Texas share of housing funds from Economic Stimulus bill announced

Texas is set to receive $517,101,969 in funds for low-income housing from the Economic Stimulus Bill. This $517,101,969 is the formula allocation for Texas.  An additional 25 percent of the bill’s housing funds will be awarded competitively.

Here’s the Texas breakdown.

$6,840,646 – Native American Block Grant Fund

The Native American Housing Block Grant program funds new construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, including energy efficiency and conservation, and infrastructure development activities. Funds can also be used to leverage private sector financing for new construction, renovation and energy retrofit investments. In selecting projects to be funded with Recovery Act funds, recipients shall give priority to projects for which contracts can be awarded within 180 days from the date that such funds are available to the recipient.

Tribes/TDHEs will be required to obligate 100 percent of their funds within one year of the date funds are made available, expend at least 50 percent of such funds within two years of the date in which funds became available, and expend 100 percent of such funds within three years of such date.  If a recipient fails to comply with the two year expenditure requirement, funds will be recaptured and reallocated under the formula to tribes that comply with this requirement.  If a recipient fails to comply with the three year expenditure requirement, the balance of the funds originally awarded to the recipient will be recaptured.

$67,797,004 – Community Development Block Grant Fund

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program enables local governments to undertake a wide range of activities intended to create suitable living environments, provide decent affordable housing and create economic opportunities, primarily for persons of low and moderate income. Under the Recovery Act, recipients shall give priority to projects that can award contracts based on bids within 120 days of the grant agreement.

$119,789,530 – Public Housing Capital Fund

The Public Housing Capital Fund provides funds for the capital and management activities of Public Housing Agencies as authorized under Section 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g) (the “Act”), including modernization and development of public housing. The funds cannot be used for operations or rental assistance.

Public housing authorities shall give priority to capital projects that can award contracts based on bids within 120 days from the date the funds are made available to the public housing authorities. Public housing agencies shall give priority consideration to the rehabilitation of vacant rental units and capital projects that are already underway or included in the 5-year capital fund plans required by the Act (42 U.S.C. 1437c-1(a)). Any restriction of funding to replacement housing uses shall be inapplicable. Funds provided shall supplement and not supplant expenditures from other Federal, State, or local sources or funds independently generated by the grantee. Notwithstanding Section 9(j), public housing agencies shall obligate 100 percent of the funds within one year of the date on which funds become available to the agency for obligation, shall expend at least 60 percent of funds within two years of the date on which funds become available to the agency for obligation, and shall expend 100 percent of the funds within three years of such date.

Funds shall be obligated to public housing agencies within 30 days of enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was signed February 17, 2009. Each public housing authority will execute a Capital Fund Program Amendment to the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC), which must be signed by the local HUD Field Office. The authorities will provide the local HUD Field Office an Annual Statement specifying how the funds are to be used, and the Field Office spreading the individual budget line items (BLIs) in HUD Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS).

$148,354,769 –  Tax Credit Assistance Program

The Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP) provides grant funding for capital investment in Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects via a formula-based allocation to State housing credit allocation agencies.  The housing credit agencies in each State shall distribute these funds competitively and according to their qualified allocation plan.  Projects awarded  low income housing tax credits in fiscal years 2007, 2008, or 2009 are eligible for funding but housing credit agencies must give priority to projects that are expected to be completed by February 2012.  75 percent of TCAP funds will be committed by February 2010, 75 percent must be expended by February 2011, and 100 percent of the funds must be expended by February 2012.

$72,697,599 –  Project-based Rental Assistance

The Section 8 Program was authorized by Congress in 1974 and developed by HUD to provide rental subsidies for eligible tenant families (including single persons) residing in newly constructed, rehabilitated and existing rental and cooperative apartment projects.

The rents of some of the residential units are subsidized by HUD under the Section 8 New Construction (“New Construction”), Substantial Rehabilitation (“Substantial Rehabilitation”) and/or Loan Management Set-Aside (“LMSA”) Programs. All such assistance is “project-based”, i.e.; the subsidy is committed by HUD for the assisted units of a particular Mortgaged Property for a contractually determined period.

HUD will use the $2.0 billion provided in the legislation to fund contract renewals under the Section 8 program. In line with Congressional directives, the department will use the money provided to fund contract renewals on a full twelve-month cycle. This will avoid the payment disruptions that have occurred in recent years and enable owners to maintain their properties in an acceptable condition.

$103,967,796 –  Homeless Prevention Fund

The Homelessness Prevention Fund will provide financial assistance and services to prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless and help those who are experiencing homelessness to be quickly re-housed and stabilized. The funds under this program are intended to target individuals and families who would be homeless but for this assistance. The funds will provide for a variety of assistance, including:  short-term or medium-term rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services, including such activities as mediation, credit counseling, security or utility deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and case management.

At least 60 percent of funds must be spent within two years; all funds must be spent within three years.

Eligible applicants include Metropolitan Cities, urban Counties and States (for distribution to local governments and private nonprofit organizations).

$3,871,327 – Lead Hazard Reduction

The Lead Hazard Reduction Program has four components:

The Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program assists States, Native American Tribes, cities, counties/parishes, or other units of local government in undertaking comprehensive programs to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately owned rental or owner-occupied housing.

The Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program assists urban jurisdictions with the greatest lead-based paint hazard control needs in undertaking programs for the identification and control of lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately owned rental and owner-occupied housing units.

The Healthy Homes Demonstration Grant Program develops, demonstrates, and promotes cost-effective, preventive measures to correct multiple residential safety and health hazards that produce serious diseases and injuries in children and other sensitive subgroups such as the elderly, with a particular focus on low income households. The Healthy Homes Demonstration Program is committed to supporting HUD’s strategic goal of strengthening communities by addressing housing conditions that threaten health.

The Healthy Homes Technical Studies Grant Program works to gain knowledge to improve the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of methods of evaluation and control of lead-based paint and other housing-related health and safety hazards. This supports HUD’s strategic goal to strengthen communities and the associated policy priority to improve our nation’s communities by improving the environmental health and safety of families living in public and privately owned housing.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorized and provided funds for HUD to award grants under this grant program to those applicants under its fiscal year 2008 Notice of Funding Availability that were qualified for award but were not funded due to limitations of funds originally available.