Information Bulletin #305 from Steve Gold,s Treasured Nuggets of Information, March 29, 2010
Because the response to the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (#303) Information Bulletin was so strong, we thought you might want more information regarding other aspects of the federal HOME Investment Partnership program which disability and elderly advocates should be aware of. Here goes..... While the data in #303 was from the HUD web as of 12/31/09, the data in the present Information Bulletin is from the "State HFA Factbook:2008 NCSHA Annual Survey Results." HFA= your state Housing Finance Agency, and HCSHA = National Council of State Housing Agencies.
It's important to remember that in addition to HOME funds going to your State HFA, many, many cities and larger counties also receive HOME funds.
The data we're providing is only for the State HFA. You should check how your cities/counties have allocated their HOME funds.
As we have explained, federal HOME funds can be allocated only for Single-family, Multifamily, or Tenant-Based Rental Assistance. Multifamily housing = rental units. When a state Housing Finance Agency (or city/county recipients of HOME funds) allocates HOME funds for 5 or more rental units, then Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that at least 5% of the units be constructed/rehabilitated accessible for people with physical disabilities and 1% accessible for people with hearing and visual disabilities.
Here are the total number of Multifamily units by State HFA for 2008.
Were 5/1/1% made accessible? Are people with disabilities residing in the accessible units? You'll have to ask your State HFA (as well as your city/county recipients of HOME funds) to find out.
STATE HOUSING FINANCE AGENCIES TOTAL MULTIFAMILY UNITS IN 2008 *
Alabama, 420
Alaska, 18
Arizona, 34
Arkansas, 0
Delaware, 11
D. C., 0
Florida, 98
Georgia, 148
Hawaii, 37
Idaho, 171
Illinois, 405
Indiana, 58
Kansas, 54
Kentucky, 20
Louisiana, 65
Maine, 191
Maryland, 53
Massachusetts, 354
Michigan, 744
Minnesota, 595
Missouri, 80
Montana, 71
Nevada, 49
New Hampshire, 107
New Mexico, 433
New York, 165
North Carolina, 576
North Dakota, 0
Ohio, 755
Oklahoma, 0
Oregon, 151
Pennsylvania, 137
Rhode Island, 67
South Carolina, 250
South Dakota, 71
Tennessee, 10
Texas, 606
West Virginia, 47
Wyoming, 51
National, 7,102
* If your State is not listed, the data was not provided by the NCSHA.
Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continues
Back issues of other Information Bulletins are available online at http://www.stevegoldada.com with a searchable Archive at this site divided into different subjects. To contact Steve Gold directly, write to stevegoldada@cs.com or call 215-627-7100.