Capital Fund

What is the Capital Fund Program?

The Capital Fund Program (CFP) provides financial assistance in the form of grants to public housing agencies (PHAs) to carry out capital and management activities including those listed in Section 9(d)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (1937 Act):

(d) Capital Fund

(1) In general

The Secretary shall establish a Capital Fund for the purpose of making assistance available to public housing agencies to carry out capital and management activities, including-

(A) the development, financing, and modernization of public housing projects, including the redesign, reconstruction, and reconfiguration of public housing sites and buildings (including accessibility improvements) and the development of mixed-finance projects;

(B) vacancy reduction;

(D) planned code compliance;

Who approves the grants and how do PHA’s get them?

Congress provides Capital Funds through annual appropriations. In order to receive a CFP grant, a PHA must meet three administrative prerequisites which are to:

Validate project-level information in HUD’s data systems
Have an approved 5-Year Action Plan and
Enter into a Capital Fund Annual Contributions Contract Amendment with HUD.

Capital Fund grants are federal funds appropriated by Congress and are subject to various other federal laws, regulations, executive orders, 2 CFR Part 200 (codifying OMB Circulars), and other requirements in addition to those expressly provided by the 1937 Act and the CFP Final Rule, often called Cross-Cutting Requirements.

What is the PHA Plan?

The PHA Plan is a comprehensive guide to public housing agency (PHA) policies, programs, operations, and strategies for meeting local housing needs and goals. There are two parts to the PHA Plan: the Annual Plan, which is submitted to HUD every year by non-qualified agencies and the 5-Year Plan:

Fixed Plan–Covers a static, five-year period. At the conclusion of this period, a new plan is created covering the next five-year period.
Rolling Plan–Covers a rolling, five-year period. Annually a new plan is created, removing the oldest year and adding on an additional year.

What is the Breakdown of Funds / Eligible Expenses?

BLI 1406 – Operations (maximum 20% of grant) – assistance provided for the operation and management of public housing.

BLI 1410 – Administration (maximum 10% of grant) – salaries and benefit of PHA staff that work full time or part time on Capital Fund activities.

BLI 1480 – General Capital Improvements (balance of grant)

Modernization – physical work (work that is done on physical structures, site and grounds of public housing properties) considered modest design, to keep the projects safe, in physical sound condition, with all systems performing their intended design, energy efficient and that can be efficiently maintained at reasonable operating cost.
Planning costs – such as architectural and engineering fees.
Security and safety – cameras, lights, security equipment and surveillance equipment .
Energy Efficiency – installation and use of energy star appliances
Emergency Activities – physical work items that if not done pose a immediate threat to the health and/or safety of residents.
Resident Relocation – relocation, such as moving expenses, due to capital fund activities.