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On December 29, 2022, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2023, which incorporated The Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act of 2022. This new law requires each unit of federally assisted housing to contain hardwired or 10-year non-rechargeable, sealed, tamper-resistant battery-powered smoke alarm devices, as well as other items. To comply with the new statutory requirements, the Rural Housing Service (RHS) proposes to amend 7 CFR 3560.103(a)(3)(xx) and 7 CFR 3560.60 to implement the changes related to smoke alarm requirements for the MFH Direct Loan and Grant programs. These proposed changes to 7 CFR 3560 subparts B and C are intended to align the Agency’s smoke alarm requirements with the new qualified smoke alarm standards under the Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act of 2022.

The intent of this proposed rule is to increase the safety of residents and visitors, as well as strengthen measures for the protection of the asset value used to secure the Agency’s section 515 and section 514/516 program loans. Housing repair and replacement costs in the affordable housing industry have been increasing at a steady rate due to economic changes in the open market for labor and materials. Agency stakeholders will benefit from an improved customer experience through improved safety and prevention of potential damage resulting from smoke and fire.