[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 115 (Thursday, June 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39219-39220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12778]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service

[Docket No. RHS-23-MFH-0018]


Decoupling Rental Assistance: Virtual Public Listening Sessions

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with a Congressional directive in the FY2023

[[Page 39220]]

Consolidated Appropriations Act, the Rural Housing Service (RHS or the 
Agency), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA), will be hosting two virtual listening sessions to 
obtain stakeholder information on potential decoupling of section 521 
Rental Assistance from section 515 Rural Rental Housing loans at the 
time of loan maturity. Both sessions will be open to the public.

DATES: The virtual listening sessions will be held on July 19, 2023, 
beginning at 2:00 p.m. (ET) and on July 25, 2023, beginning at 2:00 
p.m. (ET).

ADDRESSES: The listening sessions will convene virtually on the Zoom 
platform. All participants must pre-register. To register for the July 
19, 2023, session, please use the following link: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_S8IV8KZ2TjKU-v231VIXhA. To register 
for the July 25, 2023, session, please use the following link: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_A7a3cdjgRy6D6xWguP24Qw.
    A confirmation email, including the Zoom link and teleconference 
information for the meeting, will be sent upon receipt of the 
registration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Vergin, Policy Advisor, 
Multifamily Housing, Rural Housing Service, USDA, STOP 0781, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-0781, telephone: (651) 
602-7820 (this is not a toll-free number); email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The section 515 Rural Rental Housing program loan portfolio 
includes nearly 14,000 Multifamily Housing (MFH) properties in rural 
areas nationwide. Approximately 80 percent of units financed with a 
section 515 loan also receive section 521 Rental Assistance (RA), a 
project-based tenant rent subsidy. By statute, when a section 515 
mortgage matures or is terminated, the property is no longer eligible 
to receive section 521 RA, adversely impacting residents and creating 
an elevated risk of loss of affordable units in the section 515 
portfolio. Between 2023 and 2033, approximately 137,000 affordable 
housing units will be lost due to maturing section 515 mortgages, with 
a potential to lose approximately 333,000 units by the year 2050.
    For owners willing to continue providing affordable housing upon 
mortgage maturity, the agency is currently limited to debt 
modifications and deferrals to keep the section 515 mortgages in place, 
which enables the continued availability of RA. However, maintaining 
the section 515 mortgage with currently available preservation tools 
may adversely impact the property by discouraging critical investments 
from other local, State, and Federal sources or create a lack of equity 
for further recapitalization.
    Decoupling of section 515 from section 521 Rental Assistance is a 
tool for preservation of rural multifamily housing properties. It will 
allow for the continuation of the project-based RA to MFH tenants, who 
had an average annual household income of approximately $13,000 in 
Fiscal Year 2022, while also encouraging new third-party investment and 
recapitalization of the aging MFH portfolio.

Meeting Agenda

    The Fiscal Year 2023 President's Budget included a request to 
decouple section 521 RA from section 515 loans to facilitate the 
rehabilitation and preservation of the Multifamily Housing loan 
portfolio. Congress directed USDA to conduct a series of stakeholder 
meetings and provide a report on how decoupling would be implemented. 
Therefore, RHS MFH is seeking stakeholder input on how decoupling might 
impact the current section 515 and section 521 policies, program 
requirements and operations. In addition to participating in the 
listening sessions, stakeholders may provide written comments to the 
agency on MFH decoupling until July 31, 2023. Comments may be submitted 
to [email protected].
    After the listening sessions, a report will be developed for 
Congress summarizing stakeholder input and identifying strategies for 
implementation of MFH decoupling.

Joaquin Altoro,
Administrator, Rural Housing Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-12778 Filed 6-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XV-P