Earlier this month, CAI sent a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge urging her support of CAI’s advocacy priorities pertaining to condominium and cooperative housing safety. We also shared our Condominium Safety Public Policy Report with Secretary Fudge. Below are excerpts from our letter requesting HUD’s attention.
National Government Support for Condominium and Cooperative Housing Safety
The tragic collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., in June 2021 and the deaths of 98 residents and guests reverberated through condominiums and housing cooperatives nationwide. CAI was devastated by the loss of life; CAI members lived in and worked with the Champlain Towers South community. President Joe Biden’s prompt emergency declaration provided $38 million in assistance to displaced residents, victims’ families, and Miami-Dade County. The CAI community will always be grateful for the nation’s compassion.
CAI invites the Biden administration to support condominium and cooperative housing safety by:
- Clarifying that Community Development Block Grant and/or other HUD-administered grant funds may be used by local and state governments to fund building inspections to verify the safety, soundness, and habitability of condominium and cooperative housing.
- Endorsing U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist’s SAFER Condos Act (currently in draft form) to authorize Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance of loans and mortgages under the Title I property preservation and 203(k) rehabilitation programs that fund condominium association special assessments for structural repairs and financial reserves for future repairs.
- Working to modify FHA multifamily mortgage insurance programs to authorize blanket mortgage insurance for loans obtained by condominium associations to finance structural repairs.
- Exploring policies to enable participation from cooperative unit owners and cooperative corporations in department programs that support financing project-level structural repairs.
Here is a link to the full letter. In addition, CAI is tracking legislation throughout the country pertaining to condominium and housing cooperative safety here.
This is NOT a legitimate federal government power. Safety requirements should be determined by state or local governments as they change with location and should be tailored as thus. While this is a “practical” view, it is also guided by the US Constitution, 10th Amendment.