Archives

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Sears Home Improvement Products Inc. that resolves alleged violations of the federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule for work performed by Sears’ contractors during home renovation projects across the country.  Under the settlement, Sears will implement a comprehensive, corporate-wide program to ensure that the contractors it hires to perform work are properly certified and follow required procedures to prevent exposure to lead dust from home renovation activities.  Sears will also pay a $400,000 civil penalty

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) closed two loans for rehabilitation projects that will preserve affordable housing in Southeast DC— at the 93-unit Parkchester Apartments at 2704 Wade Road SE, and 1314 K Street SE, a 12-unit cooperative building

The modeled costs to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems continued to decline in the first quarter of 2016 in the U.S. residential, commercial, and utility-scale sectors, according to updated benchmarks from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Driving the cost reductions were lower module and inverter prices, increased competition, lower installer and developer overheads, improved labor productivity, and optimized system configurations.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it is making $3.3 million available in cooperative agreements to support research to develop and improve methods for the identification and control of key residential health hazards and to improve the implementation of policies that address these hazards.

In response to changing conditions in the condominium market, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today proposed new regulations governing the approval process for condominium developments. FHA proposes to reinstate single unit approvals in unapproved condominium developments and to require condo projects to recertify their approval status every three years rather than the current two-year requirement

In an effort to help low-income public housing residents secure higher paying jobs and access to greater opportunity, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a $14 million investment in six public housing authorities and their partners

Over the last eight years, this Administration has focused not just on improving our ability to respond and recover from disasters, but also to expand resilience in our communities. The President believes that our ability to respond to and recover from disasters is predicated on building resilience to the wide range of natural disasters, technological hazards, and acts of terrorism that may impact our Nation. And each time we rebuild, we can do so in a way that makes our communities stronger and more resilience, to limit the impact the next disaster may inflict

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) closed two loans for rehabilitation projects that will preserve affordable housing in Southeast DC— at the 93-unit Parkchester Apartments at 2704 Wade Road SE, and 1314 K Street SE, a 12-unit cooperative building.

The Justice Department announced today that the owners and managers of four multi-family apartment complexes in the Salt Lake City area have agreed to pay $45,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against tenants and prospective tenants with disabilities

Sales of new single-family houses in August 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 609,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau. This is 7.6 percent (±10.7%)* below the revised July rate of 659,000, but is 20.6 percent (±14.8%) above the August 2015 estimate of 505,000

The U.S. Departments of the Army, the Interior and Justice invited tribal leaders to participate in government-to-government consultations on infrastructure permitting. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) released the following statemen

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is hosting a call on Sept. 28, 2016, with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Bob McDonald, HUD Secretary Julian Castro, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and other federal partners to discuss how Mayors can work to end veteran homelessness in tight rental markets

Enhancing the portability of housing assistance vouchers will help recipients achieve economic self-sufficiency by opening up new and better job, education and housing opportunities, witnesses told the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance today

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) awarded 32 organizations nearly $91.5 million in grants today for the development of affordable housing and community facilities in low-income communities.  These awards were made through the fiscal year 2016 round of the Capital Magnet Fund and will support financing for the preservation, rehabilitation, development or purchase of affordable housing for low-income communities as well as related economic development and community service facilities such as day care centers, workforce development centers and health care clinics

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) applauded the National Park Service’s (NPS) announcement of more than $1.5 million in Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grants to fund new park construction and to improve park facilities at three sites in the state of Washington

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced it is providing Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana with an early infusion of $13 million in disaster assistance in the wake of last month’s devastating flooding. The announcement was made by HUD Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Harriet Tregoning following a meeting with members of Governor John Bel Edward’s Restore Louisiana Task Force.

The operators of an alleged mortgage relief scam that preyed upon distressed homeowners are banned from the mortgage loan modification and debt relief business under a court order obtained by the Federal Trade Commission.

Two technologies developed by researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and a third developed through a collaboration between Wolfspeed, NREL, Toyota, and the University of Arkansas' National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission, have been named finalists by R&D Magazine for the coveted 2016 R&D 100 Awards

The former assistant property manager of Roxse Homes, a subsidized housing development in Boston, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston for his role in a scheme to rent apartments at the housing development to individuals who were not qualified in exchange for cash bribes

Nearly 900 mortgage originators, housing finance experts, and government officials will join Ginnie Mae over the next two days to explore the most critical challenges still facing the housing finance industry. The two-day Summit in Washington, DC will focus on the shift to independent mortgage bankers, new business models for managing mortgage servicing rights, and the uncertain regulatory environment.