Housing Leadership Council

When $25B won’t make a dent…

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U.S. Renters Could Owe $70 Billion

By January, when the federal eviction moratorium expires, 11.4 million households in the U.S. might be more than three months behind in their rent, or $6,000 each.
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Between past due rent, late fees and unpaid utility bills, Americans may collectively owe $70 billion by January, when the current federal eviction moratorium is set to expire.

Estimates for the nation’s total rent shortfall on Jan. 1 range in the tens of billions of dollars, potentially exceeding the amount of emergency rental assistance that Congress may or may not deliver over the next few weeks. If lawmakers fail to act, the New Year could trigger a long-feared disaster — an avalanche of evictions during… Read More

 

COVID – 19 Relief Bill – A Review of the Housing Provisions

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The Covid-19 relief bill was just posted and includes the following provisions that will impact housing:

Emergency Rental Assistance – There is $25B for rental costs including back rent, forward rent (limited to 3 months at a time), utility and other qualifying housing expenses.  This will be targeted to 80% Area Median Income and below (~$70,000 for a household of 4 in PBC) with a focus on those making less than 50% AMI (~$44,000 for a household of 4 in PBC).  Landlords can apply on the renter’s behalf with permission of the tenant. Florida will get $1,429,695,000 in funds but we have not received specific County/City allocations.

CDC Moratorium – The moratorium is extended to January 31, 2021.

Extension of CRF Funds – The current CRF funding deadline is extended to December 31, 2021. Without this extension, all unexpended funding would have been returned to the Treasury as of December 30,2020.

4% Tax Credit – The bill establishes a permanent floor for the 4% credit so those using the credit will have more secure, predictable financing.

Download NLIHC fact sheet.

FHFA Extends Foreclosure Moratorium Through January

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced that single-family homeowners with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be protected from foreclosure for at least another month.

The moratorium, previously set to expire on December 31, will instead last through January 31, if not later. The moratorium also applies to evictions. “This extension gives peace of mind to the more than 28 million homeowners with an enterprise-backed mortgage,” FHFA director Mark Calabria said in a statement, referring to the two government-sponsored enterprises.

Read Full Moratorium

How to solve Florida’s large-scale affordable housing crisis

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By Mike Vogel | Florida Trend | 9/25/2020

… Affordable housing means different things — market rate vs. subsidized, for example — to different people. At a housing forum in February, Suzanne Cabrera, CEO of the Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County, remarked that a manufacturer paying starting engineers $85,000 a year had trouble recruiting local workers because housing costs are so high. “If you cannot recruit a rocket scientist in your county, you got a huge problem,” she said.

That said, affordable housing generally means houses or apartments for low-income workers — housekeepers, retail clerks, health aides and others. Orange County defines the affordable market as households making from 30% of area median income — or $26,000 — up to 120% of area median income ($83,000). Read Full Article

Florida foreclosure filings trend up as some fear a fall wave awaits

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By John Haughey | The Center Square | 9/20/2020

Gov. Ron DeSantis extended Florida’s eviction and foreclosure moratorium until Oct. 1 last month, delaying what some fear will be a wave of foreclosures across the state once the ban is lifted.

Those fears are justified if trends documented by mortgage date firm ATTOM Data Solutions in its August 2020 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report continue into fall and 2021.

According to ATTOM, which owns RealtyTrac, Florida had the nation’s second-highest foreclosure filing rate in August, with Jacksonville’s foreclosure filing rate the highest for any metro area in the country.

There were 9,889 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – in August, up…Read More

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