WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced that housing finance agencies serving 39 states and 13 localities have been selected to implement a program to save taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion over the next five years by cutting subsidies to owners of HUD-assisted affordable housing.

There are more than 1 million housing units in Federal Housing Administration-insured apartment developments supported by project-based Section 8 rental assistance contracts that will expire over the next seven years. If renewed at current levels, the HUD subsidies would rise to $7 billion by the year 2006 - almost one-third of HUD's current budget.

The 52 housing agencies selected today will carry out HUD's Mark-to-Market program, an effort to subsidize owners of multi-family housing developments at levels more in line with prevailing market rents.

"This partnership will help ensure that we bring down the long-term costs of federal rental assistance subsidies while providing families in need with decent and safe housing," Cuomo said.

Here are the state and local housing finance agencies selected to participate in the restructuring effort:

STATE HOUSING FINANCE AGENCIES

Arizona	Kentucky	New Mexico	South Dakota
California	Louisiana	New York	Tennessee
Colorado	Maine	North Carolina	Texas
Connecticut	Maryland	North Dakota	Utah
Delaware	Massachusetts	Ohio	Vermont
Florida	Michigan	Oklahoma	Virginia
Idaho	Minnesota	Oregon	Washington
Illinois	Missouri	Pennsylvania	West Virginia
Indiana	New Hampshire	Rhode Island	Wisconsin
Iowa	New Jersey	South Carolina

LOCAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCIES

Alabama: Jefferson County	Maryland: Anne Arundel County and Montgomery County
District of Columbia	New York: New York City
Georgia: Atlanta and Macon	Puerto Rico
Illinois: Chicago	Texas: Southeast
Indiana: Indianapolis	Virginia: Fairfax County
Washington State:	Kitsap County

The housing finance agencies participating in the program will work to restructure the Section 8 debt on subsidized properties in a way that ensures owners can continue to operate properties with lower subsidies from HUD.

HUD won Congressional approval of its Mark-to-Market program in 1997 as part of a plan to rescue the Section 8 rental subsidy program from financial collapse and avert an affordable housing crisis that could have threatened up to 4.4 million Americans with homelessness. The plan increased funding for Section 8 renewals by $4.6 billion to enable HUD to renew all expiring Section 8 contracts.

HUD's Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring, which was created through the Department's reinvention efforts, is developing a comprehensive plan that will serve as a guide for the debt restructuring effort. In addition, HUD and the state and local housing finance agencies will be working closely with the residents, property owners, and members of local communities to preserve the affordable housing stock for the future.

"The Mark-to Market Program will make a physical and economic impact on the future of affordable housing across America," said Ira Peppercorn, Director of the Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring. "With the assistance of our partners, the state and local housing finance agencies, the Mark-to-Market program will serve as the framework for future housing programs."

John T. McEvoy, Executive Director of the National Council of State Housing Agencies, worked with Cuomo and Congress to ensure that qualified housing finance agencies would work with HUD in restructuring the Mark-to-Market program.

Applicants were evaluated on their experience working with residents of low-income housing; experience in multi-family restructuring and financing; management of low-income rental housing; financial strength; and demonstrated ability to restructure properties in a timely, efficient and cost-effective manner.

Content Archived: January 20, 2009