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A. J. Johnson

A. J. Johnson

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Potential Impact on LIHTC Projects from The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016

July 30, 2016

Potential Impact on LIHTC Projects from The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 Congress recently passed the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016. While many of the changes brought about by the Act apply only to Public Housing…

Avoiding Discrimination Based on Sex in Housing

July 25, 2016

Avoiding Discrimination Based on Sex in the Provision of Housing Federal law did not prohibit sex discrimination in housing until 1974, when a non-controversial provision of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 added “sex” as a…

Significant New Housing Law Ready for President’s Signature

July 20, 2016

On July 14, 2016, the U.S. Senate passed HR 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016. It is expected that the President will sign the Act into law shortly at which time the statute will be sent to…

Verification of Cash Payments

July 6, 2016

Verification of income from employment is usually just a matter of obtaining a written verification of income from the employer or the most recent four to six consecutive pay stubs from the applicant. However, in some cases, persons are paid…

Rural Development Voucher Program

July 6, 2016

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) published a notice in the Federal Register on June 29, 2016, titled “Rural Development Voucher Program.” The purpose of the notice was to inform the public of the general policies and procedures for the Rural…

Child Support Pass-Through and Disregard Policies for Public Assistance Recipients

June 26, 2016

Child Support Pass-Through and Disregard Policies for Public Assistance Recipients Under federal law, families receiving public assistance, known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), must cooperate with child support establishment and enforcement efforts. In addition, TANF recipients…

HUD Proposed Rule on Small Area Fair Market Rents – June 16, 2016

June 25, 2016

In the June 16, 2016, Federal Register, HUD published a proposed rule titled, “Establishing a More Effective Fair Market Rent System; Using Small Area Fair Market Rents in Housing Choice Voucher Program Instead of the Current 50th Percentile FMRs.” …

HUD Updates Two Forms – 92006 and 9834

June 21, 2016

HUD has recently updated two forms that are required for properties with HUD assistance, the HUD Form 92006 and Form 9834. The Form 92006 – Supplement to Application for Federally Assisted Housing contains an updated expiration date of February…

Preservation and Recapitalization of Section 236 Properties

June 18, 2016

Preservation and Recapitalization of Section 236 Properties The Section 236 Program was created by Congress in 1968 and was designed to involve the private sector in the creation of affordable rental housing. Market rate lenders provide loans that are…

GAO Issues Second Report on the LIHTC Program, May 2016

June 13, 2016

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report to the Senate Judiciary Committee titled “Low-Income Housing Tax Credit – Some Agency Practices Raise Concerns and IRS Could Improve Noncompliance Reporting and Data Collection.” This is the second…

HUD Demonstration Program on Housing Choice Voucher Physical Inspections

May 29, 2016

On April 27, 2016, HUD published in the Federal Register a “Notice of Demonstration to Test Proposed New Method of Assessing the Physical Conditions of Voucher-Assisted Housing.” Through this Notice, HUD is seeking comments on a demonstration designed to…

Updated REAC Guidance – May 23, 2016

May 25, 2016

HUD has released a document titled “UPCS Guidance & Protocol Clarification.” This guidance was effective on May 23, 2016, and changes some of the prior guidance inspectors followed during REAC inspections. Primary changes/clarifications are as follows: HUD has clarified that…

HUD Announces Housing Trust Fund Awards – May 5, 2016

May 5, 2016

On May 5, 2016, HUD published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the fiscal year 2016 Funding Awards for the Housing Trust Fund HTF). HUD had originally estimated that $120 million would be allocated in 2016, but this notice…

Housing Discrimination Based on Religion

May 3, 2016

Discrimination Based on Religion In this third installment in my series on the Fair Housing Act protected categories, I want to review some of the issues relevant to discrimination based on religion. Religion is one of the characteristics…

HUD Publishes Section 8 Annual Adjustment Factors (AAF)

May 3, 2016

On April 3, 2016, HUD published in the Federal Register the 2016 Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program Annual Adjustment Factors (AAF). The factors are based on a formula using residential rent and utility cost changes from the most recent…

Revision of Tenant Participation Requirements, HUD Notice H 2016-05

April 17, 2016

Revision of Tenant Participation Requirements, HUD Notice H 2016-05 On March 31, 2016, HUD published Notice H 2016-05, Revision of Tenant Participation Requirements. This notice restates requirements originally issued in Notice H 2014-12 and revises penalties for non-compliance.…

HUD Releases Final AFFH Assessment Tool

April 10, 2016

HUD Releases Final AFFH Assessment Tool On March 23, 2016, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register regarding the final Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment tool. This tool is for Public Housing Agencies. HUD had already released assessment…

HUD Issues Guidance on Criminal Record Screening

April 6, 2016

On April 4, 2016, the HUD Office of General Counsel (Helen R. Kanovsky) issued guidance on the relationship of using criminal records as a screening tool for housing decisions to federal fair housing laws. The essence of the guidance is…

Fair Housing Enforcement at LIHTC Properties

April 2, 2016

Fair Housing Enforcement at LIHTC Properties A violation of fair housing law is reportable noncompliance for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties. It is reported on Line 11h of IRS Form 8823, along with any other finding of noncompliance…

HUD Publishes 2016 Income Limits

March 28, 2016

On March 28, 2016, HUD published the 2016 income limits for HUD programs as well as for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Tax-Exempt Bond programs. The limits for the LIHTC and Bond projects are published separately from the limits…

Discrimination Based on National Origin

March 27, 2016

This is my second in a series of articles focusing in detail on each of the seven characteristics that are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act. These seven characteristics (also known as “Protected Classes”) are race, color, national origin,…

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool for States and Insular Areas – Notice March 11, 2016

March 20, 2016

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Tool for States and Insular Areas – Notice March 11, 2016 On March 11, 2016, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register providing information on the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool for States…

Defining “Principal Residence” for Affordable Housing Purposes

March 13, 2016

Defining “Principal Residence” for Affordable Housing Purposes Virtually all affordable housing programs, including Section 8 and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), require that the lessees of the unit use apartments being rented under the applicable program as a…

HUD Publishes Major Rule Changes for Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher and Multifamily Housing Programs

March 7, 2016

On March 3, 2016, HUD published in the Federal Register a new rule on Streamlining Administrative Regulations for Public Housing (PH), Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Multifamily Housing (MFH) and Community Planning & Development (CPD) Programs. The Department of Housing…

National Housing Trust Fund Money Now Available

March 6, 2016

National Housing Trust Fund The National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) was established as part of HERA 2008, and will provide communities with funds to build, preserve and rehabilitate rental homes that are affordable for extremely low and very low-income…

Airbnb and Affordable Housing

March 5, 2016

Airbnb: A Potential Challenge for Affordable Housing Properties Airbnb is a website for people to list, find, and rent lodging. It has over 1.5 million listings in 190 countries. Users of the system must register and create an online…

IRS Issues Final and Temporary Regulations Regarding Utility Allowances

March 4, 2016

Utility Allowance Final and Temporary Regulations The IRS published Final and Temporary Regulations relating to Utility Allowances for Low-Income Housing (LIHTC) properties in the March 3, 2016 Federal Register. The final regulations clarify the circumstances in which utility…

HUD Funding Demonstration Program for Housing for the Elderly

February 28, 2016

The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the availability of funding of approximately $15 million under the Department’s Supportive Services Demonstration for Elderly Households in HUD-Assisted Multifamily Housing. Funds obtained under this Notice must be used to…

IRS Amends State LIHTC Monitoring Requirements

February 25, 2016

Amendments to LIHTC Monitoring Regulation, Revenue Procedure 2016-15 On February 25, 2016, the IRS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would amend the compliance monitoring duties of a state or local housing credit agency relative to…

Verifying the Need for a Live-in Aide in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties

February 20, 2016

Verifying the Need for a Live-in Aide in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties Most housing managers are aware that due to the requirements of fair housing law, properties must at times allow someone to live with a disabled resident…

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