NAHMA USDA Update: Multifamily Housing Partnership Presentation; Renters Bill of Rights; Denial of Admission Best Practices

August 1, 2023

Dear NAHMA Members,

 Please find the following updates from RD below:

  •  Multifamily Housing Partnership Presentation
  • Actions Fulfill Commitments Made in President Biden’s Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights
  • Program Requirements and Best Practices Regarding Denial of Admission

 

For more information, please view the announcements below.

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Multifamily Housing Partnership Presentation

On July 20, 2023, Rural Development Multifamily Housing leadership held a meeting providing a quarterly update to our external partners.  The update included information about leadership changes, budgets, new tools and resources, Multifamily Physical Inspection Pilot Program (MPIPP), and lots of other pertinent information and updates. These meetings will continue to be held on a regular basis, with our next partnership meeting tentatively scheduled for October 26, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  A link to that meeting will be sent out via GovDelivery once we get closer to the date.  Interested parties are encouraged to join a mailing list to receive future updates via GovDelivery from Rural Development Multifamily Housing.

Here’s a copy of our presentation from July 20, 2023: Multifamily Housing Partnership Updates

If you are looking for the servicing specialist for a specific property, you will find a complete and sortable list here:  https://www.sc.egov.usda.gov/data/MFH.html

If you have any questions, please contact your servicing specialist, as identified in the above sortable list, or contact the applicable Regional Director, as follows:

The four regions and the contact information for each Regional Director follows:

Western Region: Becki Meyer, Regional Director  
[email protected]
(AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)

Southern Region: Byron Waters, Regional Director,
[email protected]
(AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, PR, SC, TN, TX, VI)

Midwest Region: Eric Siebens, Regional Director,
[email protected]
(IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI)

Northeast Region: Donna O’Brien, Regional Director,
[email protected]
(CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV)

Multifamily Housing Organizational Structure

 

Multifamily Housing General Inquiries:  800-292-8293

 

NEWS RELEASE

Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Advance Renters’ Rights

Actions Fulfill Commitments Made in President Biden’s Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2023 – The Biden-Harris Administration today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is advising landlords to inform people applying for and living in USDA-financed rental properties of their legal rights and protections.

Today’s announcement is part of a series of actions to fulfill commitments made in President Biden’s Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights that will increase fair housing practices and affordable rent prices for people across the nation.

“Ensuring people living in rural and Tribal communities have safe and affordable places they are proud to call home is a core part of USDA’s mission,” USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Farah Ahmad said. “That’s why we are committed to advancing the Administration’s actions to protect and educate renters and strengthen protections for people seeking affordable housing across rural America.”

To learn more, read full NEWS RELEASE.

 

 

Multifamily Housing

July 27, 2023

 

Program Requirements and Best Practices Regarding Denial of Admission 

On January 25, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to increase housing fairness and rental affordability by releasing the Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, which is intended to support the development of policies and practices that promote fairness for Americans living in rental housing. 

The Blueprint establishes five principles that create a shared baseline for fairness for renters in the housing market.  One of those five principles is Education, Enforcement, and Enhancement of Renter’s Rights.  To further this, the Rural Housing Service (RHS), in cooperation with other Federal partners, is releasing the Program Requirements and Best Practices regarding denial of admission in USDA Multifamily Housing (MFH) administered programs memorandum in an effort to ensure renters and rental applicants know their existing legal rights and protections. The ultimate goal of this announcement is to remind USDA MFH stakeholders of the relevant requirements around disclosing denials of admission to applicants and to share best practices around the use of tenant screening reports and the disclosure of the contacts of those reports to tenants.

RHS MFH owners shall post a copy of the attached Program Requirements and Best Practices regarding denial of admission in USDA Multifamily Housing (MFH) administered programs memorandum in all common areas at RHS MFH properties.

RHS is committed to advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to protect and educate renters and strengthen tenant protections within the affordable housing industry.

For program information...