U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner has announced more than $1.1 billion in Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) funding for eligible Native American Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) to carry out affordable housing activities in Indian Country.
“From day one, HUD has been engaged in alleviating affordable housing challenges facing urban, rural, and Tribal communities. Today’s announcement reaffirms our commitment to serve Tribal communities while working towards meeting Indian Country’s housing needs,” said HUD Secretary Turner. “HUD has a strong partnership with Tribal nations, and I look forward to collaborating directly with Tribal leaders to expand housing opportunities and remove burdensome regulatory barriers that impede progress.”
The IHBG program is a formula grant that provides a range of affordable housing activities in Tribal communities. Eligible activities include housing development, operation and modernization of existing housing, housing services to eligible families and individuals, crime prevention and safety, and model activities.
Funds appropriated by Congress for the IHBG program are made available to eligible grant recipients through a formula. Regulations governing the formula can be found at 24 CFR Part 1000, Subpart D. The formula has four components; Need, Formula Current Assisted Stock, 1996 Minimum, and Undisbursed IHBG funds factor. The Need component considers population, income, and housing conditions. The Formula Current Assisted Stock component reflects housing developed under the United States Housing Act (the predecessor of the IHBG program) which is owned and/or operated by the IHBG recipient and provides funds for ongoing operation of the housing. The 1996 Minimum provides adjustments when an Indian tribe is allocated more or less funding under the IHBG formula than it received in fiscal year 1996 for operating subsidy and modernization. The Undisbursed IHBG funds factor provides adjustments for tribes with an initial allocation of $5 million or more and has undisbursed IHBG funds in an amount greater than the sum of the prior three years’ initial allocation calculations.
Note that an Indian tribe may challenge the Need portion of the IHBG formula provided the data are gathered, evaluated, and presented in a manner that is fair and equitable for all participating tribes. Tribes have until March 30 of each year to submit challenges to their Needs data in consideration for the upcoming fiscal year.
HUD has until June 1 of each fiscal year to report to recipients their annual IHBG estimated allocation and the data used to compute the estimated allocation. The Formula Response Form (FRF) is designated by 24 CFR 1000.302 as the form recipients use to report data changes to HUD. It is the recipients’ responsibility to report any discrepancies or changes in their IHBG data to HUD. Tribes have until August 1 of each year to submit corrections to Formula Current Assisted Stock (FCAS), Formula Area, Population Cap and Overlapping Formula Area data in consideration for the upcoming fiscal year. In accordance with Section 1000.315 the FRF is the only mechanism that a recipient shall use to report changes to the number of FCAS.
Click here for a list of HUD’s FY 2025 IHBG Formula Allocations.
