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HUD Proposed Legislation on Assisted Rents and Other Issues

May 1, 2018

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…

Appropriations Act Contains Two Major Changes to the LIHTC Program

March 24, 2018

The “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018” was signed into law by the President on March 23, 2018. The law includes two major changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program (IRC §42). Increase in Credits The amount of credit…

Possible Work Requirements and Rent Changes for Affordable Housing

February 19, 2018

I have recently reviewed a draft, unpublished document dated January 17, 2018, from HUD that introduces minimum work requirements for some residents of assisted housing and raises rent for others. This seems to continue the pattern of requiring work…

NCSHA Publishes 2017 Recommended Best Practices

January 5, 2018

The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) has updated its Recommended Practices in Housing Credit Administration for voluntary adoption by Housing Credit Agencies. The organizations first recommended practices were published in 1993, and included recommendations relative to allocation and…

HUD Delays Fair Housing Affirmative Action Rule

January 5, 2018

In what is almost certainly the first step in elimination of the requirement that localities take proactive steps to affirmatively further fair housing, HUD is extending the deadline for submission of assessment of fair housing for Consolidated Plan Participants. This…

Minimum Wage Increases in 18 States

December 24, 2017

Happy New Year! For workers in a number of states, the new year will bring an increase in minimum wages. Many of the states already had minimum wage levels higher than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour Owners…

Comparison of House and Senate Tax Bills

November 11, 2017

On November 9, the Senate Finance Committee released its tax plan, following the House Ways and Means Committee plan last week. Since I sent a memo on the House plan last week, I will only note the differences between the…

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – H.R 1

November 5, 2017

On November 2, 2017, the House Ways & Means Committee released H.R.1, “The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.” The 429-page bill includes five sections: Tax Reform for Individuals; Repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT); Business Tax Reform; Taxation of…

Financing for Multifamily Energy Conservation Improvements – the PACE Program

October 30, 2017

A number of states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation authorizing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs to finance the installation of energy conservation improvements on multifamily housing projects. HUD has established standards for determining whether such programs…

Tax Reform Update – October 22, 2017

October 22, 2017

Last Thursday, October 19, Congressional Republicans in the Senate approved a budget resolution for the 2018 fiscal year. This is the first in a long line of hurdles that must be overcome for there to be a tax bill this…

Tax Reform Overview – September 27, 2017

September 29, 2017

On September 27, 2017, the Trump Administration, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Finance Committee released “Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code.” This nine-page proposal put out by the “big-six” represents the first significant…

Building a Case Against Unauthorized Occupants

June 25, 2017

Dealing with unauthorized occupants is a troublesome issue for many affordable housing managers, but due to the requirements of affordable housing programs such as Section 8 and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), knowing who is living in a unit…

Effect of White House Budget on HUD Programs

May 27, 2017

On May 23, 2017, the President released its 2018 Budget Proposal, which includes a 13% ($6.2 billion) cut in HUD funding. HUD’s largest single expense item, the Housing Choice Voucher, is maintained at its current level, but only be increasing…

Status of Tax Reform – April 2017

April 30, 2017

For those of us who are heavily involved in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program, the future of tax reform is not just a casual interest. The survival of the Section 42 Program is by no means assured in…

HUD Publishes 2017 Income Limits

April 14, 2017

On April 14, 2017, HUD published the 2017 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…

Proposed Changes to LIHTC Program

April 2, 2017

On July 14, 2016, the “Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016” was introduced in the Senate by Senators Cantwell, Hatch, and Wyden. It would make a number of changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, including (1)…

FY 2018 Presidential Budget Proposals for HUD

March 14, 2017

FY 2018 Presidential Budget Proposals for HUD The new President has presented his preliminary budget numbers to Congress and if accepted as final numbers, many HUD programs will be devastated as the result of a $6 billion cut. Following…

GAO Report – The Role of Syndicators in the LIHTC Program – February 16, 2017

March 4, 2017

GAO Report – The Role of Syndicators in the LIHTC Program – February 16, 2017 The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued its third and final report on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC). The two prior GAO…

Some States and Localities Increase the Minimum Wage for 2017

January 4, 2017

Managers of affordable housing properties spend a good deal of their time verifying and calculating income. All managers are aware that most workers must be paid a minimum wage (some workers are exempt from the requirement). While the federal minimum…

IRS Notice 2016-77 – QAP Preferences Relative to Community Revitilization Plans

January 2, 2017

On December 27, 2016, the IRS issued Notice 2016-77. This Notice relates to the issue of satisfying the required Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) preference relating to Community Revitalization Plans. Background Section 42 (m) of the Internal Revenue Code (the…

HUD 2017 Operating Cost Adjustment Factors Published – October 5, 2016

October 13, 2016

On October 5, 2016, HUD published a Notice of Certain Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAF) for 2017. The Notice is effective for properties with Project-based rental assistance contracts under Section 8 with an anniversary date on or after February 11,…

Assistance to Non-Citizens in the Section 8 Program

October 12, 2016

Assistance to Non-Citizens in the Section 8 Program Section 214 of the Housing & Community Development Act of 1980 prohibited HUD from providing housing assistance to aliens unless they meet certain residency requirements. In 1996, Congress amended Section…

Defining the Terms Handicapped or Disabled for Fair Housing Purposes

October 9, 2016

The Meaning of “Handicap/Disabled”: Defining the Protected Characteristic The Fair Housing Act (FHA) defines “handicap” as: A physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life activities; A record of having such an…

Valuation of LIHTC Properties

September 24, 2016

The line item for property taxes is often the most costly item in a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project’s operating budget. First, it is important to understand that there is no consistency in the valuation of LIHTC projects…

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…

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…

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.” …

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…

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…

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