With housing costs skyrocketing, a proposed bill would extend assistance and help preserve affordable rental housing in rural areas.
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would support low-income tenants and prevent the loss of affordable apartment units in rural communities by shoring up a Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that provides rental assistance to rural tenants as the housing crisis spreads, hitting low-income, elderly renters hardest.
As Joe Belden explains in the Daily Yonder via a quote from David Lipsetz of the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) , the program, known as Section 515/521, “Since …1963, the Section 515 program has financed nearly 28,000 rental properties containing over 533,000 affordable apartment units, but fewer than 12,900 properties and approximately 370,000 occupied units remain in the program today.”
According to Belden, “The bill aims to provide USDA with the tools to keep Section 521 rental assistance available for tenants in privately-owned prepaid or maturing Section 515 properties.” Under current regulations, properties whose mortgages mature are excluded from the rental assistance program, with thousands of units lost each year.
Belden adds that the bill could be wrapped into the 2023 Farm Bill package.
FULL STORY: Senate Turns Its Attention to Rural Housing
Rural Renters at Increased Risk of Eviction
Rural residents often have a harder time accessing legal assistance and eviction prevention resources.
Opinion: Federal Government Must Continue Supporting Rural Housing Program
The incoming Congress will have a say in bolstering — or harming — the only federal housing program focused on affordable housing in rural areas.
Rural Affordable Housing in Crisis
Rural U.S. communities are poised to lose hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units as federally backed mortgages mature.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”
The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).
The Simple Legislative Tool Transforming Vacant Downtowns
In California, Michigan and Georgia, an easy win is bringing dollars — and delight — back to city centers.
The States Losing Rural Delivery Rooms at an Alarming Pace
In some states, as few as 9% of rural hospitals still deliver babies. As a result, rising pre-term births, no adequate pre-term care and "harrowing" close calls are a growing reality.
The Small South Asian Republic Going all in on EVs
Thanks to one simple policy change less than five years ago, 65% of new cars in this Himalayan country are now electric.
DC Backpedals on Bike Lane Protection, Swaps Barriers for Paint
Citing aesthetic concerns, the city is removing the concrete barriers and flexposts that once separated Arizona Avenue cyclists from motor vehicles.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)