[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 172 (Thursday, September 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50554-50555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19496]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6274-N-01]


Annual Indexing of Basic Statutory Mortgage Limits for 
Multifamily Housing Programs; Annual Indexing of Substantial 
Rehabilitation Threshold

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing 
Commissioner, Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 206A of the National Housing Act, 
HUD is providing notice of adjustment to the Basic Statutory Mortgage 
Limits for Multifamily Housing Programs for Calendar Year 2021. HUD is 
also providing notice of adjustment to the per unit cost threshold for 
determining substantial rehabilitation in the Multifamily Housing 
Programs pursuant to its administrative guidance for Calendar Year 
2021.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia M. Burke, Director, Office of 
Multifamily Production, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20410-8000, telephone (202) 402-
5693 (this is not a toll-free number). Hearing or speech-impaired 
individuals may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free 
Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 206A of the National Housing Act (12 
U.S.C. 1712a) provides authority for the annual adjustment for the 
following FHA multifamily statutory dollar limits:

I. Section 207(c)(3)(A) (12 U.S.C. 1713(c)(3)(A));
II. Section 213(b)(2)(A) (12 U.S.C. 1715e(b)(2)(A));
III. Section 220(d)(3)(B)(iii)(I) (12 U.S.C. 1715k(d)(3)(B)(iii)(I));
IV. Section 221(d)(4)(ii)(I) (12 U.S.C. 1715l(d)(4)(ii)(I));
V. Section 231(c)(2)(A) (12 U.S.C. 1715v(c)(2)(A)); and
VI. Section 234(e)(3)(A) (12 U.S.C. 1715y(e)(3)(A)).

    Section 206A goes on to state that the preceding

    ``Dollar Amounts'' shall be adjusted annually (commencing in 
2004) on the effective date of the Federal Reserve Board's 
adjustment of the $400 figure in the Home Ownership and Equity 
Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA). The adjustment of the Dollar Amounts 
shall be calculated using the percentage change in the Consumer 
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) as applied by the 
Federal Reserve Board for purposes of the above-described HOEPA 
adjustment.

(b) Notification

    The Federal Reserve Board on a timely basis shall notify the 
Secretary, or his designee, in writing of the adjustment described 
in subsection (a) and of the effective date of such adjustment in 
order to permit the Secretary to undertake publication in the 
Federal Register of corresponding adjustments to the Dollar Amounts. 
The dollar amount of any adjustment shall be rounded to the next 
lower dollar.

    Note that 206A has not been updated to reflect the fact that HOEPA 
has been revised to use $1,000 as the basis for the adjustment rather 
than $400, and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has replaced the 
Federal Reserve Board in administering the adjustment. These changes 
were made by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 
Act's amendments to the Truth in Lending Act, as further explained in 
the regulatory implementation of said changes found in 78 FR 6856, 6879 
(Jan. 31, 2013).
    The percentage change in the CPI-U used for the HOEPA adjustment is 
a 0.3 percent increase and the effective date of the HOEPA adjustment 
is January 1, 2021. The Dollar Amounts under Section 206A have been 
adjusted correspondingly and have an effective date of January 1, 2021.
    These revised statutory limits may be applied to FHA multifamily 
mortgage insurance applications submitted or amended on or after 
January 1, 2021, so long as the loan has not been initially endorsed.
    The adjusted Dollar Amounts for Calendar Year 2021 are shown below. 
To implement the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau's adjustment, a 
one-time proration is required to the 0.3 percent figure, which was 
computed from April 2019 to April 2020 (see 85 FR 50944, Aug. 19, 
2020). Because HUD's previous Dollar Amounts utilized CPI-U data 
through December 2019, only interim CPI-U data from January 2020 
through April 2020 is reflected in the table calculations. The overall 
impact of this adjustment resulted in no change for Calendar Year 2021, 
because CPI-U showed minor inflation of 1 percent in January and 
February 2020, but was fully offset by minor deflation of 1% in March 
and April 2020, associated with COVID-19 pandemic economic disruptions.
    Moving forward in future years HUD will continue to utilize the 
CFPB's time period (April to April) used for the HOEPA CPI-U 
adjustment, which is typically published in the August preceding the 
following January effective date.

Basic Statutory Mortgage Limits for Calendar Year 2021 Multifamily Loan 
Program

Section 207--Multifamily Housing;
Section 207 pursuant to Section 223(f)--Purchase or Refinance Housing; 
and,
Section 220--Housing in Urban Renewal Areas

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Bedrooms                   Non-elevator      Elevator
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.......................................         $54,892         $64,026
1.......................................          60,807          70,944
2.......................................          72,633          86,990
3.......................................          89,525         108,951
4+......................................         101,352         123,193
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 213--Cooperatives

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Bedrooms                   Non-elevator      Elevator
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.......................................         $59,488         $63,342
1.......................................          68,592          71,764
2.......................................          82,723          87,265
3.......................................         105,887         112,895
4+......................................         117,966         123,927
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 234--Condominium Housing

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Bedrooms                   Non-elevator      Elevator
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.......................................         $60,702         $63,881
1.......................................          69,991          73,230
2.......................................          84,411          89,049
3.......................................         108,050         115,201
4+......................................         120,372         126,454
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 221(d)(4)--Moderate Income Housing

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Bedrooms                   Non-elevator      Elevator
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.......................................         $54,628         $59,010
1.......................................          62,013          67,649
2.......................................          74,959          82,262
3.......................................          94,085         106,418
4+......................................         106,314         116,817
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 231--Housing for the Elderly

[[Page 50555]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Bedrooms                   Non-elevator      Elevator
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.......................................         $51,937         $59,010
1.......................................          58,063          67,649
2.......................................          69,336          82,262
3.......................................          83,443         106,418
4+......................................          98,101         116,817
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 207--Manufactured Home Parks
Per Space--$25,200

Indexing of Per Unit Limit for Substantial Rehabilitation for Calendar 
Year 2021

    The 2016 Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Guide established 
a base amount of $15,000 per unit to define substantial rehabilitation 
for FHA insured loan programs. Section 5.1.2.A.2.b of the 2020 MAP 
guide requires that this base amount be annually adjusted for inflation 
based on the percentage change published by the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics of the Department of Labor or other inflation cost index. 
Applying the HOEPA adjustment to the base amount, the 2021 base amount 
per dwelling unit to determine substantial rehabilitation for FHA 
insured loan programs is $16,299.
    This per unit cost threshold for substantial rehabilitation may be 
applied to FHA multifamily mortgage insurance applications submitted or 
amended on or after January 1, 2021, so long as the loan has not been 
initially endorsed.

Environmental Impact

    This issuance establishes mortgage and cost limits that do not 
constitute a development decision affecting the physical condition of 
specific project areas or building sites. Accordingly, under 24 CFR 
50.19(c)(6), this notice is categorically excluded from environmental 
review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4321).

Lopa P. Kolluri,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Housing--Federal 
Housing Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-19496 Filed 9-8-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P