To assist individuals and households displaced by wildfires and straight-line winds in the areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a Disaster Area, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued a Non-Objection Letter allowing vacant Affordable Housing Program (AHP)-assisted rental units to be temporarily leased to displaced individuals/households, regardless of income. Eligible individuals/households must have resided in a county designated on or after December 31, 2021 for Individual Assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or in another government-designated area as a result of these severe weather events.

Temporary suspension of household income limits for AHP-assisted rental projects is allowable pursuant to the following requirements:

• Project owners or sponsors must obtain written approval from the Federal Home Loan Bank that approved their AHP project to temporarily suspend household income limits for disaster-displaced individuals/households;
• The time period for suspension of household income limits will not extend beyond February 28, 2023;
• Project owners or sponsors must obtain, maintain, and certify certain information about the displaced individual/household, including name and former address, and a statement, signed under penalty of perjury by the individual/head of household, that the individual/household requires temporary housing because of damage to their home in an eligible county;
• Project owners or sponsors must maintain documentation of the date the individual/household began temporary occupancy of the AHP unit and the date the occupancy ends;
• Rents charged must not exceed the existing AHP rents for the units, except as permitted under other federal agency declarations for housing assistance for disaster-displaced households; and
• Existing AHP-eligible tenants cannot be evicted or otherwise have their tenancy terminated as a result of efforts to provide temporary housing for displaced individuals/households.

In December 2021, the Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a Non-Objection Letter allowing the temporary suspension of income limits to assist individuals/households displaced by the Kentucky, Illinois, and Tennessee severe storms. Please read our news item for more information.

Please contact Community Investment at 312.565.5824 or ci@fhlbc.com with any questions or to obtain written approval to participate in this opportunity.