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A. J. Johnson

A. J. Johnson

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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…

Housing Discrimination Based on Religion

May 3, 2016

Discrimination Based on Religion In this third installment in my series on the Fair Housing Act protected categories, I want to review some of the issues relevant to discrimination based on religion. Religion is one of the characteristics…

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…

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.…

HUD Releases Final AFFH Assessment Tool

April 10, 2016

HUD Releases Final AFFH Assessment Tool On March 23, 2016, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register regarding the final Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment tool. This tool is for Public Housing Agencies. HUD had already released assessment…

HUD Issues Guidance on Criminal Record Screening

April 6, 2016

On April 4, 2016, the HUD Office of General Counsel (Helen R. Kanovsky) issued guidance on the relationship of using criminal records as a screening tool for housing decisions to federal fair housing laws. The essence of the guidance is…

Fair Housing Enforcement at LIHTC Properties

April 2, 2016

Fair Housing Enforcement at LIHTC Properties A violation of fair housing law is reportable noncompliance for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties. It is reported on Line 11h of IRS Form 8823, along with any other finding of noncompliance…

HUD Publishes 2016 Income Limits

March 28, 2016

On March 28, 2016, HUD published the 2016 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…

Discrimination Based on National Origin

March 27, 2016

This is my second in 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 race, color, national origin,…

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool for States and Insular Areas – Notice March 11, 2016

March 20, 2016

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Tool for States and Insular Areas – Notice March 11, 2016 On March 11, 2016, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register providing information on the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool for States…

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),…

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