The Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) requests that City Council approve an ordinance adopting the attached guidelines for the Harvey Recovery Small Rental (HRSR) Program using Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds from the Texas General Land Office (GLO). The HRSR Program aims to rebuild the affordable rental housing stock by rehabilitating small rental properties (Individual buildings with no more than seven residential units) damaged by Hurricane Harvey and to create new housing stock through infill development of new small rental properties. This will meet the increased demand for affordable rental housing in Houston. This program provides financial assistance, through forgivable loans, to small rental property owners and developers who serve a low- to moderate-income market. This program will assist in expanding the affordable rental housing options, while also stimulating economic growth by assisting landlords and creating jobs in the housing rehabilitation and construction sectors.
The goals and objectives of HRSR are to provide housing programs that will preserve and expand the housing stock while creating sanitary, safe, energy efficient housing, and a resilient community. Houston’s objectives also include prioritizing elderly and disabled households and / or households in which members are under the age of five while affirmatively furthering fair housing. HRSR also places an emphasis on housing choices and designs that reduce maintenance and insurance costs as well as provide independent living options. The focus of the program is to provide affordable housing to very low-, low- and moderate-income applicants. The program will also secure housing by bringing existing units into compliance with applicable health and safety codes or by replacing those existing structures that cannot be technically or economically repaired.
These guidelines will provide the broad outline of what these programs will cover. HCDD provided the broad terms required by the laws and regulations surrounding the Hurricane Harvey disaster funding to stakeholder groups to define the basis for the programs designed. These guidelines have also been published for public comments, input from interested parties, and feedback from funding sources. These guidelines are the first step needed to implement viable programs that will fulfill the needs of Houston’s recovery from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermaths.
The Harvey Recovery Small Rental Housing Program will have distinct policies and operational processes for 1) reconstruction and rehabilitation projects and 2) new construction projects.
All work is expected to be completed six years from the award of the contract to the City of Houston from GLO, HUD’s direct recipient of Hurricane Harvey CDBG-DR funds.
No fiscal note is required on grant items.
This item was reviewed by the Housing and Community Affairs Committee on 10/16/2018.
_____________________________________
Tom McCasland, Director