Rural Housing Preservation Grants (10.433)

Program

10.433 Rural Housing Preservation Grants

Federal Agency

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Office: Rural Development

Authorization

Housing Act of 1949, as amended, Section 533, Public Law 98-181, 42 U.S.C. 1480.

Program Number

10.433

Last Known Status

Active

Objectives

To assist very low- and low-income rural residents individual homeowners, rental property owners (single/multi-unit) or by providing the consumer cooperative housing projects (co-ops) the necessary assistance to repair or rehabilitate their dwellings. These objectives will be accomplished through the establishment of repair/rehabilitation, projects run by eligible applicants. This program is intended to make use of and leverage any other available housing programs which provide resources to very low and low-income rural residents to bring their dwellings up to development standards.

Types of Assistance

PROJECT GRANTS

Uses and Use Restrictions

Organizations may use less than 20 percent of the Housing Preservation Grant funds for program administration purposes, such as to hire the personnel to carry out a project of housing rehabilitation to meet the needs of very low and low- income persons in rural areas; to pay necessary and reasonable office and administrative expenses; and to pay reasonable fees for training of organization personnel. Eighty percent or more of funds must be used for loans, grants or other assistance on individual homes, homeowners, rental properties or co-ops to pay any part of the cost for repair or rehabilitation of structures; funds may not be used to hire personnel to perform construction or to pay any debts, expenses or costs other than previously outlined and approved in the project application.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

Must be a State or political subdivision, public nonprofit corporation, Indian tribal corporations, authorized to receive and administer housing preservation grants, private nonprofit corporation, or a consortium of such eligible entities. Applicants must provide assistance under this program to persons residing in open country and communities with a population of 10,000 that are rural in character and places with a population of up to 20,000 under certain conditions. Applicants in towns with population of 10,000 to 20,000 should check with local Rural Development office to determine if the Agency can serve them. Assistance is authorized for eligible applicants in the United States, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and the territories and possessions of the United States.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Very low and low-income rural individuals and families who are homeowners and need resources to bring their housing up to code standards, rental property owners, or co-ops.

Credentials/Documentation

Applicants must have the financial, legal, administrative, and operational capacity to carry out the objectives of the program by having experience in rural housing rehabilitation. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments. OMB Circular No. A-87 applies to this program.

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact assessment is required for this program. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.

Application Procedure

This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110. In FY 09, the Section 533 program was awarded through a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) announced in the Federal Register on May 11, 2009. The NOFA application period was 60 days from the date of the announcement. The NOFA deadline was July 10, 2009.

Award Procedure

Award is made by the Rural Development State Director.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Notice of action taken on preapplications will be generally within 60 days of final date of acceptance of preapplication.

Appeals

Applicants may request reconsideration on the basis of pertinent facts concerning their application within 30 days of notification of action taken on the preapplication or application.

Renewals

Applicants may apply for an additional HPG grant when they have achieved or nearly achieved the goals established for the previous or existing grant. The grantee must file a preapplication for the current fiscal year which will be processed and compared under the project selection criteria to others submitted at that time.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

Statutory Formula: Title 7 CFR 1940-L Methhodology and Formulas for Allocation of Loan and Grant Funds.

This program has no matching requirements.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Grants are made for a 12 month period. Agency consent is required for grants that exceed 1 year. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Award is made by the Rural Development State Director.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. Periodic audits should be made as part of the recipient's system of financial management and internal control to meet terms and conditions of grants and other agreements. In accordance with the provisions of 7 CFR Part 3052, "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations," which implement OMB Circular A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program- specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 7 CFR 3052.

Records

Grantees shall maintain adequate records and accounts to assure that grant funds are used for authorized purposes.

Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2008: During fiscal year 2008, applications were funded to assist 2,215 units. Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

Financial Information

Account Identification

12-2070-0-1-604.

Obligations

(Project Grants) FY 08 $9,593,704; FY 09 est $10,088,166; FY 10 est $9,400,000

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

For fiscal year 2008, approximately 159 grants were obligated providing assistance for 2,215 units.

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

7 CFR 1944-N, Section 1944.651 through 1944.700, RD Instruction 1944-N. Regulations are available from Rural Development State offices.

Related Programs

10.410 Very Low to Moderate Income Housing Loans; 10.411 Rural Housing Site Loans and Self_Help Housing Land Development Loans; 10.417 Very Low-Income Housing Repair Loans and Grants; 10.420 Rural Self-Help Housing Technical Assistance; 14.108 Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

See Regional Agency Offices. Consult your local telephone directory under U.S. Department of Agriculture for Rural Development county or district office numbers or visit the website http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app for a State Office listing.

Headquarters Office

Multi-Family Housing, Preservation and Direct Loan Division, Rural Development U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20250-0788 Phone: 202-720-1604

Web Site Address

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

Examples of Funded Projects

Fiscal Year 2008: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Projects must provide a feasible repair rehabilitation program and serve areas with a concentration of substandard housing and very low and low-income persons. In addition, the following criteria will be considered in the selection of grant recipients. Each preapplication and its accompanying statement of activities will be evaluated on: (1) The percentage of very low-income persons assisted; (2) the percentage of use of HPG funds to total cost of housing preservation; (3) the applicant's administrative capacity and experience in (i) housing rehabilitation or weatherization, (ii) assisting very low and low-income persons attain housing assistance and (iii) prior programs no outstanding audits findings; (4) the proposed program will be undertaken in non-Metropolitan Statistical Areas identified by Rural Development as having populations below 10,000 or in remote parts of other rural areas, (i.e., rural areas contained in Metropolitan Statistical Areas with less than 5,000 population); (5) the program will minimize the use of grant funds for administrative purposes, i.e., less than 20 percent of grant funds; (6) the program will alleviate overcrowding in rural residences inhabited by very low and low-income families; and (7) if an existing grantee has met the objectives of its current grant.