate a family's rental
assistance is broken and holds back the very
people we're supposed to be helping.”
While NAA/NMHC continue to
study HUD’s proposal and receive feedback
from our members, we will continue to
work with lawmakers at HUD and in
Congress on reforms that will make rental
assistance programs more efficient and
that incentivize greater private sector
participation.
EPA ANNOUNCES NEW GUIDANCE
ON REPAIRING PROPERTIES WITH
LEAD-BASED PAINT
On March 23, as part of the Trump
Administration’s regulatory reform
priorities, the Environmental Protection
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