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This section amends definitions in the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (i.e., the HOME Investment Partnerships Act, which provides formula grants to states and units of general local government for affordable rental housing and homebuyer assistance) by (1) revising the community housing development organization definition to require representation (from significant representation) on the governing board for accountability to low-income residents, and (2) adding a definition of infill housing project as residential development on no more than 5 acres of previously disturbed land within a municipality that is served by utilities and public services and substantially surrounded by residential or commercial uses; and revises Title II assistance provisions in multiple sections to expand income eligibility from low-income families (≤80% of area median income (AMI)) to families with household incomes not exceeding 100% of AMI (with adjustments for family size).
This section eliminates the requirement that participating jurisdictions using HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds give preference to rehabilitating substandard housing (unless rehabilitation is not the most cost-effective means of expanding affordable housing supply or available stock is insufficient). It replaces that provision with a standalone limitation prohibiting the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from restricting jurisdictions' choices among eligible activities—rehabilitation, substantial rehabilitation, new construction, reconstruction, acquisition, or others—unless explicitly authorized under section 223(2) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act. (Thus, jurisdictions gain greater flexibility to select housing production methods aligned with local needs.)
This section amends the HOME Investment Partnerships program, which provides formula grants to states and localities for affordable housing development, to authorize use of funds for infrastructure improvements—including installation or repair of water and sewer lines, sidewalks, roads, and utility connections—in nonentitlement areas (i.e., jurisdictions not receiving formula grants under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974) if the improvements are directly related to, and located within or immediately adjacent to, housing assisted under HOME or by the low-income housing tax credit (section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code). It further (1) directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to issue implementing regulations within one year of enactment; (2) specifies that such infrastructure funding does not impose HOME program requirements on benefiting housing unless the housing receives HOME assistance; and (3) strikes the second sentence of Section 212(e)(1), eliminating a specified per-unit investment limitation.
This section establishes an exception to the rent limits applicable to HOME-assisted rental housing for units occupied by tenants receiving tenant-based Section 8 rental assistance (i.e., Housing Choice Vouchers under the United States Housing Act of 1937). Such a unit qualifies as affordable housing if the tenant's rent contribution does not exceed the amount permitted under the Section 8 program and the total rent does not exceed the amount approved by the administering public housing agency. (Thus, HOME-assisted projects may charge rents above the standard limits—lesser of fair market rent or 30% of 65% area median income—for voucher holders.)
This section modifies the qualifications for affordable homeownership housing under the HOME Investment Partnerships program (i.e., formula grants to states and localities for low-income housing development) by (1) increasing the maximum purchase price to 110 percent of the median area purchase price (from 95 percent); (2) adding to the long-term affordability requirements a new option to maintain affordability through a shared equity ownership model, community land trust, limited equity cooperative, community development corporation, or other Secretary-approved mechanism that preserves affordability for future eligible homebuyers via purchase options, rights of first refusal, or other preemptive rights; and (3) establishing exceptions permitting a participating jurisdiction to suspend income eligibility requirements for housing owned by certain deployed military members (i.e., those on temporary duty or permanent change-of-station orders for at least 90 days) and to continue qualifying previously compliant housing as the principal residence of an heir or beneficiary of a deceased owner who assumes the prior owner's obligations.
This section revises the recapture provision for the 15% set-aside of HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds reserved for 24 months for housing developed, sponsored, or owned by community housing development organizations (CHDOs). If such reserved funds remain uninvested after 24 months, the Secretary makes them available to the original participating jurisdiction for any eligible activities under the HOME program, rather than deducting them for direct reallocation to other jurisdictions or intermediaries for CHDO capacity-building or projects. (Thus, jurisdictions may now use recaptured CHDO set-aside funds for non-CHDO purposes.)
This section amends the environmental review requirements applicable to the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (42 U.S.C. 12838)—which allows HUD to release funds to grantees that assume National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance responsibilities—by adding new subsections (e) and (f). Subsection (e) establishes categorical exemptions from NEPA review for (1) new construction infill housing projects, (2) acquisition of real property for affordable housing purposes, (3) rehabilitation projects carried out pursuant to section 212(a)(1), and (4) new construction projects of 15 units or less. (Thus, these activities require no further NEPA review.) Subsection (f) directs the Secretary, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, to (1) prevent duplicative environmental reviews for HOME projects that add, substitute, or reallocate other federal assistance if the project's scope, scale, and location remain substantially unchanged; (2) issue regulations coordinating environmental reviews with other federal agencies to streamline compliance and avoid duplication under NEPA and related laws; and (3) recognize prior substantially similar reviews completed by responsible entities under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(1)) or equivalent authorities, exempting unchanged projects from further review under this section. The section further requires the Secretary to issue implementing rules within one year of enactment.
This section adds two new sections to Title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.), which authorizes the HOME Investment Partnerships Program providing formula grants to states and participating jurisdictions for affordable housing activities. (1) New section 291 exempts activities assisted under Title II from the Build America, Buy America Act (41 U.S.C. 8301 note), including any implementing regulations or guidance. (Thus, such activities need not use domestically produced iron, steel, and manufactured products.) (2) New section 292 exempts housing rehabilitation, construction, or other development activities assisted under Title II from the requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701u)—which requires public housing agencies, Indian housing agencies, and their contractors to prioritize low- and very low-income persons, particularly housing assistance recipients, for training and employment opportunities generated by federal housing and community development assistance—when the activity involves 50 or fewer dwelling units and assistance is provided to (a) a state recipient under section 216 or (b) a participating jurisdiction that received a total allocation of less than $3 million in the most recent fiscal year under section 216.
This section makes technical amendments to the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act by (1) replacing all references to the "Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act" with "McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act"; and (2) replacing all references to the "Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs" with "Committee on Financial Services".