CARH’S BROADCAST E-MAIL – Regulatory Update
February 28, 2023
Over the last several months, CARH members have engaged in several robust discussions during national and state meetings regarding the impact of increased insurance rates on rural properties’ operations. On December 20, 2022, CARH sent a letter to Rural Development (RD) outlining members’ concerns and asking RD to change current policies and procedures.
On February 23, 2023, Nancie-Ann Bodell, RD’s Multifamily Housing Deputy Administer responded on behalf of RD. RD indicated in the letter that they are drafting a proposed rule, expected to be published in June 2023. The proposed rule will align RD requirements with housing standards. Specifically, she states that, “Items under consideration to include in the rule include (1) increased deductible limits based on a “not to exceed” amount instead of the current formula calculation; and (2) updated insurance coverage requirements to the industry standard of a percent of replacement value.”
RD does address the deductible issue raised in CARH’s original letter by stating owners may increase the deductible amount above the maximum amount required by the regulation, so long as the deductible amount above the maximum is deposited and maintained in the project reserve account. Regarding redundant bid requirements, RD indicates that where the insurance company approves a contractor to perform insurance funded repairs, RD agrees that the bid reserve account requirement is not applicable.
RD will be training staff on these new procedures and will include stakeholders in the training session to ensure consistent compliance. CARH will continue to monitor this issue and will certainly continue to provide comments to RD when the proposed rule mentioned above is published.
Please contact the CARH national office at carh@carh.org or 703-837-9001 should you have questions or concerns. For other news and information affecting the affordable rural housing industry, please visit the Newsroom on CARH’s website, www.carh.org.