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HUD Update on HOME Utility Allowance Requirements – August 2016

September 18, 2016

The 2013 HOME Final Rule established revised utility allowance requirements for the HOME Program. HUD Community Planning & Development recently provided updated guidance on the timeframe for implementation of the final rule and acceptable methodologies relative to the determination of…

Family Self Sufficiency Program for Multifamily Housing

September 10, 2016

HUD issued Notice H-2016-08 on August 26, 2016. This Notice relates to the Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program in Multifamily Housing. FSS is a HUD program that provides incentives and support to families in MF assisted housing to increase their…

HUD Issues New Guidance on Multifamily Utility Allowance Determination

September 7, 2016

HUD has provided updated information to HUD Notice H-2015-04, Methodology for Completing a Multifamily Housing Utility Allowance. The additional information relates to six areas of the original HUD Notice. Baseline Analysis Owners/Agents (O/A) are required to submit documentation…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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 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…

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),…

Recapture – What it is and When it Occurs

January 6, 2016

Although taxpayers claim the low-income housing credit over a ten-year period, the owner of a low-income housing tax credit project is required to provide low-income housing in compliance with IRC §42 for 15 years (the compliance period). In effect, the…

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…

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…

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