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HUD Releasing $800 Million in CARES Act Assistance for Section 8 Properties

June 6, 2020

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) provides $1 billion of additional appropriations to Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including to maintain normal operations and take other necessary actions during…

A. J. Johnson Partnering with Mid-Atlantic AHMA for Affordable Housing Webinars

June 5, 2020

A. J. Johnson is partnering with the Mid-Atlantic Affordable Housing Management Association (Mid-Atlantic AHMA) in a series of webinars relating to the development and operation of affordable housing properties. Upcoming webinars include: June 9: Section 8 Management & Best Practices;June…

Warn Residents of COVID-19 Scams

May 30, 2020

Scammers, fraudsters, and other criminals are taking advantage of rapidly changing data and facts associated with COVID-19, both in the workplace and in our homes. Government agencies, corporations, and news outlets continue to warn individuals to be mindful of increased…

HUD Issues Notice on Electronic Signatures

May 27, 2020

On May 26, 2020, HUD issued Notice H20-4, Electronic Signature, Transmission and Storage – Guidance for Multifamily Assisted Housing Industry Partners. This Notice provides guidance to HUD multifamily assisted housing partners on electronic signatures, electronic transmission, and electronic storage of…

Webinar on Fair Housing and COVID-19

May 20, 2020

A. J. Johnson will be conducting a webinar on June 2, 2020 on Complying with Fair Housing Law in the Age of COVID-19. The Webinar will be held at 10:00 AM Eastern Time. This one hour webinar will provide property…

COVID-19 Takes Disproportionate Toll on Affordable Housing Residents

May 17, 2020

A new survey by the Federal Reserve (FED) shows that 39% of former workers in households earning $40,000 or less lost work during the current pandemic, and many of these households do not have the resources to make it through…

Joe Biden Releases Housing Plan

May 16, 2020

Former Vice President and presumed Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden has released a comprehensive housing plan – much of which deals with affordable rental housing, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. Following are the major elements of the 81-page…

HUD Issues Issues Waivers for Public & Indian Housing Programs, Including Section 8 Project-Based Vouchers During COVID-19 Emergency

April 19, 2020

On April 10, 2020 the HUD Office of Public & Indian Housing (PIH) issued waivers to provide administrative relief and ensuring continued program operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. These waivers can be reviewed in their entirety in Notice PIH-2020-05. These…

Minnesota Supreme Court Rules that Payments Made to a Parent to Care for a Disabled Child Count as Income

April 19, 2020

On February 12, 2020, the Supreme Court of Minnesota held that some of the payments made by the state under a program for families with children having developmental disabilities who need to stay at home, which are made to offset…

CARES Act – Impact on Multifamily Housing Operators – REVISED POSTING

April 1, 2020

THIS IS AN AMENDED ARTICLE FROM ONE THAT I POSTED IN LATE MARCH. IT HAS BEEN AMENDED BASED ON GUIDANCE INDICATING THE LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT PROJECTS ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE TENANT PROTECTION MEASURES CONTAINED IN THE ACT. On…

CARES Act – Impact on Multifamily Housing Operators

March 28, 2020

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Senate Amendment to H.R. 748. This $2 trillion bill provides financial aid to individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and state and local governments. It…

A. J. Johnson Consulting Operations During COVID- 19 Crisis

March 17, 2020

Aside from the onsite training sessions we conduct on a regular basis, the current COVID-19 health crisis is not impacting the operations of our company. All of our staff work remotely and we are fully operational with regard to all…

Dealing with Coronavirus (COVID-19) at Multifamily Properties

March 15, 2020

At this time, all but one state (West Virginia) has reported cases of coronavirus, more accurately known as “corona virus disease 2019,” or COVID-19. Areas with dense populations are particularly susceptible to an outbreak due to the proximity of individuals…

NSPIRE – HUD Replacement for REAC Protocol is Moving Forward

February 22, 2020

The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) is well underway in the overhaul of its Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) physical inspection protocol. The REAC inspection process will eventually be replaced with a new physical inspection procedure known as…

Alabama Court Decision Requires that Restrictions on LIHTC Properties Must be Considered in Property Tax Assessments

February 16, 2020

On December 13, 2019, an Alabama Circuit Court ruled that use restrictions for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (and other types of affordable housing) must be considered when assessing the value of properties for real estate tax purposes. The case is…

A New Tool for Landlords “Non-Smoking” Policies

February 15, 2020

One of the most difficult parts of implementing a non-smoking policy at an apartment community is enforcing compliance. Detection of smokers can be difficult and precisely locating the source of smoke even more so. Now, thanks to a New Hampshire…

2020 Mileage Rates

January 20, 2020

The IRS has issued the mileage rates for 2020, including the rate for miles driven for medical purposes. This is an important rate for Section 8 and Rural Development Properties since elderly households may deduct such mileage as a medical…

What Affordable Housing Managers Need to Know About Changes in Retirement Laws

January 5, 2020

Just before adjourning for the Christmas/New Year holiday, Congress included, and the President signed, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act in the federal government spending bill. This action provides the most significant changes in retirement law…

Minimum Wage to Increase in Many Areas

January 1, 2020

In 2020, 21 states will increase their minimum wage requirements for workers beginning January 1, 2020 and Connecticut, Nevada, and Oregon (and possibly Delaware) will have increases later in the year. Affordable housing managers responsible for determining the income of…

Modular Construction – Another Component for Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis

December 30, 2019

There is an affordable housing crisis in the United States – of that there is no doubt. The reasons for the crisis are well known: a lack of will at the national level to provide necessary funding; a growing labor…

2020 Census – What Apartment Managers Need to Know

December 7, 2019

2020 will be a U.S. Census year. Every household will be required to answer a census questionnaire. This includes renters, so landlords and property managers need to know the rules. Questionnaires should be mailed to individual households by April 1,…

New Overtime Rule Issued by the Department of Labor

December 1, 2019

On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule to make 1.3 million American workers eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is the first change in the overtime regulations…

Rent Guarantors – An Alternative to Rejecting Applicants

November 30, 2019

Owners and managers of LIHTC properties are often faced with applicants who have less than desirable credit, income below the minimum required by the landlord, or no financial history. The common practice in the industry is to reject such applicants,…

Novogradac Study Outlines Expected Income Increases

November 24, 2019

Novogradac & Company has released its study of expected increases in state median incomes for 2020 and 2021. Novogradac estimates that the U.S. median income will increase by just less than 4 percent in 2020 and 3.4 percent in 2021.…

Disability Payments- Calculating & Verifying Income

November 17, 2019

Some applicants and residents of affordable housing properties receive disability payments. These payments may be short-term (temporary) or long-term. Disability payments are intended to offset a reduction in wages for individuals who cannot work due to illness or injury. According…

Emancipated Minors and the Determination of Income on Affordable Housing Properties

October 27, 2019

The determination of income for affordable housing developments (e.g., HUD/Rural Development/ LIHTC) depends on whether a household member is an “adult” or a “dependent,” as defined by HUD regulation. The definition of these terms is found in HUD Handbook 4350.3…

Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act Gaining Support

October 20, 2019

Since its introduction in June 2019, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act has garnered more support and co-sponsorships from Congressional members. If enacted into law, the legislation will increase the annual allocation of low-income housing tax credits by 50 percent…

Social Security COLA – 2020

October 11, 2019

The federal government announced on October 10, 2019 that the Social Security Cost of Live Adjustment (COLA) for 2020 will be 1.6%. This increase will provide an additional $24 per month for the average retiree. This is significantly less than…

NCSHA Provides Updated LIHTC Compliance Forms

October 9, 2019

The National Council for State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) has released updated model compliance forms for housing credit developments. Virtually all Housing Credit agencies (HCAs) require Housing Credit development owners to use specific forms in their compliance reporting. NCSHA, in collaboration…

HUD Publishes Proposed Rule on Implementation of The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA)

September 22, 2019

HUD published a proposed rule implementing The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA) in the federal register on September 17, 2019. HOTMA was enacted on July 29, 2016. This rule would make sweeping changes to current HUD programs,…

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