Posts by A. J. Johnson

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HUD Lodges Fair Housing Complaint Against Facebook

On August 17, 2018, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) announced a formal complaint against Facebook for violating the Fair Housing Act by allowing landlords and sellers to use its advertising platform to engage in housing discrimination.…

Update on State Positions Regarding Income Averaging

State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) continue to release information regarding how they will approach the new minimum set-aside election – the “Average Income” election. As of August 1, 2018, 20 HFAs have provided some guidance on how the new election…

ADA Service Animal Guidance May be Instructive for Housing Providers

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that state and local government agencies and non-profits that provide goods or services to the public make “reasonable modifications” in policies, practices, or procedures when needed to accommodate persons with disabilities. This requirement…

Opportunity Zones Present New Development Opportunities

The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 created something called “Opportunity Zones.” This is a brand new section of the federal tax code. An Opportunity Zone or “OZ” is an economically-distressed community where new investments may be eligible for…

Website Accessibility

In recent years, there has been a spate of litigation relating to website accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA provides that no person shall be discriminated against in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods,…

States Begin Issuing Average Income Set-Aside Guidance

A number of states have now begun to issue guidance regarding the implementation of the “Average-Income” minimum set-aside test, which was signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. Eight states have provided formal guidance. Alaska…

Owner-Adopted Preferences in the RAD Program

On June 29, 2018, HUD published a list of allowable owner-adopted preferences for RAD properties, including direction for owners wanting to establish an owner-adopted elderly preference. The guidance highlights current HUD policy located in the RAD Notice (PIH 2012-32[HA] H-2017-03,…

Emotional Support Animals – How “Necessary” Are They?

Every apartment manager is familiar with “Emotional Support Animals,” or “ESAs.” I would venture to say there are very few multi-family communities in existence today that don’t have at least one resident with an ESA. And my experience has shown…

The State of Fair Housing – 2018

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) has published “Making Every Neighborhood a Place of Opportunity,” a report on the condition of fair housing in the United States in 2018. As much as anything else, the report highlights the Department of…

HUD Publishes 2018 HOME Rent and Income Limits

HUD has now published the 2018 income and rent limits for the HOME program. These limits are effective beginning June 1, 2018, and HOME grantees may not use the new rent and income limits until the effective date. Owners and…

HUD Proposed Legislation on Assisted Rents and Other Issues

On April 25, 2018, HUD sent a legislative proposal to Congress titled, “Making Affordable Housing Work Act of 2018.” The proposed legislation contains seven sections that, if passed into law by Congress and signed by the President, would significantly impact…

HUD-DOJ Initiative to Fight Sexual Harassment in Housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have begun a nationwide initiative intended to combat sexual harassment in housing. This effort includes an interagency task force between HUD and DOJ, an outreach toolkit,…

Additional Guidance on the Income Average Test

In order to meet the minimum set-aside, if owners select the new Income Average test, at least 40% of the units in the project must have rents and incomes at the various designated unit income limits selected by the owner…

HUD Publishes 2018 Income Limits

On March 30, 2018, HUD published the 2018 income limits for HUD programs as well as for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Tax-Exempt Bond programs. The limits are effective on April 1, 2018. The limits for the LIHTC and…

More Thoughts on the Income Average Test

This article is a follow up to the one I posted on March 26, 2018, relating to the Average Income Test which was included in the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018,” as a third set-aside election for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit…

Income Averaging Discussion and Examples

I posted an article on March 24, 2018, describing the two changes made to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program by the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018,” the increase in credits and the new “Average Income Test.” I want to…

HOME Funds and Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plans

In February 2018, the HUD Office of Community Planning and Development issued guidance relating to the requirement that projects funded with HOME funds have an Affirmative Fair Housing and Marketing Plan. This requirement is contained in the HOME final rule…

FAST Act Interim Final Rule Effective March 12, 2018

On December 12, 2017, HUD published an interim final rule in the Federal Register that amends the regulatory language for Public & Indian Housing PIH) and Multifamily Housing rental assistance programs. This interim rule went into effect on March 12,…

The Importance of Internal Controls

All executives are taught the importance of “internal controls.” Unfortunately, many executives don’t fully understand what is meant by the term “internal controls.” A recent HUD audit of a Section 8 project in Port Arthur, TX serves as a reminder…

Rental Assistance – Is It Income or Not?

After more than 40 years in the affordable housing business, I still occasionally get the question as to why federal rental assistance – such as Section 8 – is not counted as income. After all, it is a regular, recurring…
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