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HUD Changes Income Verification Rules for PHAs

HUD has issued Notice PIH 2013-3, establishing temporary guidelines for public housing agencies (PHAs) in fulfilling certain public housing and Housing Choice Voucher program requirements during this period of decreased resources available to PHAs. It offers PHAs four options that…

HUD Publishes Final Rule on Fair Housing Disparate Impact

 On February 15, 2013, HUD published a final rule in the Federal Register (78 Fed. Reg. 11460) regarding disparate impact liability under federal fair housing law.  Disparate impact is the theory of fair housing law that asserts that certain policies…

IRS Priorities for 2013 Relating to LIHTC

During 2013, the IRS will review various issues under Section 42 of the IRC, including the following:   Guidance relating to the application of the design and construction accessibility requirements under the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. Issues relating…

Effect of Sequestration on Affordable Housing

As anyone who watches the news knows, if Congress does not act by March 1, 2013, sequestration will kick in. When people talk about sequestration, or “sequester cuts, they are referring to a series of draconian budget cuts, totaling $1.2…

No More Paper Checks for Federal Retirement Benefits

In an effort to save money, Federal officials began retiring paper checks in favor of direct deposits and prepaid ‘Direct Express’ debit cards in May, 2011. Since then, the Treasury Department has required all new recipients of payments from federal benefits…

Social Security Benefits Verification Now Available Online

Social Security recipients can now get their benefits verification letter and conduct other business online, as part of enhanced Web services introduced on January 7, 2013 by the federal government. The letters, which state the amount of the recipient’s monthly…

Ten States Increase Minimum Wage

Ten States Increase Minimum Wage Happy New Year! For workers in ten states, the new year will bring an increase in minimum wages. Nine of the ten states already had minimum wage levels higher than the federal minimum of $7.25…

Rural Designation at Risk for Some Areas

Some Areas May Lose Rural Designation   Approximately 55 areas around the country with MTSP income limits lower than the National Non-Metropolitan Income (NNMI) limits are in danger of losing their status as rural areas. These areas are found in…

GAO Study of HERA and the LIHTC Program

As required by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), the General Accountability Office (GAO) of Congress has conducted a study of the impacts of HERA on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program. Findings of the study were…

Setting Up a Home Visit Program

One of the best practices to assist a management company in determining whether an applicant will be a good resident is a home visit program. Before considering the establishment of such a program, management should be aware of the difficulties…

IRS Publishes Sandy Disaster Relief Notice

Low-Income Housing Credit Disaster Relief for Hurricane Sandy   The IRS issued Revenue Notice 2012-68 on November 5, 2012, effective after October 22, 2012, providing emergency housing relief as a result of Hurricane Sandy. The Notice allows State Housing Agencies…

Sign Posting Requirements

Every few years I like to remind clients of the various requirements relating to the sign posting requirements for companies in the property management business. Failure to post the signs can cost as much as $10,000 per violation, so it…

HUD Publishes Revised REAC Scoring Protocol

HUD has made a number of changes in the way REAC inspections will be scored, beginning with inspections on or after January 1, 2013. The changes are noted in Compilation Bulleting Revision 2.3.   HUD has added a “point loss…

HUD Implements New Rental Assistance Demonstration Program

On July 26, 2012, HUD published a Final Notice in the Federal Register implementing the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program. The program offers new opportunities to public housing agencies and some private owners of affordable housing projects.   The program…

Use of Residual Receipts to Offset HAP Payments (Notice H-2012-14)

HUD Notice H-2012-14 was published on August 2, 2012 requiring the use of “New Regulation” Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) Contracts residual receipts to offset project-based Section 8 HAP payments. This Notice applies to Section 8 New Construction/Substantial Rehabilitation…

HUD Eliminates Two Income Exclusions and Adds Others

HUD Amends List of Income Exclusions   On July 24, 2012, HUD published in the Federal Register additional types of income that are excluded from income for purposes of determining eligibility for HUD housing programs. These exclusions also apply to…

A. J. Johnson Consulting to Introduce Pre-MOR Review Service

A.  J. Johnson Consulting Services will begin offering a new service in January 2013. This service will be conducting pre-MOR reviews for properties with project-based Section 8 assistance. Those properties subject to HUD and Contract Administrator review will benefit from…

IRS Proposed Rule on Utility Allowances

The IRS has published a proposed regulation that will amend the IRS utility allowance regulation 1.42-10. This regulation outlines requirements relative to utility allowances on low-income housing tax credit buildings. The proposed regulation updates 1.42-10 to clarify that utility costs…

The Importance of Cost Segregation Studies

Cost segregation is the process of examining all the physical components of a property and classifying them based on their life expectancy for tax purposes. A major tax court case (AmeriSouth v. Commissioner (TC Memo 2012-67), March 2012) has resulted…

Dealing with Bed Bug Infestation

Bedbugs: Addressing and Preventing Outbreaks in Tax Credit Properties By A. J. Johnson             Outbreaks of bedbug infestation in apartments are increasing at an alarming rate in most metropolitan areas of the country, and low-income housing tax credit properties are…
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