Rural Development’s Office of Multifamily Housing Production & Preservation Division sent out the following announcements:

 

Hello Industry Partners!

I hope you are enjoying your summer.  I am delighted to share with you the latest program announcements and priority initiatives in RD’s Office of Multifamily Housing, Production & Preservation (P2) Division.

Tenant Selection Plans & Preferences for People Experiencing Homelessness

P2 will actively continue to collaborate with industry partners seeking regulatory relief from the Agency to adopt tenant selection plan preferences for families or individuals experiencing homelessness.  Mitigating barriers to housing families and individuals experiencing homelessness continues to be a priority initiative for the Administration and the Agency.  P2 remains committed to working with owners, lenders, and other public-funding agencies to resolve the regulatory barriers that prevent such tenant selection plan preferences from being implemented and will proactively work to provide such regulatory relief.  For additional guidance or information on how to submit a request for regulatory relief, please contact Stephanie Vergin, Policy Advisor, at Stephanie.Vergin@USDA.gov

Announcement of SuperNOSA 2023

P2 is excited to announce a revolutionary reconfiguration of the division’s Notification of Solicitation for Application (NOSA) process.  In early calendar year 2023, P2 will issue its first SuperNOSA, which will be a single, consolidated notification and application process for the following Multifamily Housing programs:

• Section 515
• Section 514 / 516 Farm Labor Housing
• Multifamily Housing Preservation and Revitalization (MPR) Program, and
• Preservation Rental Assistance.

The amounts available for each program and transaction type (New Construction, Preservation, Repair) will be subject to funds available in FY23.  The SuperNOSA process is designed to provide predictability to the industry on the timing of RD funding rounds, give applicants sufficient opportunity to procure third party reports, and create standardized application requirements across P2’s Direct Lending programs.   There will be several Industry Listening Session workshops scheduled in October and November 2023, along with several policy announcements from the agency related to application and processing timeframes.  In addition, separate guidance on application requirements, including but not limited to Capital Needs Assessments (CNAs), appraisals, and construction documents, will be issued by the agency in early FY23.  For more information, please contact Abby Boggs, Program Support Branch Chief, at Abby.Boggs@USDA.gov

Construction Monitoring Submittal Checklists

P2 has created a series of Construction Monitoring Checklists to provide guidance and clarification to assist RD borrowers, applicants, and staff.  These checklists implement consistent internal- and external-facing guidance related to the construction submittal, project delivery, and construction monitoring processes. These checklists also include general instructions used to meet the regulatory requirements under each program, and can be found on our public website in the “To Apply” tabs, at the following locations:

• Multifamily Housing Section 515 Direct Loans
• Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization (MPR) Program
• Farm Labor Housing Program Grants
• Farm Labor Housing Program Loans

The checklists are also available in the Quick Links here.

For additional information, please contact Jonathan Bell, Director of Processing Report & Review (PRR) Branches, at Jonathan.Bell@USDA.gov.

Completeness of Applications & End of Calendar Year Processing Timeframes

P2 is reminding borrowers and lenders who anticipate closing on their transactions prior to the end of calendar year 2022, to have fully met all application requirements, including submitting all documents and responding to all agency review comments, on or before October 1, 2022.  P2 will not be able to commit to an end-of-year closing for applications that are incomplete, still have open items, or have not yet been determined to have received sufficient responses from a borrower or lender by that time.   For additional information, please contact Jonathan Bell at Jonathan.Bell@USDA.gov

Build America, Buy America Act Applicability, Waiver, and Guidance

Congress passed the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) to establish strong and permanent domestic sourcing requirements across Federal programs to benefit all Americans.   USDA Rural Development has issued a waiver to allow for a 6-month adjustment period for implementation. During the adjustment period, and unless otherwise announced by the Agency, BABA requirements will not apply to RD applications.

This BABA waiver is effective August 4, 2022, and will remain in effect for all RD federal financial assistance infrastructure projects for a period of six months, until February 3, 2023.

Multifamily Housing borrowers and lenders should begin preparing for BABA Act compliance for all applicable transactions, upon the expiration of the six-month waiver.  Additional guidance will be provided on how Production & Preservation will track applicability and how transactions will demonstrate compliance.  Additional information about the waiver can be found here.  For additional information, please contact Jonathan Bell at Jonathen.Bell@USDA.gov.

Thank you,

Daniel J. Rogers
Director of Production & Preservation