Housing Counseling Assistance Program (14.169)

Program

14.169 Housing Counseling Assistance Program

Federal Agency

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office: Office Of Housing-federal Housing Commissioner

Authorization

Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended.

Program Number

14.169

Last Known Status

Active

Objectives

To counsel homeowners, homebuyers, prospective renters and tenants under HUD, conventional and other government programs in improving their housing conditions and in meeting the responsibilities of tenancy and homeownership.

Types of Assistance

PROJECT GRANTS

Uses and Use Restrictions

To provide housing counseling grants to HUD-approved local housing counseling agencies; to HUD-approved national and regional intermediaries; and to State housing finance agencies. Grants provide a variety of housing counseling services, including single family home buying, homeownership, mortgage default, HECM, rental, and rental delinquency under HUD and other programs.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

Qualified public or private nonprofit organizations. There are three categories of eligible applicants: (1) HUD-approved local housing counseling agency; (2) HUD-approved national or regional intermediary; and (3) State housing finance agency.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Individuals, groups of individuals, and families who are renters, tenants, homeowners, and home buyers under HUD, conventional and other government programs.

Credentials/Documentation

To be eligible to apply for a housing counseling grant through the SuperNOFA, agencies, except state housing finance agencies must be HUD approved. HUD-approval must be secured by the SuperNOFA publication date. To become a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, applicants must (1) meet the requirements of the Housing Counseling Handbook 7610.1 as revised; (2) consult the HUD website to learn about the eligibility requirements for becoming HUD-approved and obtain application (available on the HUD website at www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcc_homes.cfm); and (3) return application to the HUD Homeownership Center (HOC) with jurisdiction, or, if appropriate, HUD Headquarters. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

The availability of funds is announced on HUD's website at www.hud.gov. There is no application kit. For a copy of the NOFA, applicants can visit the HUD website (www.hud.gov). Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure

OMB Circular No. A-102 applies to this program. OMB Circular No. A-110 applies to this program. Applicants must submit by the required date the items and forms requested in the NOFA, such as a description of the housing counseling services to be provided, and indicators by which benefits / impact will be measured.

Award Procedure

Applicants will be evaluated competitively and ranked against all other applicants that applied in the same funding category. National and regional intermediaries are rated and ranked by HUD Headquarters. Local agencies, multi-state organizations and State housing finance agencies are rated and ranked by the Homeownership Center (HOC) with jurisdiction. A funding formula outlined in the NOFA is used to calculate awards. This program is subject to the administrative requirements established in OMB Circular A-102, Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments, which was implemented by 24 CFR part 85; OMB Circular A-110, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Nonprofit Organizations, which was implemented by 24 CFR part 84; and OMB Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Nonprofit Organizations, which was implemented by 24 CFR Parts 84 and 85. Grants awarded under this program are also subject to the cost principles in OMB Circular A-87 for State and local governments and Indian tribal governments and OMB Circular A-122 for nonprofit organizations.

Deadlines

Not Applicable.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Award announcements typically occur 5-7 months after applications are received.

Appeals

Applicants for housing counseling grants may appeal their denial of a grant award or the insufficiency of the grant amount to HUD.

Renewals

Grantees must submit a new application and compete through the NOFA each year.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

This program has no statutory formula.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this program.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Funding assistance is for a discrete period of time, generally 1 year. Grantees invoice HUD on a periodic basis for housing counseling services delivered. Payments of grant funds are subsequently made to grantees via direct deposit/electronic funds transfer (DD/EFT). Method of awarding/releasing assistance: quarterly.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Audits

Not Applicable.

Records

As required in grant document and Housing Counseling Handbook, HUD 7610.1 REV-4 dated August 1995.

Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2008: Fiscal year 2008 - agencies participating in the program provided housing counseling services to approximately 1,750,000 households. Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

Financial Information

Account Identification

86-0205-0-1-604.

Obligations

(Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements)) FY 08 $47,500,000; FY 09 est $60,000,000; FY 10 est $92,000,000

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

Range and average of financial assistance: For Fiscal Year 2008, the minimum request from a local agency was $20000 and the maximum request from an intermediary was $5.5 million. The average local agency counseling grant was approximately $36,000. The average intermediary award was approximately $1.2 million.

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

Not Applicable.

Related Programs

Not Applicable.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

None. Persons are encouraged to contact the Homeownership Center serving their State (see http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hoc/hsghocs.cfm), or the nearest local HUD Office. See Catalog address Appendix IV for a list of offices.

Headquarters Office

Wanda L. Sampedro 451 7th Street, SW, Washington, District of Columbia 20410 Email: wanda.sampedro@hud.gov Phone: 2024022324

Web Site Address

http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcc_home.cfm.

Examples of Funded Projects

Not Applicable.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Not Applicable.