HUD, through FHA, provides insurance that protects private lenders from financial losses stemming from borrowers’ defaults on mortgage loans for both single-family homes and multifamily rental housing properties for low- and moderate-income households. When a default occurs on an insured loan, a lender may “assign” the mortgage to HUD and receive payment from FHA for an insurance claim. According to the latest data available from HUD, FHA insures mortgage loans for about 15,800 multifamily properties. These properties contain just under 2 million units and have a combined unpaid mortgage principal balance of $46.9 billion.These properties include multifamily apartments and other specialized properties, such as nursing homes, hospitals, student housing, and condominiums. In addition to mortgage insurance, many FHA-insured multifamily properties receive some form of direct assistance or subsidy from HUD, such as below-market interest rates or Section 8 project-based assistance. HUD’s Section 8 program provides rental subsidies for low-income families. These subsidies are linked either to multifamily apartment units (project-based) or to individuals (tenant-based). Under the Section 8 program, residents in subsidized units generally pay 30 percent of their income for rent and HUD pays the balance. According to HUD, its restructuring proposals apply to 8,636 properties that both have mortgages insured by FHA and receive project-based Section 8 rental subsidies for some or all of their units. Data provided by HUD in April 1996 show that, together, these properties have unpaid principal balances totaling $17.8 billion and contain about 859,000 units, of which about 689,000 receive project-based Section 8 subsidies. According to HUD’s data, about 45 percent of the insured Section 8 portfolio (3,859 properties, 303,219 assisted units, and $4.8 billion in unpaid loan balances) consist of what are called the “older assisted” properties. These are properties that were constructed beginning in the late 1960s under a variety of mortgage subsidy programs, to which project-based Section 8 assistance (Loan Management Set Aside) was added later, beginning in the 1970s, to replace other subsidies and to help troubled properties sustain operations. About 55 percent of the insured Section 8 portfolio (4,777 properties, 385,931 assisted units, and $13.0 billion in unpaid loan balances) consists of what are called the “newer assisted” properties. These properties generally were built after 1974 under HUD’s Section 8 New Construction and Substantial Rehabilitation programs and received project-based Section 8 subsidies based on formulas with automatic annual adjustments, which tended to be relatively generous to encourage the production of affordable housing. There is great diversity among the properties in HUD’s insured Section 8 portfolio, as illustrated by 10 properties that we studied in greater depth as part of our current assignment (see app. I). These properties differ in a number of important respects, such as the amount of their remaining unpaid mortgage debt; the types and amounts of assistance they receive from HUD; and their financial health, physical condition, rents, types of residents served, and surrounding neighborhoods and rental housing markets. These factors can influence the effect that HUD’s or other reengineering proposals would have on the properties. The insured Section 8 portfolio suffers from three basic problems—high subsidy costs, high exposure to insurance loss, and in the case of some properties, poor physical condition. A substantial number of the properties in the insured Section 8 portfolio now receive subsidized rents above market levels, many substantially above the rents charged for comparable unsubsidized units. This problem is most prevalent in (but not confined to) the “newer assisted” segment of the portfolio, where it stems from the design of the Section 8 New Construction and Substantial Rehabilitation programs. The government paid for the initial development or rehabilitation of these properties under these programs by initially establishing rents above market levels and then raising them regularly through the application of set formulas that tended to be generous to encourage the production of new affordable housing. It has become difficult to continue the high subsidies in the current budget environment. A second key problem affecting the portfolio is the high risk of insurance loss. Under FHA’s insurance program, HUD bears virtually all the risk in the event of loan defaults. A third, closely related problem is the poor physical condition of many properties in the portfolio. A 1993 study of multifamily rental properties with FHA-insured or HUD-held mortgages found that almost one-fourth of the properties were “distressed.” Properties were considered to be distressed if they failed to provide sound housing and lacked the resources to correct deficiencies or if they were likely to fail financially. The problems affecting HUD’s insured Section 8 portfolio stem from several causes. These include (1) program design flaws that have contributed to high subsidies and put virtually all the insurance risk on HUD; (2) HUD’s dual role as mortgage insurer and rental subsidy provider, which has resulted in the federal government averting claims against the FHA insurance fund by supporting a subsidy and regulatory structure that has masked the true market value of the properties; and (3) weaknesses in HUD’s oversight and management of the insured portfolio, which have allowed physical and financial problems at a number of HUD-insured multifamily properties to go undetected or uncorrected. In May, 1995 HUD proposed a mark-to-market process to address the three key problems and their causes by decoupling HUD’s mortgage insurance and project-based rental subsidy programs and subjecting the properties to the forces and disciplines of the commercial market. HUD proposed to do this by (1) eliminating the project-based Section 8 subsidies as existing contracts expired (or sooner if owners agreed), (2) allowing owners to rent apartments for whatever amount the marketplace would bear, (3) facilitating the refinancing of the existing FHA-insured mortgage with a smaller mortgage if needed for the property to operate at the new rents, (4) terminating the FHA insurance on the mortgage, and (5) providing the residents of assisted units with portable Section 8 rental subsidies that they could use to either stay in their current apartment or move to another one if they wanted to or if they no longer could afford to stay in their current apartment. Recognizing that many properties could not cover their expenses and might eventually default on their mortgages if forced to compete in the commercial market without their project-based Section 8 subsidies, the mark-to-market proposal set forth several alternatives for restructuring the FHA-insured mortgages in order to bring income and expenses in line. These alternatives included selling mortgages, engaging third parties to work out restructuring arrangements, and paying full or partial FHA insurance claims to reduce mortgage debt and monthly payments. The proposed mark-to-market process would likely affect properties differently, depending on whether their existing rents were higher or lower than market rents and on their funding needs for capital items, such as deferred maintenance. If existing rents exceeded market rents, the process would lower the mortgage debt, thereby allowing a property to operate and compete effectively at lower market rents. If existing rents were below market, the process would allow a property to increase rents, potentially providing more money to improve and maintain the property. HUD recognized, however, that some properties would not be able generate sufficient income to cover expenses even if their mortgage payments were reduced to zero. In those cases, HUD proposed using alternative strategies, including demolishing the property and subsequently selling the land to a third party, such as a nonprofit organization or government entity. After reviewing HUD’s proposal, various stakeholders raised questions and concerns about the proposal, including the effect that it would have on different types of properties and residents, and the long-term financial impact of the proposal on the government. In response to stakeholders’ concerns, HUD made several changes to its proposal and also renamed the proposal “portfolio reengineering.” The changes HUD made included (1) giving priority attention for at least the first 2 years to properties with subsidized rents above market; (2) allowing state and local governments to decide whether to continue Section 8 project-based rental subsidies at individual properties after their mortgages are restructured or switch to tenant-based assistance; and (3) allowing owners to apply for FHA insurance on the newly restructured mortgage loans. In addition, HUD stated a willingness to discuss with the Congress mechanisms to take into account the tax consequences related to debt forgiveness for property owners who enter into restructuring agreements. More recently, HUD has also suggested that action should be deferred on properties that would not be able to generate sufficient income to cover operating expenses after reengineering until strategies are developed that address the communities’ and residents’ needs relating to the properties. On April 26, 1996, HUD received legislative authority to conduct a demonstration program to test various methods of restructuring the financing of properties in the insured Section 8 portfolio. Participation in the program is voluntary and open only to properties that have rents which exceed HUD’s fair market rent (FMR) for their locality. The purpose of the demonstration is to test the feasibility and desirability of properties meeting their financial and other obligations with and without FHA insurance, with and without above-market Section 8 assistance, and using project-based assistance or, with the consent of the property owner, tenant-based assistance. The demonstration program is limited by law to mortgages covering a total of 15,000 units or about 2 percent of the total units in the insured Section 8 portfolio. An appropriation of $30 million was provided to fund the cost of modifying loans under the program, which remains available until September 30, 1997. HUD believes that this funding level could limit the number of properties that can be reengineered under the demonstration. On July 2, 1996, HUD issued a public notice announcing the program and providing initial guidance on how it plans to operate the program.