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How Public/Private Partnerships Increase the Stock of Affordable Housing

April 14, 2023

Some of the most successful affordable housing projects in the United States are the result of public/private partnerships. An integrated approach to affordable housing leads to the most thriving developments. This “integrated approach” amplifies the connective role that housing plays…

HOTMA Final Rule – Impact on HOPWA Program

March 27, 2023

The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has released a Final Rule implementing the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). This final rule was published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2023. With the exception of…

Biden Administration Introduces “Renters Bill of Rights”

March 12, 2023

In late January 2023, the Biden administration released a Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights. This blueprint describes federal actions around five guiding renter protections: Safe, Quality, Accessible, and Affordable Housing; Clear and Fair Leases; Education; Enforcement and Enhancement…

HUD Releases Final Rule Implementing HOTMA

February 3, 2023

The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has released a Final Rule implementing the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). This final rule has not yet been published in the Federal Register. Publication in the Federal Register…

Minimum Wage Increases Will Occur in 27 States in 2023

December 30, 2022

In 2023, 27 states will have new minimum wage rates. The federal minimum wage remains unchanged at $7.25 and applies in 20 states. It was last raised on July 24, 2009. Affordable housing managers responsible for determining the income of…

A. J. Johnson Partners with Colorado Housing & Finance Authority to Provide Layered Program Training

December 29, 2022

A.J. Johnson will be presenting Keys to Successful Operation of Layered Projects (Making Deals Work with Multiple Funding Sources) on January 25, 2023, at 11:00 AM (EST). This class will be offered through Colorado Housing and Finance Authority’s chfareach educational programming for…

The Growing Challenge to Affordable Housing for Seniors

December 12, 2022

There is strong demand for affordable multi-family housing for seniors. One of the programs best suited to meet this need is the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). However, with the aging of the baby boomers, more seniors are reaching the…

House and Senate Add Homeless Students and Veterans as LIHTC Student Exception

December 4, 2022

On November 16, 2022, S. 5108 was introduced in the U.S. Senate, and H.R. 9313 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The title of the bill is “Housing for Homeless Students Act of 2022.” If the bill becomes…

Virginia Housing Looking for Compliance Staff

December 3, 2022

Virginia Housing (formerly Virginia Housing & Development Authority) has three positions open in Compliance & Asset Management. If interested, you may access the position descriptions at https://us63.dayforcehcm.com/CandidatePortal/en-US/VHDA. Virginia Housing (VH) is one of the premier Housing Finance Agencies in the…

Court Rules Low-Income Residents Are Not a Protected Group

October 23, 2022

In Moody et al v. The Related Companies, LP (decided in August 2022), affordable housing tenants in an upscale New York City development filed a disparate impact claim under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). While most of the persons filing…

A. J. Johnson to Offer Live Webinar on Interviewing Skills for Affordable Housing Managers

August 29, 2022

A. J. Johnson will be conducting a webinar on September 29, 2022, on Interviewing Skills for Affordable Housing Managers. The Webinar will be held from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Eastern time. One of the most important skills any affordable…

HUD Charges Landlord with Discrimination Against Transgendered Resident

August 21, 2022

In one of the clearest signals yet that HUD considers the Fair Housing provision against discrimination based on sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity, the Department has filed a charge of Discrimination against an RV resort in central…

Novogradac Releases Study on 2023 Income Estimates

July 16, 2022

Novogradac and Company, a nationally recognized accounting firm in the area of affordable housing, has released a study on potential changes in income limits for 2023. Novogradac completed the estimates using five-year American Community Survey (ACS) data. When the Department…

A. J. Johnson to Partner with the Colorado Housing Finance Authority on VAWA/LIHTC Live Webinar

July 11, 2022

A.J. Johnson will be partnering with the Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) in presenting the Violence Against Women Act – Guidance for LIHTC Properties on August 4, 2022, at 11:00 am (EST). This class will be offered through Colorado Housing and…

Maine Human Rights Commission Files Case Against Assisted Living Facility for Transgender Discrimination

May 8, 2022

In what may be the first case of its kind in the United States, on March 14, 2022, the Maine Human Rights Commission issued a finding of reasonable grounds that Sunrise Assisted Living violated state nondiscrimination protections when it denied…

Apartments & Pets – To Allow or Not

April 9, 2022

Owners of multifamily housing often struggle with whether or not to permit pets at their properties. Until recently, in some areas, it was nearly impossible to find apartment communities that permit pets. While that has begun to change, there are…

Remote Work – Here to Stay

March 27, 2022

Now that the pandemic is showing signs of waning and life is beginning to return to normal, we are all eager to see if the workplace will also look like it did pre-pandemic. The answer is becoming increasingly clear –…

Treasury Announces ERA1 Reallocation for Round 2

March 26, 2022

The Department of Treasury has announced the Round 2 reallocations for the Emergency Rental Assistance 1 (ERA1) funds. This was a reallocation of funds that were not used by the entities to whom the funds were initially allocated. A total…

A. J. Johnson Partners with Mid-Atlantic AHMA for April 2022 Training on Affordable Housing

March 12, 2022

During the month of April 2022, A. J. Johnson will be partnering with the MidAtlantic Affordable Housing Management Association for four live webinars intended for real estate professionals, particularly those in the affordable multifamily housing field. The following live webinars…

Recent Court Decision Confirms that ADA Does Not Apply to Private Apartment Complexes

February 20, 2022

In Saint Pierre v. NFG Housing Partners, LP (November 2021), the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is not applicable to privately owned apartment communities. This is due to the…

Zillow Home Sales Draw Congressional Scrutiny

February 19, 2022

Zillow’s plans to sell a large portfolio of single-family homes to institutional investors is drawing attention from Congress. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) are raising concerns that these investors will turn the homes into rental properties –…

HUD Awards $20 Million for Eviction Protection and Diversion

February 12, 2022

In a first-of-its-kind action, the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $20 million in grants from its Eviction Protection Grant Program. These grants are being awarded to legal service providers to assist their efforts in providing legal…

Treasury Inspector General Issues Report Critical of IRS LIHTC Oversight

February 5, 2022

On January 26, 2022, the Treasury Inspector General (IG) for Tax Administration released a report titled, “Oversight of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program Can Be Improved.” The audit was initiated at the request of the previous Chairman of the…

A Little Known Employment Tax Credit May Assist Multifamily Owners

January 30, 2022

Many owners and managers of affordable multifamily housing properties are finding it difficult to find qualified staff to work either at the properties or at the main office. This problem has been around for a long time but has been…

Massive Pandemic Evictions Fail to Materialize

January 23, 2022

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, many housing experts predicted a wave of pandemic-related evictions from our nation’s apartments. There were predictions that as many as 40 million people would be put out of their homes. The wait…

Child Care and Affordable Housing – A Potential “Win/Win” for Residents and Owners

January 2, 2022

A “gray rhino” is a highly probable, high-impact yet neglected threat. These are not random surprises but occur after a series of warnings and visible evidence. The bursting of the housing bubble in 2008, the aftermath of hurricanes, and the…

A. J. Johnson to Host Live Webinar on The 4 Percent LIHTC Floor – IRS Revenue Ruling 2021-20.

December 12, 2021

A. J. Johnson will be conducting a one-hour live webinar on January 6, 2022, on The 4 Percent LIHTC Floor – IRS Revenue Ruling 2021-20. The Webinar will be held from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Eastern time. On December…

Progress Still Lacking in Distribution of ERAP Funds

November 21, 2021

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has released findings from the organization’s latest survey of state use of funding from the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). As of late September, of the approximately $25 billion made available by…

California City Settles Claim of Discrimination Against Farmworkers

October 31, 2021

HUD has reached a Voluntary Compliance/Conciliation Agreement with the City of Santa Maria, CA, resolving allegations that the city’s enactment and enforcement of restrictions on housing for certain farmworker visa-holders in residential areas of the city violated the Fair Housing…

Social Security COLA – 2022

October 13, 2021

The federal government announced on October 13, 2021, that the Social Security Cost of Live Adjustment (COLA) for 2022 will be 5.9%, which is the largest increase since 1982 when the increase was 8.7%. This increase will provide an additional…

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