Author: US HUD Staff         Published: 1 /9/2023          US HUD

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This year, Secretary Marcia L. Fudge led the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to bold action in pursuit of the agency’s mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes. These actions aligned with key Biden-Harris Administration priorities, including easing the burden of housing costs, removing barriers to homeownership, expanding the nation’s housing supply, addressing the nation’s homelessness crisis, and keeping Americans housed.

Below is a sampling of the strides HUD made in 2022: 
 
Expanded Access to Affordable Housing and Connected People to Rental Assistance by: 
 
•    Keeping more than one million struggling homeowners in their homes through the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) home retention options. 
•    Distributing more than 100,000 housing vouchers to allow very low-income families to choose and lease safe, decent, and affordable privately-owned rental housing. 
 
Increased Housing Supply Through Building, Preservation, and Innovation by:
 
•    Approving HOME-American Rescue Plan allocation plans that will build 10,000 new deeply affordable and supportive housing units and fund services or rental assistance to serve an additional 13,000 people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.
•    Resolving the backlog of applications submitted for FHA insurance on multifamily mortgages and insuring nearly 160,000 rental units at multifamily properties in fiscal year 2022.

Boosted Wealth-Building and Home Ownership Opportunities for All by: 
 
•    Changing FHA’s underwriting policies to allow lenders to use positive rental history in evaluating applicants’ creditworthiness for an FHA-insured mortgage – making it easier for first-time homebuyers to qualify.
•    Expanding access to housing counseling so consumers can seek assistance from more than 1,500 HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and the 4,000 HUD-certified housing counselors. Updates to search functionality allows consumers to easily obtain valuable advice on topics such as buying a home, financial planning, foreclosure avoidance, and housing stability.    
 
Ensured Communities Can Prepare for and Recovery from Disaster Equitably by: 
 
•    Improving internal and interagency coordination on disaster response and recovery.
•    Working with the Government of Puerto Rico to invest in modernization and resiliency of local infrastructure.
 
Address Homelessness with the Urgency it Requires by: 
 
•    Supporting implementation of American Rescue Plan programs, like Emergency Rental Assistance and the enhanced Child Tax Credit, that prevented families from housing loss and homelessness.
•    Reduced Veteran homelessness by 11 percent since 2020, the largest decline in Veteran homelessness in more than 5 years. 
 
Made HUD Easier to Navigate So Our Help Reaches Those Who Need It Most by: 
 
•    Taking the bold step of revising the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) template to reflect Secretary Fudge’s commitment to advancing racial equity. 
•    Launching a first-of-its-kind guide for state, local, and Tribal officials detailing HUD programs, resources, and tools available to support, preserve, and produce affordable homes and to develop thriving neighborhoods where families can enjoy economic security.

Full Fact Sheet here