HUD Makes $174.6 Million in Grant Funding Available for Construction

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Bobbie Guidry

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $174.6 million in grant funds through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to support the development of new affordable multifamily rental homes for low-income seniors and ongoing project rental assistance and supportive services. The grants are offered under HUD's Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program and will be awarded to nonprofit organizations across the country.

“The need has never been greater to increase the supply of affordable and safe rental homes for our nation’s low-income senior population,” said Assistant Secretary for Housing Julia Gordon.

HUD will award Section 202 grant funds to nonprofit organizations in two forms:

• Capital Advances: This funding covers developing, acquiring, or rehabilitating an eligible property. Repayment is not required if the housing remains available for occupancy by very low-income elderly persons for at least 40 years.
• Project Rental Assistance Contracts: This renewable project-based funding covers the difference between residents' contributions toward rent and the cost of operating the project. Section 202 program eligibility requires residents to be very low-income or earning less than 50 percent of the area median income. Most households in the Section 202 program make less than 30 percent of the median income for their area.

In 2021, HUD awarded $143 million in grants to help finance the development of more than 30 new properties and more than 2,100 new rental homes for low-income seniors under the Section 202 program. Changes in this NOFO from the 2021 funding opportunity include:

• Support for intergenerational households through a funding set-aside of up to $15 million for projects with an intergenerational component supporting elderly residents acting as caregivers for children;
• Enhancements that support safer, healthier, more efficient homes, with new minimum requirements for energy and water efficiency and climate resiliency, with additional rating points for properties that achieve higher energy efficiency or climate resiliency standards; and
• Emphasis on deconcentrating poverty by incorporating rating points based on a measure of the poverty rate of the project’s neighborhood, with the maximum number of points for properties located in census tracts where the U.S. Census Bureau’s Census Poverty Map indicates a poverty rate of 10 percent or less.

Potential applicants may find complete details about the application requirements and process in the NOFO published today. Applications must be received by Jan. 25, 2023.