The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it has allocated nearly $174 million through the nation’s Housing Trust Fund, the first time HUD has allocated Housing Trust Fund money.
It is a new affordable housing production program that will complement existing federal, state and local efforts to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe and sanitary affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income households, including families experiencing homelessness, according to the agency’s release.
“Today, we offer another tool to help states confront a growing affordable rental housing crisis in this country,” HUD Secretary Julian Castro said. “The Housing Trust Fund will be an enduring resource designed to producing more housing that is affordable to our most vulnerable neighbors.”
HUD also awarded $9.9 million in “sweat equity” grants to produce at least 541 affordable homes for low-income individuals and families. Funded through HUD’s Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), the funding awarded, along with the labor contributed by these households, will significantly lower the cost of homeownership.
Habitat for Humanity International was awarded $6,188,868. Tierra del Sol Housing Corp. was awarded $1,682,632. Community Frameworks was awarded $1.066 million. Housing Assistance Council was awarded $1.04 million.
“Homeownership is part of the American dream and it’s all the more meaningful when you’re a first-time homebuyer,” Castro said. “These self-help program grants encourage new owners and their communities to invest not only money but also time and hard work that benefits the whole neighborhood.”
HUD also made $37.3 million available to fight housing discrimination under its 2016 Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). This year’s three funding notices support a variety of important fair housing activities, including fair housing testing in the rental and sales market, public education efforts, capacity building and education and outreach activities.
Each year, HUD makes funding available to support organizations interested in the enforcement of fair housing laws and policies as well as educating the public, housing providers and local governments about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act.
“The work HUD’s fair housing partners do every day is critical to our efforts to ensure that every family in America has an equal shot at finding the home that is right for them,” HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustavo Velasquez said. “These grants help to provide the critical financial resources they need to do their work.”
The categories of grants announced are:
- Education and Outreach Initiative grants (EOI) – $7.45 million available. HUD awards these to groups that educate the public and housing providers about their rights and responsibilities under federal law or state and local fair housing laws that are equivalent to the Fair Housing Act. This year’s funds include $1.25 million toward a national media campaign; $250,000 toward tester coordinator training; and the rest for general regional, local and community based programs.
- Fair Housing Organizations Initiative (FHOI) – $500,000 available. HUD awards these to help build the capacity and effectiveness of non-profit fair housing organizations, particularly organizations that focus on the rights and needs of underserved groups, such as rural and immigrant populations.
- Private Enforcement Initiative grants (PEI) – Total PEI multi-year funding is $29.375 million. However, $22,452,542 has already been reserved for FY 2014 and FY 2015 multi-year grantees, making $6,922,458 available for FY2016 new awardees. This year’s PEI funds also include $975,000 to address lending discrimination.