Housing Waiver Flexibility Act of 2020

To provide necessary flexibility under programs for federally assisted housing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Housing Waiver Flexibility Act of 2020 2. Housing Trust Fund (a) Waiver authority The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary administers in connection with the use of amounts made available from the Housing Trust Fund established pursuant to section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 ( 12 U.S.C. 4568 (b) Retroactive applicability Any such waivers shall be deemed to be effective as of the date a State or eligible recipient of amounts from a State allocation of such amounts began preparing for coronavirus and shall apply to the amounts made available from the Housing Trust Fund before, on, and after the date of the enactment of this Act. 3. Assistance for self-help housing providers (a) Waiver authority The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary administers in connection with the program for self-help housing assistance under section 11 of the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996 ( 42 U.S.C. 12805 (b) Retroactive applicability Any such waivers and alternative requirements shall be deemed to be effective as of the date an organization or consortia who is a recipient of amounts under the program referred to in subsection (a) began preparing for coronavirus and shall apply to the amounts made available under such program before, on, and after the date of the enactment of this Act. 4. Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Any amounts made available in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 ( Public Law 113–6 Department of Housing and Urban Development—Public and Indian Housing—Choice Neighborhoods Initiative 5. Continuum of Care program Due to the emergency relating to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for fiscal year 2020 for the Continuum of Care program under subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11381

Summary: Housing Waiver Flexibility Act of 2020 This bill addresses the administration and funding of certain housing assistance programs in relation to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may waive requirements or specify alternative requirements related to the use of funds from the Housing Trust Fund and the self-help housing assistance program, except for requirements related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment, if doing so is necessary to respond to the COVID-19 emergency. (The Housing Trust Fund provides grants to states for housing for low-income families, while the self-help housing assistance program provides grants to organizations that facilitate home ownership.) Furthermore, funds previously made available for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, a program that supports local efforts to revitalize public and HUD-assisted housing, shall remain available through FY2021. Additionally, the bill invalidates the FY2020 request for applications for funding under the Continuum of Care program, which funds efforts to address homelessness. Instead, HUD shall distribute amounts for FY2020 based on the results of the competition for FY2019.