🏡Impact of New Market Study Requirement on Rural Housing Loans
The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), an agency of the Rural Development (RD), within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing a proposed rule to amend its regulation that will require applicants (lenders) to submit a market study as part of the complete application for the Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP) loan guarantee. This change will require all applicants to use a market study when demonstrating market need for new construction.
Learn More💰2025 Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties by HUD
This rule provides for 2025 inflation adjustments of civil monetary penalty amounts required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 Act). This rule also removes an obsolete regulation relating to the imposition of civil monetary penalties.
Learn More🏢Business Implications of Rescinding Affirmative Fair Housing Regulations
This proposed rule would rescind the Department's Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing regulations, which require a participant in an FHA insurance or Multifamily Housing rental assistance program to complete and submit a form supplied by HUD that describes its affirmative fair housing marketing plan.
Learn More🏘️HUD Extends Comment Period for Fair Housing Revisions Rule
On March 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published in the Federal Register an interim final rule entitled "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Revisions." The interim final rule provided for a 60-day comment period, which would have ended May 2, 2025. However, following a technical problem with regulations.gov that appeared to prohibit the electronic submission of comments on this rule beginning on or about April 28, HUD has determined that a seven-day extension of the comment period, until May 9, 2025, is appropriate. This extension will allow interested persons who may have tried unsuccessfully to submit comments additional time to do so.
Learn More🏘️Implications of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Revisions
This interim final rule revises HUD's regulation governing the Fair Housing Act's mandate that the Secretary administer HUD's program and activities in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing. This interim final rule returns to the original understanding of what the statutory AFFH certification was prior to 1994--a general commitment that grantees will take active steps to promote fair housing. Grantee AFFH certifications will be deemed sufficient provided they took any action during the relevant period rationally related to promoting fair housing, such as helping eliminate housing discrimination. This interim final rule does not, however, reinstate the obligation to conduct an Analysis of Impediments or mandate any specific fair housing planning mechanism; program participants must continue to affirmatively further fair housing as and to the extent required by the Fair Housing Act.
Learn More🏡HUD Withdraws Proposed Fair Housing Rule – No New Compliance Required
This document informs the public that HUD has determined not to pursue the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on February 9, 2023, entitled "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing". HUD will proceed to formally withdraw the rule from HUD's upcoming Spring 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.
Learn More🏠USDA Updates Rules for Manufactured Housing Financing Options
The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is amending the current regulations for the Single Family Housing (SFH) Direct Loan Program and the SFH Guaranteed Loan Program. The intent of this final rule is to allow the Agency to give borrowers increased purchase options within a competitive market and increase adequate housing along with an enhanced customer experience with the SFH programs.
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