CARH Broadcast Email—Regulatory Alert

January 11, 2019

Rental Assistance Issues

Since CARH’s Broadcast Email of January 9, 2019, we have some updated information regarding availability of Rental Assistance (RA) during the shutdown and before a new Continuing Resolution (CR) or full year appropriations bill is passed. You have likely seen a number of reports in the press and on the internet, not all have been accurate or consistent with our information, and we wanted to make sure we had the best information for our members.

RA payments for December should have gone out the first week of January. According to officials at the national Rural Development (RD) office, RA will remain available for contracts that were renewed before or during the CR which expired December 21, 2018. RD has been able to get permission to bring back additional staff to complete tenant certifications scheduled for January 20, 2019. Thus, January RA payments will go out the first week of February for those properties that have received contract renewals and tenant certificates.

However, CARH has been told that approximately 700 RA contracts were not renewed before the shutdown. Therefore, until there is an agreement, RA will not be allocated to those properties where a contract has lapsed because RD cannot make new obligations during the shutdown. These 700 RA contracts will not receive the above-noted payment in February. RD is exploring possible solutions but that is the current status.

Due to so many uncertainties with the shut-down, limited staff at the national RD office, and no immediate solution to the border security issue which seems to be the issuing delaying any CR or appropriations, CARH asks needs to find out information directly from our members. If you have RA contracts that are affected by the shutdown, please answer the following questions:

• Did you receive an RA payment in January (this payment would have been for December, 2018)?
• Was your RA contract renewed prior to the shutdown (December 22, 2018)? If yes, when you access your RA account through MINC, does it show that there is RA money remaining in the account?
• If your RA contract is due to expire soon, when will that happen?

(Please click here to answer online or email carh@carh.org your responses.)

Without resolution, next week the shutdown will move to its month long mark. The new Congress convened last week and one of the first orders of business this week was to begin passing the appropriations bills that would reopen the agencies impacted by the shutdown. Right now, the Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has indicated that the Senate will not consider these bills because the President has indicated that until there is some agreement on border security he will not sign these appropriations bills.

HUD Update:  – Shutdown Impact on Multifamily Production and Asset Management Activities

On January 10^th, HUD Multifamily Housing sent out the following message to each owner of a property with an expired or January expiring Multifamily rental subsidy contract.

As mentioned in the January 4 letter (attached) to owners/agents of HUD-assisted properties, most properties are receiving rental subsidy payments as usual. If your property is not receiving payment or is experiencing an emergency situation and has a Reserve for Replacement account subject to HUD oversight, you may request to utilize those funds to pay property operating expenses.

To ensure your request is promptly processed during the shutdown period, please complete form HUD-9250 and submit via email to the Asset Management Division Director of your assigned HUD field office, according to the list below. The form must include the current balance in the account, a withdrawal amount, and the remaining balance. It should also include a statement confirming that the released funds will be reimbursed to the reserve for replacement account once HUD appropriations funding is restored.

If you are not sure of your assigned HUD office or asset director, please contact Jen Larson at Jennifer.L.Larson@hud.gov.

Atlanta	Tawana Anderson – Tawana.L.Anderson@hud.gov
Baltimore	Brenda Brown – Brenda.J.Brown@hud.gov
Boston	Joe Crisafulli – Joe.Crisafulli@hud.gov
Chicago	Debbie Gray – Debbie.Gray@hud.gov
Denver	Eileen Hearty – Eileen.M.Hearty@hud.gov
Detroit	Susie Sapilewski – Susie.Sapilewski@hud.gov
Fort Worth	Christie Newhouse – Christie.M.Newhouse@hud.gov
Jacksonville	Laurelei McKnight – Laurelei.Mcknight@hud.gov
Kansas City	Ed Manning – Edward.P.Manning@hud.gov
Minneapolis	Laura Simpson – Laura.Simpson@hud.gov
New York	Dean Santa – Dean.J.Santa@hud.gov
San Francisco	Janea Jackson – Janea.J.Jackson@hud.gov

We realize this is a difficult and challenging time. As we indicated in our January 9, 2019, Broadcast Email, CARH members need to contact their members of Congress to urge them to support efforts that will reopen the government while the political issues are resolved separately. Click here for contact information for your Senators and click here for contact information for your Representatives. Please contact the CARH office if you need help accessing these resources. CARH has been working with Congress but there is no substitute for Congress hearing directly from you, their constituents.