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A. J. Johnson

A. J. Johnson

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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…

Cash for Rent – Can Apartment Communities Refuse

February 15, 2016

Cash for Rent – Can Apartment Communities Refuse? It has long been considered a “best practice” in the multifamily housing world not to accept cash rent payments. There are many good reasons not to accept rent payments in cash,…

Discrimination Based on Race

February 14, 2016

Over the next few months, I intend to do 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…

Boosting Rent (and Therefore Value) for Apartments Through Design and Improvements

February 14, 2016

Boosting Rent (and Therefore Value) for Apartments Through Design and Improvements Whether purchasing or renting, the nation’s 75 million Millennials have strong opinions about what they expect in terms of housing. This age group (mid-20s to mid-3os) constitutes a…

HUD Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making – Strenthening Oversight of Over-Income Tenancy in Public Housing

February 12, 2016

HUD is considering a rule to ensure that households in public housing continue to need housing assistance after admission. This potential rule was prompted by a HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) report stating that of 1.1 million families in…

HUD Changes REAC Protocol Regarding Units with Bedbugs

February 7, 2016

On January 21, 2016, HUD issued Inspector Notice No. 2016-01, “UPCS Inspector Protocol Bed Bug Infestation.” The Notice was effective on February 1, 2016, and applies to all properties that are subject to UPCS physical inspections. In states that…

The Relationship Between Housing and Overall Quality of Life

January 25, 2016

The Relationship Between Housing & Quality of Life When examining ways to increase affordable housing opportunities, ensuring that opportunity is not limited by where a person lives is critical. Unfortunately, today where people live depends on large part on…

2016 HUD Imputed Interest Rate

January 19, 2016

HUD published Notice 2016-01 on January 19, 2016, announcing that the passbook savings rate effective February 1, 2016, will remain at .06%. The notice applies to all Project-Based Section 8 programs, Section 101 Rent Supplement Program, Section 202 Programs, Section…

Graffiti Removal and Restoration

January 16, 2016

Graffiti Removal & Restoration When providing training on preparing properties for physical inspections, I always spend a little time talking about graffiti removal. I have recently received a number of email requests from clients for suggestions on how to…

Rent to Own vs. Seller Financing

January 15, 2016

The Difference Between “Seller Financing” and “Rent-to-Own” Chapter Five of HUD Handbook 4350.3, Chg. 4 outlines various requirements relative to the determination of value and income for assets. One of the more unusual assets managers of affordable housing developments…

Understanding Vicarious Liability

January 12, 2016

Understanding “Vicarious Liability” – A Key Element of Harassment Liability Under Fair Housing Law In October 2015, HUD issued a proposed rule to create a new fair housing regulation that will apply to both private and federally assisted communities.…

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool – Announcement of Final Approved Document, December 31, 2015

January 10, 2016

On December 31, 2015, HUD issued a Notice in the Federal Register announcing the final approved Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool. This is the Assessment Tool to be used by local governments that receive Community Development Block Grants (CDBG),…

Fair Housing Trends – 2015

December 28, 2015

As we approach the end of the year, it is interesting to look back on 2015 and review the trends in fair housing that affect how we manage our properties. 2015 was an extremely active year from a fair housing…

Tax Extenders Signed Into Law

December 19, 2015

Congress has passed and the President has signed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2016. The legislation includes a number of permanent (as opposed to temporary) extensions of expiring tax provisions. Included in these is a permanent…

Proposed Bill Would Require Eviction of Over-Income Public Housing Tenants

December 13, 2015

Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL) has introduced HR 4133, a bill that would require removal of public housing tenants whose income after move-in exceeds the qualifying income limits. The proposed “Public Housing Accountability Act” was introduced on November 30, 2015 and…

HUD Final Rule Defining “Chronically Homeless”

December 13, 2015

On December 4, 2015, HUD published a final rule titled “Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing: Defining “Chronically Homeless.” This final rule establishes the definition of “chronically homeless” that will be used in HUD’s Continuum of Care…

Computing Adjustments to the Allowable Annual Credit for LIHTC Properties

December 6, 2015

At the conclusion of an audit of a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) taxpayer, the IRS will determine whether any adjustments to the amount of annual credit are appropriate. This will be done after auditing the eligible basis, applicable…

Amendment to the HUD Definition of Tuition, Notice H 2015-12

December 2, 2015

Amendment to the HUD Definition of Tuition, Notice H 2015-12 HUD published Notice H 2015-12 on November 18, 2015, amending the definition of tuition as it relates to both HUD Multifamily Housing programs and Public and Indian Housing (PIH)…

HUD Notice on Designation of Difficult Development Areas and Qualified Census Tracts for 2016

December 1, 2015

On November 24, 2015, HUD issued a Notice in the Federal Register designating “Difficult Development Areas” (DDAs) and “Qualified Census Tracts” (QCTs) for purposes of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC). For the first time, HUD is using…

Developer Fees – How They are Viewed by the IRS

November 29, 2015

Developer fees represent payment for a developer’s services and are (at least partly) includable in eligible basis for a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project. There are three basic types of developer fees. Turnkey Project Fee The…

HUD Notice Regarding Exclusion of Use of Arrest Records for Housing Decisions, Notice 2015-10

November 29, 2015

On November 2, 2015, HUD issued Notice H 2015-10, Guidance for Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and Owners of Federally-Assisted Housing on Excluding the Use of Arrest Records in Housing Decisions. The purpose of this Notice is to inform PHAs…

Understanding the Applicable Percentage for a Section 42 Property

November 28, 2015

The amount of annual Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) a building may receive is dependent on four factors: (1) Eligible Basis; (2) the Applicable Fraction; (3) qualified basis; and (4) the Applicable Percentage. Of these four elements, the “Applicable Percentage”…

Satellite Dishes – Rights of Landlords and Residents

November 28, 2015

Federal rules published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) give residents of apartment communities the right to install satellite dishes at an apartment community, subject to FCC limits. Many landlords are still unsure of exactly what the rules permit residents…

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