Tuesday’s Regulatory & Legislative Round-Up

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Issues a Revised Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) notice, RAD which is the program by which Public Housing Authorities obtain funding for project based rental assistance. The revised notice, among other things, increases the maximum number of units per project, provides additional rights and protections for tenants and provides greater incentives for green initiatives.

Friday’s Government Reports

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announces access to the consumer complaint database where users can read consumer narratives and download complaint data as desired. The CFPB describes it as an enhanced public-facing consumer complaint database, which includes for the first time over 7,700 consumer accounts of problems they are facing with financial services providers – including mortgages, bank accounts, credit cards, debt collection, etc.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Semi-Annual Report to Congress (SAR) for the period ending March 31, 2015 – In which it details how: $1.2 billion in funds put to better use; more than $1.7 billion in questioned costs; and more than $457 million in collections through 38 audit reports were reported. HUD also reported more than $38 million in recoveries.
HUD’s Policy Development and Research Division (PD&R) publishes reports every quarter profiling 12-15 housing markets, the latest batch includes, amoung others: Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado; Savannah, Georgia; and Spokane, Washington.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consumer advisory in the first regulatory action prompted by the results of its reverse mortgage report entitled A Closer Look at Reverse Mortgages. Advertisements often lead retirees to believe that reverse loan offers are part of a government program, do not involve interest and fees and fail to mention or prominently display important details regarding these terms.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is seeking comment regarding an expansion of the housing options for Housing Choice Voucher Families. In many regions the rental subsidy is not sufficient to allow renters to live in lower poverty neighborhoods.
HUD also launched a new website for training housing counseling agencies, with an eye toward improving customer service and counseling skills.