Notice2026-04207
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 4, 2026
Issuing agencies
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Abstract
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites public comments on an information collection titled the "Affordable Housing Program," as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). FHFA intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the information collection (assigned control number 2590-0007 by OMB) for review and approval of a three-year extension of the control number, which is set to expire April 30, 2026.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 42 (Wednesday, March 4, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 4, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10608-10610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04207]
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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY
[No. 2026-N-4]
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.
ACTION: 30-Day notice of submission of information collection for
approval from Office of Management and Budget.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites
public comments on an information collection titled the ``Affordable
Housing Program,'' as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA). FHFA intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) the information collection (assigned control number 2590-0007 by
OMB) for review and approval of a three-year extension of the control
number, which is set to expire April 30, 2026.
DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before April 3,
2026.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer
for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Washington, DC 20503, Fax:
(202) 395-3047, Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#420d0b10031d3137202f2b31312b2d2c022d2f206c272d326c252d34"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="551a1c07140a262037383c26263c3a3b153a38377b303a257b323a23">[email protected]</span></a>. Please also submit
comments to FHFA, identified by ``Proposed Collection; Comment Request:
`Affordable Housing Program, (No. 2026-N-4)' '' by any of the following
methods:
<bullet> Agency Website: <a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/regulation/federal-register?comments=open">https://www.fhfa.gov/regulation/federal-register?comments=open</a>.
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Mail/Hand Delivery: Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fourth
Floor, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219, ATTENTION: Proposed
Collection; Comment Request: ``Affordable Housing Program, (No. 2026-N-
4).'' Please note that all mail sent to FHFA via the U.S. Postal
Service is routed through a national irradiation facility, a process
that may delay delivery by approximately two weeks. For any time-
sensitive correspondence, please plan accordingly.
FHFA will post all comments, including any personally identifiable
information such as name and contact information, on the FHFA public
website at <a href="https://www.fhfa.gov">https://www.fhfa.gov</a>, except as described below. Commenters
should submit only information that the commenter wishes to make
available publicly. FHFA will not redact personally identifiable
information once it is submitted. Commenters who do not wish to be
identified by their comments may submit their comments anonymously.
FHFA may post only a single representative example of identical or
substantially identical comments, and in such cases will generally
identify the number of identical or substantially identical comments
represented by the posted example. FHFA may, in its discretion, redact
or refrain from posting all or any portion of any comment that contains
content that is obscene, vulgar, profane, or threatens harm. All
comments, including those that are redacted or not posted, will be
retained in their original form in FHFA's internal file and will be
considered as required by all applicable laws. Commenters who would
like FHFA to consider any portion of their comment exempt from
disclosure on the basis that it contains trade secrets, or financial,
confidential or proprietary data or information, should follow the
procedures in section IV.D. of FHFA's Policy on Communications with
Outside Parties in Connection with FHFA Rulemakings, see <a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Ex-Parte-Communications-Public-Policy_3-5-19.pdf">https://www.fhfa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Ex-Parte-Communications-Public-Policy_3-5-19.pdf</a>. FHFA cannot guarantee that such data or
information will remain confidential if disclosure is sought pursuant
to an applicable statute or regulation. See 12 CFR 1202.8, 12 CFR
1214.2, and FHFA's FOIA Reference Guide <a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/about/foia-reference-guide">https://www.fhfa.gov/about/foia-reference-guide</a> for additional information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tiffani Moore, Supervisory Policy
Analyst, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#297d404f4f484740076446465b4c694f414f48074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="386c515e5e595651167557574a5d785e505e59165f574e">[email protected]</span></a>, (202) 649-3304; or Angela Supervielle,
Assistant General Counsel, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#df9eb1b8bab3bef18caaafbaada9b6bab3b3ba9fb9b7b9bef1b8b0a9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f3b29d94969f92dda086839681859a969f9f96b3959b9592dd949c85">[email protected]</span></a>, (202) 649-3973
(these are not toll-free numbers); Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400
Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. For TTY/TRS users with hearing
and speech disabilities, dial 711 and ask to be connected to any of the
contact numbers above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
1. Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or
sponsor. ``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)
and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency requests or requirements that ten
or more persons submit information to a third party. FHFA's collection
of information set forth in this document is titled the ``Affordable
Housing Program'' (assigned control number 2590-0007 by OMB). To comply
with the PRA requirement, FHFA is publishing notice of a proposed
three-year extension of this collection of information and the control
number.
2. Affordable Housing Program
Section 10(j) of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank Act) requires
FHFA to promulgate regulations under which each of the 11 Federal Home
Loan Banks (Banks) must establish an Affordable Housing Program (AHP)
to provide subsidy to the Banks' member institutions to finance: (1)
homeownership by households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the
area median income (low- or moderate-income households); and (2) the
purchase, construction, or rehabilitation of rental housing in which at
least 20 percent of the units will be occupied by, and affordable for,
households with incomes at 50 percent or less of the area median income
(very low-income households).\1\ Section 10(j) also establishes
standards and requirements for providing such subsidized funding to
Bank members and requires each Bank to contribute 10 percent of its
previous year's net earnings to its AHP annually, subject to a minimum
annual combined contribution by the 11 Banks of $100 million.\2\
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\1\ See 12 U.S.C. 1430(j)(1) and (2).
\2\ See 12 U.S.C. 1430(j)(5)(C).
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FHFA's AHP regulation, which implements the statutory AHP
requirements, is set forth at 12 CFR part 1291. The regulation requires
that each Bank establish and fund an AHP and sets forth the parameters
within which the Banks' programs must operate. The regulation permits
the Banks a degree of discretion in determining how their individual
programs are to be implemented and requires that each Bank adopt an AHP
Implementation Plan setting forth the specific requirements for that
Bank's program.\3\
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\3\ 12 CFR 1291.13(b).
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Competitive Application Programs
The AHP regulation requires each Bank to establish a General Fund,
which is a competitive application program under which the Bank accepts
applications for AHP subsidized advances or direct subsidies (grants)
submitted by its members on behalf of non-member entities having a
significant connection to the projects for
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which subsidy is being sought (project sponsors).\4\ The AHP regulation
also authorizes each Bank, in its discretion, to establish up to three
Targeted Funds, which are competitive application programs under which
funds are targeted to address specific affordable housing needs within
the Bank's district that are either unmet, have proven difficult to
address through the Bank's General Fund, or align with the objectives
identified in the Bank's strategic plan.\5\ Each Bank accepts
applications for AHP subsidy under its competitive application
program(s) during a specified number of funding periods each year, as
determined by the Bank.\6\ A Bank must determine for each application
it receives whether the proposed project meets applicable AHP
regulatory eligibility requirements.\7\ The Bank must score each
application according to AHP regulatory and Bank-specific scoring
guidelines, and approve the highest scoring projects within that
funding period for AHP subsidy.\8\
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\4\ 12 CFR 1291.20(a). Under the regulation, an AHP project
sponsor may be an entity that either: (1) has an ownership interest
in a rental project; (2) is integrally involved in an owner-occupied
project, such as by exercising control over the planning,
development, or management of the project, or by qualifying
borrowers and providing or arranging financing for the owners of the
units; (3) operates a loan pool; or (4) is a revolving loan fund. 12
CFR 1291.1 (definition of ``sponsor'').
\5\ 12 CFR 1291.20(b).
\6\ 12 CFR 1291.22(a).
\7\ 12 CFR 1291.22(b)(1).
\8\ 12 CFR 1291.22(c).
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The regulation provides that, prior to each disbursement of AHP
subsidy for a project approved under a Bank's competitive application
program(s), the Bank must verify that the project continues to meet
applicable AHP regulatory eligibility requirements, as well as all
commitments made in the approved AHP application.\9\ As part of this
process, Banks typically require that the member and project sponsor
provide documentation demonstrating continuing compliance. In the event
of project noncompliance, a project sponsor is required to make a
reasonable effort to cure the noncompliance within a reasonable period
of time.\10\
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\9\ 12 CFR 1291.30(c).
\10\ 12 CFR 1291.60(b)(1).
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If the project sponsor cannot cure the noncompliance within a
reasonable period of time, the regulation permits a Bank to approve a
modification to the terms of an approved application. This modification
can change the score that the application received for the funding
period in which it was originally scored and approved, as if the
changed facts had been in effect at that time.\11\ Before a Bank
approves a modification: (i) the project, incorporating the changes,
must continue to meet the regulatory eligibility requirements; (ii) the
application, as reflective of the changes, must continue to score high
enough to have been approved in the funding period in which it was
originally scored and approved; and (iii) there must be good cause for
the modification, and the analysis and justification for the
modification must be documented by the Bank in writing.\12\
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\11\ 12 CFR 1291.60(b)(2).
\12\ 12 CFR 1291.29(a).
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The regulation requires generally that a Bank monitor owner-
occupied and rental projects receiving AHP subsidy under its
competitive application program(s) prior to and after project
completion.\13\ During the initial monitoring period, a Bank must
determine whether the project is making satisfactory progress towards
completion, in compliance with the commitments made in the approved
application, Bank policies, and applicable AHP regulatory
requirements.\14\ Following project completion, the Bank must determine
whether satisfactory progress is being made towards occupancy of the
project by eligible households.\15\ Within a reasonable period of time
after project completion, the Bank must determine whether the project
meets applicable AHP regulatory requirements and the commitments made
in the approved application.\16\ During the long-term 15-year
monitoring period for rental projects, subject to certain exceptions in
the AHP regulation, the Bank must determine whether the household
incomes and rents in the project comply with the income targeting and
rent commitments made in the approved application.\17\ For both the
initial and long-term monitoring, a Bank must review appropriate
documentation maintained by the project sponsor.
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\13\ 12 CFR 1291.50.
\14\ 12 CFR 1291.50(a)(1)(i).
\15\ 12 CFR 1291.50(a)(1)(ii).
\16\ 12 CFR 1291.50(a)(2).
\17\ 12 CFR 1291.50(c)(1).
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Homeownership Set-Aside Programs
The AHP regulation also authorizes each Bank, in its discretion, to
allocate up to the greater of $4.5 million or 35 percent of its annual
required AHP contribution to establish homeownership set-aside programs
for the purpose of promoting homeownership for low- or moderate-income
households.\18\ Under these homeownership set-aside programs, a Bank
provides AHP direct subsidies to its members who, in turn, provide the
subsidies as grants to eligible households for down payment, closing
cost, counseling cost or rehabilitation assistance in connection with
the household's purchase of a primary residence or rehabilitation of an
owner-occupied residence.\19\ Prior to the Bank's disbursement of a
direct subsidy under its homeownership set-aside program(s), the member
must agree that the subsidy will be provided in compliance with all
applicable AHP regulatory eligibility requirements.\20\
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\18\ 12 CFR 1291.12(b); 1291.40.
\19\ 12 CFR 1291.42(d).
\20\ 12 CFR 1291.15(a).
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AHP Information Submitted by Banks to FHFA
FHFA requires each Bank to submit to FHFA aggregate AHP
information. Specifically, each Bank must submit to FHFA project-level
information regarding its competitive application program(s) and
household-level information regarding its homeownership set-aside
program(s) semi-annually. The information the Banks are required to
submit to FHFA is derived from the documentation submitted by Bank
members and project sponsors that is described above.
B. Need for and Use of the Information Collection
The Banks use the AHP information collected from Bank members and
project sponsors to determine whether: (1) projects for which Bank
members and project sponsors are seeking subsidies under the Banks'
competitive application programs satisfy the applicable statutory and
regulatory requirements and score highly enough in comparison with
other applications submitted during the same funding period to be
approved for AHP subsidies; (2) projects approved under the Banks'
competitive application programs continue to meet the applicable AHP
regulatory requirements and comply with the commitments made in the
approved applications each time AHP subsidy is disbursed by the Banks,
through their members, to the project sponsors; (3) requests for
modifications of projects approved under the Banks' competitive
application programs meet the AHP regulatory requirements for approval;
(4) during the initial monitoring period, projects approved under the
Banks' competitive application programs are making satisfactory
progress towards completion, are making satisfactory progress towards
occupancy of the projects by eligible households after completion, and,
within a reasonable
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period of time after completion, are in compliance with the commitments
made in the approved applications, Bank policies, and applicable AHP
regulatory requirements; (5) during the long-term 15-year monitoring
period, completed rental projects continue to comply with the household
income targeting and rent commitments made in the approved
applications; and (6) applications for direct subsidy under Banks'
homeownership set-aside programs were approved, and the direct
subsidies disbursed, in accordance with applicable AHP regulatory
requirements.
FHFA uses the information to verify that the Banks' funding
decisions, and the uses of the funds awarded, were consistent with
statutory and regulatory requirements.
C. Burden Estimate
FHFA has analyzed each of the six facets of this information
collection to estimate the hour burdens that the collection will impose
upon Bank members and AHP project sponsors annually over the next three
years. Based on that analysis, FHFA estimates that the total annual
hour burden will be 106,784. The method FHFA used to determine the
annual hour burden for each facet of the information collection is
explained in detail below.
1. AHP Competitive Applications Submissions
FHFA estimates that Bank members, on behalf of project sponsors,
will submit to the Banks an annual average of 1,176 applications for
AHP subsidies under the Banks' competitive application programs, and
that the average preparation time for each application will be 24
hours. The estimate for the total annual hour burden on members and
project sponsors in connection with the preparation and submission of
AHP competitive applications is, therefore, 28,224 hours (1,176
applications x 24 hours).
2. Compliance Submissions for Approved Competitive Application Projects
at AHP Subsidy Disbursement
FHFA estimates that Bank members, on behalf of project sponsors,
will make an annual average of 325 submissions to the Banks documenting
that projects approved under the Banks' competitive application
programs continue to comply with the AHP regulatory eligibility
requirements and all commitments made in the approved AHP applications
at the time each AHP subsidy is disbursed to the project sponsors, and
that the average preparation time for each submission will be 1 hour.
The estimate for the total annual hour burden on members and project
sponsors in connection with the preparation and submission of these
compliance submissions is, therefore, 325 hours (325 submissions x 1
hour).
3. Modification Requests for Approved Competitive Application Projects
FHFA estimates that Bank members, on behalf of project sponsors,
will submit to the Banks an annual average of 299 requests for
modifications to projects that have been approved under the Banks'
competitive application programs, and that the average preparation time
for each request will be 2.5 hours. The estimate for the total annual
hour burden on members and project sponsors in connection with the
preparation and submission of these modification requests, therefore,
is 748 hours (299 requests x 2.5 hours).
4. Initial Monitoring Submissions for Approved Competitive Application
Projects
FHFA estimates that project sponsors will make an annual average of
249 submissions of documentation to the Banks for purposes of the
Banks' initial monitoring of in-progress and recently completed
projects approved under their competitive application programs, and
that the average preparation time for each submission will be 5 hours.
The estimate for the total annual hour burden on project sponsors in
connection with the preparation and submission of documentation
required for initial monitoring of competitive application projects is,
therefore, 1,245 hours (249 submissions x 5 hours).
5. Long-Term Monitoring Submissions for Approved Competitive
Application Projects
FHFA estimates that project sponsors will make an annual average of
2,989 submissions of documentation to the Banks for purposes of the
Banks' long-term monitoring of completed rental projects approved under
their competitive application programs, and that the average
preparation time for each submission will be 3 hours. The estimate for
the total annual hour burden on project sponsors in connection with the
preparation and submission of documentation required for long-term
monitoring of completed competitive application rental projects is,
therefore, 8,967 hours (2,989 submissions x 3 hours).
6. Homeownership Set-Aside Program Applications and Certifications
FHFA estimates that Bank members will submit to the Banks an annual
average of 13,455 applications and required certifications for AHP
direct subsidies under the Banks' homeownership set-aside programs, and
that the average preparation time for those submissions will be 5
hours. The estimate for the total annual hour burden on members in
connection with the preparation and submission of homeownership set-
aside program applications and certifications is, therefore, 67,275
hours (13,455 applications/certifications x 5 hours).
D. Public Comments Request
In accordance with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.8(d), FHFA
published an initial notice and request for public comments regarding
this information collection in the Federal Register on November 18,
2025.\21\ FHFA received one comment. The commenter did not address the
PRA requirements associated with this information collection, but,
instead, focused on broader policy issues related to the Community
Support Requirements, and not the AHP.
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\21\ See 90 FR 51758 (Nov. 18, 2025).
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FHFA requests written comments on the following: (1) Whether the
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
FHFA functions, including whether the information has practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of FHFA's estimates of the burdens of the
collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information collected; and (4) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information on respondents, including
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Shawn Bucholtz,
Chief Data Officer, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2026-04207 Filed 3-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8070-01-P
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