Official Public Notice
Application for HUD PRICE Funding:
Salt Lake County intends to apply for funding under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) represents a vital step towards addressing the critical challenges faced by manufactured housing and manufactured housing communities (MHCs) within Salt Lake County.
Background:
HUD has allocated $225 million in competitive grant funding through the PRICE program, specifically designated for the preservation and revitalization of manufactured housing and eligible manufactured housing communities. Manufactured housing is a critical piece of the nation's affordable housing stock that provides a home to over 22 million Americans. Manufactured housing and manufactured housing communities (MHCs) face significant challenges to affordability, resilience, infrastructure, and maintenance that are exacerbated by state titling and local zoning laws, financial pressures from landowners or investors, and extreme weather, natural hazards, and disaster events.
The PRICE Main funding will support low- and moderate-income homeowners with manufactured housing units and manufactured housing communities with critical investments such as repairs, infrastructure improvements, upgrades to increase resilience.
Purpose:
The Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement aims to support communities in maintaining, protecting, and stabilizing manufactured housing and MHCs. With over 22 million Americans residing in manufactured housing, it is imperative to address affordability, resilience, infrastructure, and maintenance challenges exacerbated by various factors including state titling and local zoning laws, financial pressures, and extreme weather events.
Alignment with Salt Lake County Consolidated Plan:
The creation of this PRICE project, as outlined in the application, aligns with the current Salt Lake County Consolidated Plan. Salt Lake County's Consolidated Plan aims to identify the greatest needs in Salt Lake County through a public process and public input. Through this process, it was evident that there was a disproportionate need for greater affordable housing. The housing shortage and the rapid rise in both home prices and rental rates have been particularly burdensome for special needs households: the elderly, large families, single-parent, minority, and disabled. A disproportionate share of these special needs households are very low and extremely low-income.
Salt Lake County has made a firm commitment to preserving rental and homeowner-occupied housing units and promoting homeownership. This commitment is a key pillar of the Salt Lake County Consolidated Plan, which is dedicated to ensuring an equitable focus on preserving and revitalizing housing to address the most urgent needs.
Additionally, engaging more with MHCs will be a key part of the new Consolidated plan, which will run from 2025 to 2029. It has become apparent that investment in MHCs will keep the homes safe and healthy, reduce displacement, and increase household stability.
Key Activities and Objectives:
The PRICE program will focus on three primary activities:
Rehabilitation of Manufactured Homes, Lot Rent Assistance, and Infrastructure Improvement
1. Rehabilitation of Manufactured Homes: Funding will support critical repairs and upgrades to existing manufactured homes, ensuring decent, safe, and sanitary living conditions. Modifications to accommodate an aging population will be prioritized.
Funding will be used to provide rehabilitation of existing mobile and manufactured homes. This includes repairing or replacing major systems, such as HVAC, water heaters, windows, plumbing, and electrical. Funding will also be used to renovate and repair different areas of the home such as bathrooms, kitchens, and flooring. Salt Lake County has identified through other repair and rehab programs that funding is needed to modify homes to accommodate an aging population. Items like grab bars, lower cabinets, and walk in tubs are essential to keeping elderly residents in their home. Funding will be used to make these types of modifications to avoid making otherwise able-bodied residents leave their homes for assisted living or other housing situations.
2. Lot Rent Assistance: Qualified households facing temporary financial crises will receive up to 12 months of lot rent assistance, mitigating the risk of eviction and homelessness.
Funding will also be used to provide 12 months of MHC lot rent for households who qualify for rehab assistance and have a lift event that limits their ability to pay lot rent. Often, a manufactured home is sitting on land not owned by the homeowner. This leaves residents vulnerable to a change in ownership or an increase in rent that forces the homeowner to relocate. If a mobile home has been sitting on the same lot for upwards of 50 years, moving the home is not an option and can lead to homelessness and eviction from the lot as well as the loss of the manufactured home altogether. By providing 12 months of lot rent assistance, a household can regain stability while they have their lot rent covered by the program. Households that are eligible for this assistance will have a demonstrated ability to assume lot rent at the end of the 12 month period.
3. Infrastructure Improvement: MHCs serving low to moderate-income households may apply for funds to develop or enhance infrastructure, promoting community resilience and well-being.
Funding will be provided to Manufactured Home Communities (MHC's) who qualify as serving low to moderate income households that apply to the County for funds to develop or improve infrastructure that supports MHC's and manufactured units. Examples outlined in the NOFO that MHC's may apply for include installing public facilities and improvements such as roads, pads, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, parks, playgrounds water and sewer lines, wells, septic tanks, flood and drainage improvements, fire breaks, parking lots, and any other improvement as allowed by the NOFO.
Compliance and Outreach:
All projects funded by PRICE will adhere to Section 3 and other applicable federal laws, ensuring fair employment opportunities. Salt Lake County staff will perform outreach across Salt Lake County to ensure that eligible households are aware of this PRICE funded project and can access the assistance easily. This will include working with our local Continuum of Care to educate all community partners on the existence of the project. Additionally, over the course of the six-year project Salt Lake County staff will conduct outreach at all Manufactured Home Communities to ensure that both MHC owners and homeowners within the MHC are aware of the project and have the ability to apply with minimal barriers.
Public Input and Participation:
Salt Lake County encourages public input and participation in the development and implementation of the PRICE-funded projects. Stakeholders, including residents of manufactured housing communities, are invited to provide feedback and engage with county representatives throughout the process.
Next Steps:
Upon successful funding approval, Salt Lake County will commence project implementation, prioritizing the needs of low and moderate-income households and promoting the long-term sustainability of manufactured housing communities.
Contact Information:
For inquiries regarding the HUD PRICE funding application or related initiatives, please contact:
[Contact Name]
[Title]
[Department/Agency Name]
[Phone Number]
[Email Address]
Published by:
[Salt Lake County Department/Agency Name]
[Address]
[City, State, ZIP Code]
[Date]
Note: This Notice of Funding Opportunity serves as an official public notice and invitation for stakeholders to engage with Salt Lake County in its efforts to enhance the affordability, resilience, and sustainability of manufactured housing communities. Further details and updates will be provided as the application process progresses.
This document complies with HUD requirements for public notice and invites community engagement in the proposed PRICE-funded projects.
Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)
Reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities or those in need of language interpretation services can be provided if five (5) working days' notice is given by calling 385-468-4854 or 385-468-4900. TTY/TDD users should call 7-1-1.'