The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) held a webinar on July 14 informing advocates about how they can protect low-income residents of private housing that has Rural Development (RD) Section 515 assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The recording and slide presentation of the webinar are now available.
More than 145,000 Section 515 units have been prepaid, and virtually all Section 515 units will reach mortgage maturity by 2050. This means that properties containing such units are in danger converting to unaffordable market-rate housing. NHLP experts will offer pre-litigation and litigation opportunities for preserving Section 515 homes.
USDA’s Rural Development is not administering prepayments according to federal law and is not doing enough to protect against mortgage maturity. Consequently, low-income residents in Section 515 projects face potential rent increases and displacement. Rural communities could permanently lose a critical supply of affordable housing.
More information about RD 515 is on page 4-77 of NLIHC’s 2021 Advocates’ Guide.