The Rural Housing Service (RHS) Administrator approved an Administrator’s Exception related to an upcoming regulation change resulting from the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA).
RHS published a Memorandum, informing Multifamily Housing (MFH) owners, management agents, and partners of an Administrator’s Exception as it relates to 7 CFR 3560.153 and 24 CFR 5.609(c).
The Housing Act of 1949 requires the calculation of tenant’s annual and adjusted household income be taken from the definition provided by the Housing Act of 1937 (42 USC 1471; 42 USC 1437a). This requirement is reflected in 7 CFR 3560.153(a) which requires annual and adjusted income to be calculated in accordance with 24 CFR 5.609.
HOTMA, signed into law on July 29, 2016, directed The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue a rule, making changes to the requirements related to income calculations found in the Housing Act of 1937. To incorporate the changes made by HOTMA, HUD published a Final Rule on February 14, 2023, updating the existing 24 CFR 5.609.
The Housing Act of 1949 does not incorporate the updates found in 24 CFR 5.609(c) and accordingly RHS and MFH will not implement 24 CFR 5.609(c). To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit the GovDelivery subscriber page.