LATEST NEWS

Member information Form

Please remember to complete and return your Member Information Form! We use this information to update our database and for the membership directory. We also need to collect important information on your Housing type, revenue and other information as indicated on the form. Having this information provides us the resources we need when communicating with regulatory agencies, state agencies and the state and federal legislature. If you have any questions, please contact Tina Bowman. Also, if your Housing property is part of a multi-owner corporation that submits information on your behalf, please be sure they have all the details needed to submit the requested information. You can download the form HERE. Please return completed form to Tina. Thank you!

LeadingAge Housing Network – Weekly Calls

The next Housing call is scheduled for October 16 at 12:30 p.m. The Housing Network is open to all LeadingAge members. To join, reach out to Linda or Juliana at LeadingAge (National) and they will approve your participation. You can also reach out to Tina at LeadingAge Indiana.

HUD Awards $160M for New Section 202 Homes

On October 2, HUD announced $160.1 million in awards to 25 nonprofit organizations, including 11 LeadingAge members, to build and preserve affordable housing for older adults with very low incomes through the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program. This is the third round of awards since Congress revived funding for the program in 2018 after several years of zero funding for new Section 202 homes. LeadingAge championed advocacy efforts to bring the Section 202 program back because of its unique attributes: households’ incomes are never too low to live in Section 202 housing; rent for each household is based on that household’s income and fluctuates as necessary to continuously provide affordable, stable housing; about half of existing and all newly awarded Section 202 communities have service coordinators who connect residents to the services and supports needed to successfully age in community. “HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, unique for its focus on older adults and a demonstrated success in ensuring positive outcomes, is a program we fought hard to revive. We’re thrilled that these funds are being distributed, and proud to support our members around the country who serve low-income older adults in affordable housing communities,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge, said in our statement. Read HUD’s press release here.

House HUD Funding Amendments Would Harm, Help Programs

The full House of Representatives could start consideration of its fiscal year 2024 HUD funding bill this week, after a new House Speaker is named. Regardless of the specific timing of the full House considering its HUD FY24 funding bill, the House Committee on Rules allowed members to submit amendments to the bill, HR 4820, until October 5. Submission of an amendment does not mean the Rules Committee will allow the amendment to be considered.

Of the amendments filed, several are of great concern to LeadingAge:

• An amendment from Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) would prevent any funds from the bill to be used for financial assistance to “any individual who is — between the ages of 21 to 59, able bodied, is not pregnant, has no medical or physical barriers to employer (sic), and does not have anyone under the age of 18 living with them.”
• An amendment from Rep. Ralph Norman (SC) would prohibit any of the bill’s funding to be used “to implement, administer, apply, enforce, or carry out any diversity, equity, and inclusion office, program, or training.”
• An amendment from Rep. George Santos (R-NY) would defund HUD’s Office of Departmental Equal Employment Opportunity.
• An amendment from Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) would cut funding for HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program in half.
• An amendment from Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) would reduce HUD funding by $4.9 billion “in order to get total spending closer to FY22 levels.”

Two amendments were filed, which LeadingAge supports, to increase funding for HUD’s Section 202 Housing for the Elderly account:

• An amendment from Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) to increase Section 202 funding by $10 million with funds transferred from HUD administrative support offices.
• An amendment from Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) to increase Section 202 funding by $5 million with funds transferred from HUD administrative support and program offices.

The Senate is expected to restart consideration of a three-bill appropriations package, which includes the Senate’s FY24 HUD funding bill, the week of October 16. LeadingAge will continue to work closely on HUD’s FY24 funding to protect and expand resources for affordable senior housing. Take action with this action alert to urge Congress to do more, not less for affordable senior housing.

NSPIRE Now Effective for HUD’s Senior Housing Communities

Beginning October 1, HUD’s new National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) are effective for HUD-assisted Multifamily Housing programs, including Section 202 senior housing communities. HUD’s new NSPIRE protocol represents a comprehensive overhaul of the agency’s housing safety oversight approach. HUD published the final NSPIRE rule on May 11, 2023, and published final standards, scoring, and administrative notices for Multifamily Housing providers in June and July. Moving forward, Multifamily Housing properties will not receive housing inspections under the previous protocol (UPCS) but will be inspected under NSPIRE. Properties will continue receiving a 28-notice before an inspection. LeadingAge worked with HUD and housing providers throughout the transition to NSPIRE and will continue to advocate to ensure a smooth process. Read about LeadingAge’s work on NSPIRE here.