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June 2009 Housing Law Bulletin Summaries
Obama Signs Law Protecting Renters in Foreclosed Properties
Tenants’ rights and housing advocates secured a major victory on May 20, 2009, when President Obama signed into law the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009. In most cases, tenants will now have the right to remain in their homes after foreclosure for ninety days or until the end of their lease terms. Unless extended, these provisions will remain in effect until December 31, 2012. This article provides a brief overview of the law.
Administration Releases More Detailed Proposed FY 2010 HUD Budget
Following up on his February budget overview, on May 7, 2009, President Obama released his detailed Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 funding request for federal programs, seeking an overall increase of approximately 7% for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs compared to FY 2009 funding levels. Notable among the budget details is increased funding for two major rental housing programs—Housing Choice Vouchers and project-based Section 8 assistance, as well as $1 billion for the newly created National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. This article provides an overview of this and other important budget details.
State Appellate Court Recognizes Bankruptcy as Public Housing Eviction Defense
In Housing Authority of New Orleans v. Eason, a Louisiana court of appeal recently held that § 525(a) of the federal Bankruptcy Code prohibited a housing authority from evicting a bankrupt tenant solely for failure to pay discharged pre-bankruptcy rent. The court also held that § 525(a) is an affirmative defense in a state court eviction lawsuit. Eason is the first published state appellate decision that enforces § 525(a) to protect a public housing tenant from eviction. At the federal level, the only appellate ruling on this issue has also held that § 525(a) may bar eviction for nonpayment of rent. This article provides background on the case and an overview of challenges faced when defending tenants who have declared Chapter 7 bankruptcies.
NHLP Survey of Northern California Utility Allowances Reveals Potential Deficiencies
A recent analysis of utility allowances used by Northern California public housing authorities (PHAs) indicates that several of these agencies failed to regularly adjust their allowances despite significant increases in natural gas and electric rates. This article summarizes the results of the public records act requests that the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) sent to forty-one PHAs in 2008 and 2009. NHLP conducted this research to assist legal services advocates in assessing whether the utility allowances provided to public housing and Section 8 tenants were adequate.
Rural Housing Service Modifies Operation of Rural Voucher Program
For the third time in as many years, the Rural Housing Service (RHS) has modified the operation of the Rural Voucher Demonstration Program, this time without giving the public official notice of the changes and without fully explaining the effects of the changes. The changes were made in an Unnumbered Letter (UL) sent by the Rural Housing Service to all state Rural Development (RD) Offices and published only on the Rural Development website. This article provides a brief overview of the Unnumbered Letter.
RD Foreclosures Delayed in Twenty-Two States
Rural Development (RD) recently made an error in which it sent acceleration notices to approximately 1327 Section 502 direct home loan borrowers giving them the wrong address for filing an administrative appeal. Borrowers who attempted to appeal the decision had their appeal letters returned because of an undeliverable address. These notices went to borrowers in twenty-two New England, Mid-Atlantic and Upper Mid-west states. This article provides an overview of steps advocates may take to help the affected borrowers.
Public Housing Demolition in Galveston, Texas is Subject to One-for-One Replacement
In 2008, Hurricane Ike damaged large swaths of Galveston, Texas, including over half of the city’s public housing units. In preparation for Ike’s landfall, an evacuation order was issued for the area, and residents living in Galveston’s public housing were forced to leave their homes. Many Galveston residents and displaced public housing tenants qualify for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP). But the vast majority of those who qualified could not find homes where they were able to use the available housing assistance. In January 2009, the GHA board met and agreed to tear down immediately two of its large public housing developments, which comprise over 54% of the multifamily housing stock and proposed to renovate two other developments. In March 2009, Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) filed an administrative complaint with HUD on behalf of displaced Galveston public housing residents, opposing GHA’s plans to demolish these public housing developments without complying with laws governing the demolition and disposition of public housing. The parties recently entered into a settlement agreement in which LSLA has agreed to withdraw its opposition to GHA’s demolition plans in exchange for GHA agreeing to provide a one-for-one replacement of the multifamily public housing units that it intends to demolish. This article outlines the law governing demolitions related to natural disasters, LSLA’s administrative complaint, and the terms of the settlement agreement.
Stimulus Funding Seeks to Improve Energy Efficiency of Multifamily Housing
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided unprecedented funding for improving the energy efficiency of housing serving low-income families. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Green Retrofit Program (GRP) for Multifamily Housing will provide $250 million in grants and loans for building rehabilitation that will reduce utility costs, improve tenant health and provide other environmental benefits. This article describes in detail the Notice HUD recently published to implement the GRP program.
President Obama Signs Serve America Act
In keeping with President Obama’s promise to increase service in the United States, Congress passed and the President signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act on April 21, 2009. The act was both a reauthorization of current federal community service programs, as well as a dramatic expansion of those programs. Notably, the act aims to increase the number of Americorps members from 75,000 to 250,000 by the year 2017 and includes five new service corps – education, healthy futures, clean energy, veterans and opportunity. The opportunity corps will provide opportunities for service in various areas of housing, including construction of housing, assistance to homeless populations and preservation of affordable housing. This article provides an overview of the opportunity corps.
