Plans to rehabilitate vital affordable housing communities across the country are at risk after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has halted the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP).
Housing organizations that were awarded GRRP funding last year are concerned they will no longer receive the grants and loans they were promised amid reports that the program is being terminated by the Trump administration and its new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Separately, the administration also terminated key funding to fair housing organizations, which filed a lawsuit this month. That has led to a U.S. District Court judge issuing a temporary injunction preventing the HUD from terminating 78 Fair Housing Initiative Program grants for nonprofit organizations contracting to investigate housing discrimination.
The agency has also made moves to stop GRRP funding that is meant to help affordable housing owners improve and preserve HUD-assisted multifamily properties, including homes for low-income seniors, according to industry leaders.
LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit providers of affordable housing and services for older adults, estimates that more than 50 projects by its members are awaiting $150 million in awards.
One of those organization’s is United Church Homes (UCH), a 109-year-old faith-based nonprofit based in Marion, Ohio. It serves nearly 7,000 residents across 90 communities in 15 states, with a rich history in operating HUD Section 202 developments for vulnerable seniors.
A good majority of the properties were funded with HUD assistance in the 1990s and early 2000s. While the programs were essential in getting developments built, they don’t address the long-term capital needs as the properties age, explains Ken Young, president and CEO.
“We fight hard to make sure we’re being good stewards of those assets,” he says. “When the GRRP program came along, we felt [it was] a win-win situation for the residents because we can use these funds within a capital stack to provide an updated living environment for them to add to their quality of life and allow us to sustain and preserve these assets for affordable housing for another 15 to 20 years until the next cycle of funding is needed to renovate these assets.”
UCH went through the GRRP application process and was awarded two $3.2 million grants to rehabilitate a property in Greenwood, Mississippi, and another in Covington, Tennessee, last year.
Now, it appears the funding is uncertain. To make matters worse, the Greenwood development recently suffered significant roof damage when it was hit by high winds.
The GRRP grants were going to jump-start the preservation process for both properties, representing a sizable portion of the capital needed, says Kevin Deegan, vice president of corporate ventures.
“We’re still committed to doing the preservation, but we’re sort of back to the drawing board,” he says, explaining that UCH will look to other funding programs as officials wait for more clarity on the GRRP funding.
A recent Associated Press article reported that HUD is terminating the program, which was established under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Linda Couch, senior vice president of public policy at LeadingAge, also says she’s heard from people with knowledge of the program that HUD is putting a freeze on the recent awards even though the agency has not publicly said the program is being scrapped.
“HUD can’t send a letter to the awardees saying the program has been terminated because HUD has no authority to do that,” Couch says. “Congress told HUD to run this program. Congress said here is $1.4 billion to invest in HUD multifamily housing. It is the only money that HUD received in the massive bill.”
Couch says she think the agency will just “slowly ghost” the award recipients that haven’t closed their deals.
HUD tells Affordable Housing Finance that the GRRP program has not been canceled but is being reviewed.
“HUD helps to ensure Americans have access to fair and affordable housing. The previous administration’s energy-efficiency crusade diverted valuable resources, including funding, from the department’s mission,” said an agency spokesperson in a written statement. “The department is evaluating options to ensure rural, Tribal, and urban communities have the resources they need, which are not solar panels.”
HUD officials did not comment about when organizations that were awarded funds would receive their money.
Canceling the grants and loans is a reputation buster for the federal government if it reneges on the funding, according to the Couch.
It’s also disappointing not just to the property owners but the residents.
“The funds could be the difference in getting the work done and not getting the work done,” Couch says. “They were all deserving. They were all awarded. Because they were awarded, these organizations went to their residents and said, ‘Look at what we’re going to do here. Look at the rendering. Look at the new windows, walkways, and new entryway.’ To really let down residents and communities and neighborhoods is really shortsighted.”
