Michigan Among Six States Joining HUD, Treasury and USDA to Reduce Regulatory Burden on Affordable Housing Developers

Agencies to sign MOU to eliminate redundant inspections; White House hails agreement that will help families living in nearly 23,000 affordable Michigan rental units

LANSING, Mich., Nov. 7, 2011  /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Midwest Regional Administrator Antonio R. Riley, United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA-RD) Program Director of Multi-Family Housing Programs for Michigan Ghulam Sumbal, and Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Executive Director Gary Heidel announced an interagency agreement to reduce duplicate physical inspections of local subsidized affordable housing – allowing developers and owners to focus on delivering more housing and resources to those in need.

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As part of the Obama Administration's commitment to better coordinate federal rental policy, HUD, Treasury and USDA-RD are piloting programs in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon and Washington to avoid duplicate inspections and reduce regulatory burdens for rental housing that is subsidized through more than one federal agency.  Developers and owners often work with several federal agencies to house the lowest-income tenants.  In the past this meant duplicate requirements and extra paperwork. 

"Our objective is to strengthen MSHDA's effort to continue affordable rental housing's success in serving our most rent-challenged and at-risk families," said Heidel. "Through the launch of MSHDA's pilot program, our partners and customers can begin to realize cost- and time-savings that will help enable low-income families to have access to affordable housing where it is needed most."

"This initiative is an important step forward in the administration's desire to streamline government policies and build strong inter-agency partnerships to serve the American public as cost-effectively and efficiently as possible," said Director of Multifamily Housing for HUD in Detroit Barbara Chiapella, filling in for HUD Regional Administrator Antonio R. Riley. "It is an excellent example of HUD partnering with federal and state agencies to eliminate burdensome requirements and provide seamless coordination for our customers."

USDA Rural Development's Rural Housing Service Administrator Tammye Trevino said, "Any time we not only improve the efficiency of a government process, but also reduce the burden on our property owners and developers – that's a success. We know that reducing duplication between our agencies frees up time and resources that we can better spend providing affordable housing to those who need it most."

The agencies will officially launch the program at a signing ceremony to be held at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, November 7 at MSHDA, 735 East Michigan Avenue, Lansing, MI 48912-1451.

In response to the White House's Domestic Policy Council request for better coordinated federal rental policy, HUD, USDA-RD, Treasury and MSHDA have worked together since April to craft a memorandum of understanding that aligns the often burdensome program requirements of different affordable rental housing government programs. The MOU to be approved by HUD, Treasury, and USDA Rural Development today is an administrative solution that better aligns state and federal affordable rental housing program policies. In Michigan, the agreement is expected to ease administrative overhead for developers who provide affordable housing that helps families living in nearly 23,000 rental units.

About MSHDA

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents and to engage in community economic development activities to revitalize urban and rural communities.*

*MSHDA's loans and operating expenses are financed through the sale of tax-exempt and taxable bonds as well as notes to private investors, not from state tax revenues. Proceeds are loaned at below-market interest rates to developers of rental housing, and help fund mortgages and home improvement loans. MSHDA also administers several federal housing programs. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/mshda.

SOURCE Michigan State Housing Development Authority