HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Promotes Affordable Connectivity Program

HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs (Multifamily) sent an email to stakeholders on May 10 announcing a new federal subsidy program – the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) – to help HUD-assisted households pay for internet service. HUD’s media office meanwhile issued a media release on May 9 addressing ACP and indicating that HUD offices would be reaching out to public housing and Tribal housing programs, as well as Multifamily’s Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) programs. The email and the release each state clearly that ACP benefits will not count as income for determining a household’s rent, nor will benefits impact a household’s eligibility for HUD assistance. Households are eligible for ACP assistance simply by living in private properties assisted with Section 8 PBRA and public housing.

Part of the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” the ACP invests $14 billion to provide eligible households up to $30 per month ($75 per month for qualifying households on qualifying Tribal lands) to help cover the cost of internet service. In addition, ACP will provide a one-time $100 subsidy for the purchase of a computer, laptop, or tablet if a household contributes more than $10 and fewer than $50 toward the purchase through a participating broadband provider. ACP is similar to last year’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (see Memo, 5/24/21).

Households can enroll through a participating broadband provider, or by submitting an online application at ACPBenefit.org, or by submitting a mail-in application that can be downloaded from the same site. Households can also contact their preferred participating broadband provider to select a plan.

Multifamily’s email links to a two-page factsheet issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is administering ACP. The factsheet describes eligibility criteria for households that are not HUD-assisted. Likewise, the email links to a four-page “Mini-Guide to the ACP” designed to help public housing agencies (PHAs) and private owners of HUD-assisted properties assist their residents in enrolling in ACP.

Read Multifamily’s email at: https://bit.ly/3wdXf3i

Read HUD’s media release at: https://bit.ly/39I6pgM

Read the FCC fact sheet at: https://bit.ly/3M8IOEl

Read HUD’s “Mini-Guide to the ACP” at: https://bit.ly/3PaHKlk

Additional information about the Affordable Connectivity Program is available at www.fcc.gov/ACP and can be found by calling 877-384-2575 between 9 am and 9 pm ET.

The Biden/Harris administration has also posted information about the program at Get Internet.