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Senate Staff Issues Report on the State of Affordable Housing

November 8, 2020

In October 2020, the Senate Majority Staff issued a report titled, “Housing Programs – The Need for One Roof.” The purported purpose of the report is to “begin a needed conversation about reforming our housing system.” As noted in the…

IRS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Average Income Test

November 1, 2020

A. J. Johnson

On October 30, the IRS published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register. This Notice concerns the LIHTC Average Income Test and outlines the current intention of the IRS with regard to certain rules governing the Average Income…

Recent Court Decision Confirms that a Right of First Refusal is Not an Option to Purchase

October 5, 2020

A. J. Johnson

A recent New York court case has affirmed that a non-profit’s Right of First Refusal (“ROFR”) is not an option to purchase a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) property. The Case Riseboro Community Partnership, Inc., formerly known as Ridgewood Bushwick…

Claiming Credit Without an 8609 – Impact of the Centralized Partnership Audit Regime

September 5, 2020

A. J. Johnson

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 created the Centralized Partnership Audit Regime (CPAR). This created a new process for amending or making changes to certain federal partnership tax returns for effective years beginning after December 31, 2017. As a result,…

Executive Order Does Not Extend Eviction Moratorium

August 16, 2020

A. J. Johnson

I have received a number of questions from clients lately expressing confusion with regard to whether tenants in certain federally assisted properties are still protected from eviction due to non-payment of rent. The CARES Act moratorium on evictions for non-payment…

New HUD Rule Eliminates Fair Housing Act Requirement to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing

August 15, 2020

A. J. Johnson

On Friday, August 7, 2020, HUD announced its new “Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice” rule (85 Federal Register 47899) – (the “Choice Rule”), repealing the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule announced by the Obama Administration in 2015, and circumventing…

Affordable Housing Improvements May be Included in Next COVID-19 Legislation

August 1, 2020

A. J. Johnson

While it is been delayed due to a Senate recess, there will be another COVID-19 relief package. Hopefully, it will be passed by Congress by mid-August and based on indications from Congressional staff, may include a number of affordable housing…

Paycheck Protection Program – Largest Banks Have Served the Smallest Businesses

June 15, 2020

A. J. Johnson

The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) has released data from a survey of the nine largest retail banks regarding loan originations from the first two rounds of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). It appears that the mega-banks have primarily served the…

Boston and New York Landlords Sue Over COVID-19 Eviction Moratoriums

June 14, 2020

A. J. Johnson

Landlords in New York and Massachusetts have filed legal challenges to eviction moratoriums put into place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the bans on eviction are unconstitutional. On May 27, 2020, a group of landlords in…

National Report on Affordable Housing Preservation Released

June 7, 2020

A. J. Johnson

A Joint report of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC) on the affordable housing preservation situation and needs in the United States was released in late May. The report focuses…

COVID-19 Takes Disproportionate Toll on Affordable Housing Residents

May 17, 2020

A. J. Johnson

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

A. J. Johnson

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…

Supreme Court Refuses to Overturn Idaho Case Giving Homeless the Right to Sleep in Public Places

April 25, 2020

A. J. Johnson

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by Boise, ID to review Martin v. Boise, December 16, 2019, leaving in place earlier rulings by the 9th Circuit that homeless persons cannot be punished for sleeping outside when there are no…

IRS Extends Deadlines for Several LIHTC Requirements Due to COVID-19

April 18, 2020

A. J. Johnson

The IRS has issued Notice 2020-23 extending the deadline to July 15, 2020 for any tax action that was due to be performed from April 1, 2020 through July 15, 2020. The actions for which the extended deadline applies were…

HUD Publishes 2020 Income Limits

March 31, 2020

A. J. Johnson

On March 31, 2020, HUD published the 2020 income limits for HUD programs as well as for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Tax-Exempt Bond programs. The limits are effective on April 1, 2020. The limits for the LIHTC and…

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

February 16, 2020

A. J. Johnson

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…

Modular Construction – Another Component for Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis

December 30, 2019

A. J. Johnson

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…

New Overtime Rule Issued by the Department of Labor

December 1, 2019

A. J. Johnson

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…

HUD Takes Aggressive Position Regarding Online Verification of Assistance Animals

November 24, 2019

A. J. Johnson

On November 6, 2019, the Department of Housing & Urban Development asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Bureau of Consumer Protection to investigate websites that sell assistance animal documentation. These certifications – which are almost always bogus – have…

Recent OIG Audits Show Importance of Training in Section 8 Requirements

November 2, 2019

A. J. Johnson

The HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently conducted two management agent audits that illustrate the importance of Section 8 training for management agents. In both cases, OIG recommended a significant repayment of assistance by the project owners due to…

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

September 22, 2019

A. J. Johnson

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,…

HUD Issues Revised Final Implementation Notice for RAD Program

September 5, 2019

A. J. Johnson

On September 5, 2019, HUD issued Notice H-2019-09, PIH-2019-23 (HA), Rental Assistance Demonstration – Final Implementation, Revision 4. This revised notice provides program instructions for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program, including eligibility and selection criteria. Background The RAD program…

Affordable Housing Platforms of Presidential Candidates

August 18, 2019

A. J. Johnson

According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) 2019 Out of Reach report, a full-time worker needs to earn an average hourly wage of $22.96 to afford a modest, two-bedroom rental home in the United States. This amount is called…

Administration to Issue Guidance Regarding HUD’s Interpretation of Disparate Impact in Fair Housing

August 16, 2019

A. J. Johnson

On Monday, August 19, 2019, the Trump administration will introduce a new rule that may change the way the federal government enforces fair housing law, making it harder for people to file fair housing discrimination complaints. The proposed regulation from…

Housing & the 2020 Presidential Election

July 28, 2019

A. J. Johnson

Earlier this year, three Democratic presidential candidates – Senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren – released plans for solving the affordable housing crisis. Two more 2020 hopefuls, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro and Any Klobuchar have more…

Save Affordable Housing Act of 2019

June 29, 2019

A. J. Johnson

On June 25, 2019, four U.S. Senators and three members of the House introduced the Save Affordable Housing Act of 2019. The sole purpose of this proposed legislation is to repeal the qualified contract option for the federal Low-Income Housing…

HUD Proposed Rule Would Ban All Undocumented Immigrants from Assisted Housing

June 22, 2019

A. J. Johnson

On April 17, 2019, the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) sent a proposed rule to Congress that would ban any undocumented immigrant from receiving federal housing assistance. This new rule would prohibit “mixed status families” from receiving assistance…

Proposed Changes to LIHTC Program

June 15, 2019

A. J. Johnson

On June 4, 2019, S. 1703, “The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019,” was introduced in the Senate. It offers some major revisions to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. If enacted into law, it would represent…

Opportunity Zones and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit

June 10, 2019

A. J. Johnson

The Opportunity Zone (OZ) Program was created as part of the Investing in Opportunity Act, which was included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017. While this law did not have a significant impact on job…

Affordable Housing Making Presidential Campaign Appearance

June 5, 2019

A. J. Johnson

As we near the first Democratic Presidential debates, and push nearer the meaningful campaign season, Presidential hopefuls are beginning to flesh out positions on affordable housing. One of the first to provide specific proposals is Cory Booker, Senator from New…

Featured

Senate Staff Issues Report on the State of Affordable Housing

IRS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Average Income Test

Recent Court Decision Confirms that a Right of First Refusal is Not an Option to Purchase

Claiming Credit Without an 8609 – Impact of the Centralized Partnership Audit Regime

Executive Order Does Not Extend Eviction Moratorium

New HUD Rule Eliminates Fair Housing Act Requirement to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing

Affordable Housing Improvements May be Included in Next COVID-19 Legislation

Paycheck Protection Program – Largest Banks Have Served the Smallest Businesses

Boston and New York Landlords Sue Over COVID-19 Eviction Moratoriums

National Report on Affordable Housing Preservation Released

COVID-19 Takes Disproportionate Toll on Affordable Housing Residents

Joe Biden Releases Housing Plan

Supreme Court Refuses to Overturn Idaho Case Giving Homeless the Right to Sleep in Public Places

IRS Extends Deadlines for Several LIHTC Requirements Due to COVID-19

HUD Publishes 2020 Income Limits

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

Modular Construction – Another Component for Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis

New Overtime Rule Issued by the Department of Labor

HUD Takes Aggressive Position Regarding Online Verification of Assistance Animals

Recent OIG Audits Show Importance of Training in Section 8 Requirements

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

HUD Issues Revised Final Implementation Notice for RAD Program

Affordable Housing Platforms of Presidential Candidates

Administration to Issue Guidance Regarding HUD’s Interpretation of Disparate Impact in Fair Housing

Housing & the 2020 Presidential Election

Save Affordable Housing Act of 2019

HUD Proposed Rule Would Ban All Undocumented Immigrants from Assisted Housing

Proposed Changes to LIHTC Program

Opportunity Zones and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit

Affordable Housing Making Presidential Campaign Appearance

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