All articles tagged with #hud
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has launched an investigation into Wells Fargo for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act. The probe targets the bank’s past initiatives aimed at increasing Black homeownership, which officials argue constituted illegal race-based discrimination. Wells Fargo shares fell 1.5% following the announcement.
The Trump administration scrapped an Obama-era HUD policy that expanded liability for accessibility design flaws in buildings, arguing it drove up costs and hindered affordable housing. The change redefines liability timelines, establishing a one-year window to file administrative complaints and a two-year limit for private lawsuits, tied to occupancy rather than construction. Industry data cited by HUD claim the old rule contributed millions in retrofit costs and reduced HUD-insured lending, and the administration contends rolling back the guidance will align enforcement with statutory limits and help expand housing supply and affordability.
A new bipartisan housing package aims to reduce the cost of factory-built homes and expand their availability by repealing certain construction rules and pressuring Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac to back more personal-property loans, but interest rates on these loans remain higher than conventional mortgages due to securitization and risk gaps; consumer protections and lender considerations add complexity, keeping the affordability challenge for manufactured housing unresolved even as policy momentum builds.
RayNeo’s iO smart glasses prove microLED HUDs are now feasible: a 33-gram frame, up to 48 hours of typical use, 0.6mm monochrome green MicroLED in a waveguide with 97% eye-transparency and up to 1,300 nits, priced at $479 and shipping Sept 4; they show notifications, schedules, translations and teleprompter text with no camera. For Garmin, the underlying tech could enable a Varia Vision successor, but challenges remain for outdoor visibility, sport-specific software, controls, durability and prescription compatibility, while Engo currently leads the sports HUD space and RayNeo’s display tech aligns with or undercuts rivals on weight, battery life, and price.
RFK Jr. blasted LA’s homelessness system at the Dream Center as a taxpayer-funded “industrial complex,” warning that federal funding to LAHSA could be cut if programs don’t move people off the streets into treatment and recovery. The Trump administration is pushing a shift of roughly $240 million toward recovery-focused housing, suspending LAHSA’s grants for now and directing providers to apply directly to the federal government. LAHSA is challenging the suspension, while a Rhode Island judge has blocked the shift for the time being.
A federal judge blocked HUD’s 2026 funding changes intended to shift Continuum of Care dollars from permanent housing to temporary housing and services, ruling the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act by skipping the required notice-and-comment process; this marks the third time a judge has blocked HUD’s changes during the Trump era, and HUD may attempt similar policy shifts for fiscal 2027.
The bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is now law, but its rollout hinges on HUD’s ability to implement dozens of new rules and programs. The department has shed more than 30% of its core policy workforce in three years and lacks dedicated funding for staffing, raising concerns about how quickly regulations can be issued and affordability goals achieved, even as some lawmakers and allies push to support rulemaking efforts and partnerships to speed up the process.
HUD suspended the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority from future federal funding due to years of mismanagement and weak internal controls, tied to audits and the conviction of a former COO in a disaster-relief contracting scheme. The nearly $2 billion in Hurricane Irma/Maria recovery funds are at issue, and VIHFA has 30 days to request a hearing before the suspension becomes final, as the administration intensifies its crackdown on fraud in grant programs.
Facing a funding cliff, the Trump administration says it will not issue the newly earmarked Tenant Protection Vouchers and will instead use Congress funds only to temporarily extend the expiring Emergency Housing Voucher program, leaving New York City's thousands of voucher recipients uncertain as city and state scramble for replacements before the money runs out.
A Rhode Island federal judge ruled that HUD’s fiscal 2025 changes to the Continuum of Care program, which aimed to shift funding from permanent housing to temporary housing and services and move away from a Housing First approach, were arbitrary and capricious and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The decision blocks the 2025 funding changes, though it did not grant a permanent injunction against the broader policy shift; litigation over 2026 funding remains possible. HUD argues the overhaul aims to fund outcomes and merit, while plaintiffs warn the changes will harm communities by creating funding gaps for permanent housing.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority from about $69 million in federal funding (8% of its budget) pending an inspector general investigation into chronic financial mismanagement and weak conflict‑of‑interest safeguards; HUD warned funding could be restored or permanently barred, LAHSA says the move could push thousands of formerly homeless people back onto the streets, and local officials are weighing accountability measures and options to keep federal money flowing.
HUD is moving about 3,000 Washington-based employees to Alexandria, VA, claiming it will save taxpayer money and improve employee well-being, but union officials and lawmakers question the move’s legality, funding, and congressional oversight, noting delays and a lack of clear authorization or cost details.
During the ongoing government shutdown, the Trump administration conducted layoffs of federal employees in California, particularly within HUD, citing program realignment with administration priorities, despite legal and procedural concerns raised by unions and opposition parties.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has posted a partisan message blaming the 'Radical Left' for the potential government shutdown, marking a rare instance of a federal agency using taxpayer resources for political messaging amid ongoing budget negotiations between Republicans and Democrats, with the shutdown potentially affecting numerous federal services.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development posted a partisan banner blaming the 'Radical Left' for the government shutdown, which a nonprofit claims violates the Hatch Act, raising concerns about political bias and ethics enforcement during the shutdown.