Funding for federal government agencies expires January 20. If congressional leaders and President Trump are unable to strike a budget deal, operations at federal government agencies will be sharply curtailed.
What does this mean for community associations? CAI has verified federal government shutdown activities and impacts at the following agencies.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
The following manual operations at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will be suspended during a shutdown—
- Review and certification of condominium project approval and recertification packages submitted through the HUD Review and Approval Process (HRAP)
- Endorsement of FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loans
- FHA endorsements that require manual underwriting determinations
The following automated FHA operations will continue throughout a shutdown—
- Acceptance of condominium project approval and recertification packages submitted by lenders through the Direct Endorsement Lenders Review and Approval Process (DELRAP).
- FHA Connection and CHUMS will be accessible by approved lenders, but any case requiring manual intervention will be delayed or suspended
- FHA Call Center and National Servicing Center will continue minimum operations and ensure emergency conditions at HUD-owned properties are remedied
The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) will scale down operations, but entities investigating fair housing complaints will continue investigations. FHEO will recall legal staff necessary for emergency litigation and enforcement actions.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security/FEMA/NFIP
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will continue activities funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, such as disaster response and recovery activities (e.g., debris removal).
A lapse in statutory authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is linked to the current budget impasse. If there is a lapse in NFIP’s statutory authorization the following activities are suspended—
- No new policies issued
- No policy renewals issued
Claims payments will be managed in the following manner—
- Claims on policies in force during the lapse will be serviced and paid as normal
- Claims on policies that would have been renewed but for the lapse may be processed up to the point of payment, with the insurer reserving the right not to pay the claim if Congress does not extend NFIP or reauthorization is not retroactive and the claim occurred during the lapse in NFIP authority
For additional information on NFIP operations during a lapse in authorization, click here.
Photo source: Reddit
