HUD provides tribes with regulatory relief and funding under the CARES Act
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) published PIH Notice 2020-5 on April 10, 2020, under authority provided by the CARES Act.
The notice waives many statutory and regulatory requirements for the public housing program and the housing choice voucher (HCV) program. These waivers provide administrative flexibility and relief to public housing agencies, tribes and tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs).
Areas where regulatory relief has been provided include:
- Financial and performance reporting
- Inspections
- Updating utility allowances
- Income verification
HUD is strongly encouraging housing agencies to use any and all waivers and alternative requirements to keep public housing programs operational under the current circumstances with COVID-19.
Funding under the CARES Act
On April 3, HUD published the allocations for Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) funding under the CARES Act and plans to issue a notice on how to access that funding. HUD also plans to issue a notice on how to apply for Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Imminent Threat funding under the CARES Act.
HUD is encouraging tribes and TDHEs to review the current PIH Notice 2020-5 and begin planning how they will use IHBG and ICDBG funding to address the effects of COVID-19 on their communities.
Resources
HUD has provided a variety of resources for tribes around funding and regulatory requirements. The following links have been posted to their COVID-19 information and resource page.
- IHBG CARES Formula Allocation Dear Tribal Leader Cover Letter
- IHBG CARES Formula Allocation by Region
- HUD CARES Act Native American Programs Funding Press Release, April 3, 2020
- ONAP COVID-19 Recovery Programs
- Frequently Asked Questions for Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) (March 30, 2020)
- COVID-19 Statutory and Regulatory Waivers for Indian Housing Block Grant and Indian Community Development Block Grant programs (Page 31) (April 10, 2020)
- Dear Tribal Leader Letter: COVID-19 Statutory and Regulatory Waiver Authority (April 14, 2020)
- Dear Tribal Leader Letter: Input Requested on ICDBG-CARES Act Grant Ceilings (April 15, 2020)
You can also access more tribal-focused resources — from managing cash flow and tracking expenses to what the CARES Act means for tribes — at Wipfli’s COVID-19 resource center.
