The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making efforts to address the housing inventory shortage with two separate actions – one to promote new builds, and the other to support the preservation of existing properties.
HUD’s efforts to remove barriers from new housing construction is a first-of-its-kind funding opportunity that will provide grants for communities to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. The program, called Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing), provides $85 million to help communities:
“HUD recognizes that communities have unique housing challenges and that’s why the resources announced today are not one size fits all,” HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a release. “HUD is proud to highlight the efforts of communities who are committed to housing-forward policies and practices and through PRO Housing we hope to support them with funding as well.
“Today, we are acting to increase the supply of affordable housing, which is crucial to lowering housing costs. We look forward to continuing this work in partnership with local communities.”
In addition to PRO Housing, HUD is offering public housing authorities and multifamily housing owners who participate in the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) with tools to repair and build affordable housing. These tools provide additional flexibilities to increase RAD’s ability to support repairs to thousands of affordable homes over the next three years. Water- and energy- efficiency investments will be promoted, and new requirements addressing climate resilience will be included. The notice also provides $12 million to support preservation transactions of eligible housing for the elderly.
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