President Joe Biden Dec. 10, 2020, nominated Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, to be the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). If approved by the U.S. Senate, Fudge will replace current HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, who served nearly four years under President Donald Trump. Fudge has been a member of Congress since 2008 and has previously chaired the Congressional Black Caucus. Fudge is a co-sponsor of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act and would be the 18th HUD Secretary. HUD oversees many federal affordable housing programs, including Section 8, housing choice vouchers, public housing and more. HUD was funded at $56.5 billion in 2020.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Dec. 16, 2020, announced affordable housing goals for 2021 for government-sponsored entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Due to pandemic-related economic uncertainty, the FHFA announced only goals for 2021, which remain the same as those for 2018-2020. For 2021, the GSE’s benchmark levels are to purchase mortgages on low-income properties with 315,000 units, very-low-income properties with 60,000 units and low-income small multifamily properties with 10,000 units. The FHFA also published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR), seeking
input on issues that it may address in future housing goals rulemaking. The deadline to submit responses on the ANPR is Feb. 28.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency Jan. 5 published the 2021 Underserved Markets Plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Due to market uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic, Fannie and Freddie were instructed to submit plans for 2021 only, as an extension of their 2018-2020 plans. They normally would have submitted plans for 2021-2023. The 2021 plans were effective Jan. 1. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 requires Fannie and Freddie to serve three specific underserved markets–manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation and rural housing–by increasing the liquidity of mortgage financing for families with very low, low and moderate incomes

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HUD announced Dec. 10, 2020, that it awarded $46 million in rental assistance and housing vouchers to help veterans at risk of experiencing homelessness. The supportive housing assistance is provided through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Support Housing Program, which combines rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by Veteran’s Affairs.

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HUD published in the Jan. 7 Federal Register two notices–one announcing the allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) mitigation funds and the other announcing the allocation of CDBG disaster recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. The CDBG mitigation funds announcement allocates more than $186 million to grantees recovering from qualifying 2018 disasters. Awards range from $64.9 million to California to $585,000 to Kauai County, Hawaii. The CDBG-DR allocation announcement is for $85 million to assist in long-term recovery from major disasters in 2018 and 2019. Allocations range from $36.4 million to Puerto Rico to $10 million for the Northern Mariana Islands. Both allocations are of funds provided in the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019.

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HUD published a notice in the Dec. 16, 2020, Federal Register announcing fiscal year 2021 annual adjustment factors (AAFs) for certain contracts signed by owners participating in Section 8 housing assistant payment programs. The factors are for adjustment of contract rents on the anniversary of the contract. AAFs are published on the HUD user website and are distinct from operating cost adjustment factors, which adjust rents for project-based Section 8 contracts. HUD will publish a separate notice following the finalization of fiscal year (FY) 2021 federal appropriations to calculate the calendar year 2021 housing choice voucher renewal funding for public housing agencies. The FY 2021 AAFs were effective Dec. 17, 2020.

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The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced Dec. 21, 2020, that it is extending the foreclosure and eviction moratorium for single family FHA-insured mortgages for an additional two months, through Feb. 28. The moratorium prohibits servicers from initiating or proceeding with foreclosure and foreclosure-related eviction actions for FHA-insured single-family forward and reverse mortgages, except for those secured by legally vacant and abandoned properties. Further, FHA requires mortgage servicers to provide up to six months of COVID-19 forbearance when a borrower requests this assistance and up to an additional six months of COVID-19 forbearance for borrowers who request an extension of the initial forbearance. Borrowers needing assistance must engage with their servicer to obtain an initial COVID-19 forbearance on or before Feb. 28.