HUD NOFO Announcement
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Monday that officials rescinded its Nov. 13 Notice of Funding Opportunity for federal fiscal 2025 grants to “make appropriate revisions.” The notice had previously set Jan. 14 as the deadline for applications for Continuum of Care funds, which address homelessness.
We now know that previous deadlines set for NOFO project submissions (December 15th) and NOFO submission to HUD (January 14) are NOT ACTIVE and new deadlines will be set once a new NOFO is posted.
We encourage organizations that are interested in submitting applications to continue to plan for submission. ESNAPS is currently not open. The entire COC and all applicants will have to adjust quickly based on what is included in the next release of the NOFO.
Lawsuits
A coalition of states including Maine filed suit over HUD’s latest Notice of Funding Opportunity on Nov. 25. On Dec. 1, a group of cities and nonprofits led by the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Low Income Housing Coalition filed a separate 85-page lawsuit. Both complaints had similar requests for the court to declare the new conditions unlawful and reinstate language from prior funding notices, which is why Rhode Island Judge Mary McElroy combined them into one hearing.
HUD sought to have legal proceedings paused until that new NOFO is released. The judge refused the request to pause proceedings.
Judge McElroy scheduled the next hearing for 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19. She also tasked HUD with producing the administrative record on the grant funding policy, ideally within a week.
What We know about the NOFO
We are not clear when the new NOFO might be posted. HUD’s actions will be driven by the decisions made with both lawsuits. Again, we encourage organizations that are interested in submitting applications to continue to plan for submission as we do not know how much time will be provided for submissions once a new NOFO is released.
On-going efforts need to continue to ask Congress to pass legislation that provides a full renewal and extends COC funding for another 12 months and gives time for thoughtful plans to support those individuals who will be impacted.
Communicating with Tenants During a Time of Uncertainty – See attachment
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