The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for October 2015

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a Conciliation Agreement with Mortgage One, Inc., of Sterling Heights, Michigan, resolving allegations of lending discrimination againstan applicant with disabilities.  HUD claimed Mortgage One and loan officer Nancy Doody required the mortgage applicant to provide intrusive and unnecessary documentation regarding his disabilities before approving his FHA-insured mortgage. 

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today published new guidelines under its condominium approval process intended to increase affordable housing options for first-time and low- to moderate-income homebuyers.  Effective immediately, FHA’s temporary guidance will streamline the agency’s condominium recertification process and expand the eligibility of acceptable ‘owner-occupied’ units to include second homes that are not investor-owned.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro joined Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in Alexandria, VA to announce a proposed rule to make the nation’s public housing propertiesentirely smoke-free. HUD’s proposed rule would require more than 3,100 public housing agencies (PHAs) across the country to implement smoke-free policies in their developments within 18 months of the final rule.

the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development joined three federal departments and eight national organizations to announce a strategy to prevent 3,200 lung cancer deaths by driving change to reduce radon in 5 million high-radon homes, apartments, schools and childcare centers.The National Radon Action Plan: A Strategy for Saving Lives sets out strategies to drive the changes needed to reduce exposure to radon, a naturally occurring, invisible and odorless gas. Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer, and causes an estimated 21,000 lung cancer deaths annually.

When Father Dunne’s News Boys’ Home and Protectorate was founded in 1906, it served as a refuge for orphaned or abandoned boys, many whom worked selling newspapers on the streets of St. Louis. For more than a century, the three-story building at 2010 Washington Avenue provided a home for those experiencing homelessness and after renovation in 1970, it became the Harbor Light Center serving persons struggling with chronic substance abuse and various disabilities.

As part of President Obama’s efforts to promote rehabilitation and reintegration for the formerly incarcerated, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced $1.7 million for Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) to aid eligible public housing residents who are under the age of 24 to expunge or seal their records in accordance with their applicable state laws

Each year, men and women exiting the prison system face a multitude of challenges including finding employment and a home to call their own.  As a result, many are at extreme risk of falling into homelessness.  Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an $8.7 million demonstration to address homelessness and reduce recidivism among

Sales of new single-family houses in September 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau. This is 11.5 percent (±11.3%)* below the revised August rate of 529,000 and is 2.0 percent (±17.9%) above the September 2014 estimate of 459,000.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has charged Blackacre, L.L.C. and Alishia Ritchkey, the former owner and manager of Pebble Beach Apartments, a 61-unit complex in Universal City, Texas, with violating the Fair Housing Act by imposing overly restrictive rules on children under 16 who lived there.HUD also charged Implicity Management Company, the current management company, and Pebble Beach Apartments L.L.C, the current owner of the complex, with discriminating based on familial status. Read HUD’s charge.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announces a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action for the STEM, Energy, and Economic Development Initiative (SEED): Coalitions for Community Growth. SEED focuses on increasing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, job skill development, and energy literacy for residents of public housing. In partnership with local public housing authorities (PHAs), SEED will create local coalitions of public-private partners to create or expand programs in these areas. The initiative is being piloted in five communities

For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are launching a demonstration program to offer a permanent home and supportive services to Native American Veterans who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. The Tribal HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (Tribal HUD-VASH) Program will combine $4 million in rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by VA to serve approximately 600 Native American Veterans.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it is issuing a proposed rule that would formalize standards for victims of harassment in housing to bring claims under the Fair Housing Act. The proposed rule, “Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment and Liability for Discriminatory Housing Practices under the Fair Housing Act,” was published in the Federal Register today for public comment.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announces another major milestone in transitioning HUD’s financial management and procurement operations to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Administrative Resource Center (ARC). This milestone marks the shift of financial and procurement management functions from HUD to ARC. Although significant work remains, HUD is the first cabinet-level agency to move core financial systems to a Federal Shared Service Provider

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is charging the owners and landlords of a high-rise complex in New York City with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to allow a resident with disabilities to have an emotional support animal. HUD’s charge alleges that Friedman Residence, LLC (formerly called the Aurora), Common Ground Management Corporation, and The Actors’ Fund of America refused to accept that the resident required a dog to cope with the symptoms of his disability. Read HUD’s charge.

After nearly two years, Bill Block, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Northwest Regional Administrator, is stepping down from his current position and assuming another key role at HUD focused on ending homelessness

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is charging the owner and managers of Bramante’s Apartments, a 120-unit complex in New Brighton, Minnesota, with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to allow a resident with disabilities to have a dedicated accessible parking spot.

In the nearly three years since Hurricane Sandy devastated coastal communities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Rockefeller Foundation and a multi-discipline team of regional planning partners organized a nearly $1 billion competition to foster coordination and resilience at the local level and across the country. Today, the General Services Administration (GSA) awarded HUD’s Rebuild by Design Competition the first-ever “Most Groundbreaking Federal Challenge or Prize Competition.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is awarding over $3.5 million under HUD’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) to eleven organizations in New York State to fight housing discrimination. The funding announced today will benefit fair housing organizations in Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Westchester, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. It is part of a national award totaling over $38 million. See chart below for a listing of grant recipients and read summaries here of the activities these organizations will conduct with the grants.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it is charging Carrol Goodsell and his company, Goodsell General Contracting L.L.C., of Spearfish, South Dakota, with violating the Fair Housing Act by sexually harassing a woman who was renting a single family home managed by him. Specifically, HUD’s charge alleges that Goodsell subjected the woman, who occupied the house with her two children and her boyfriend, to repeated inappropriate sexual comments and physical contact.