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Revisions to Public Housing Flat Rents – Interim Rule, September 8, 2015

September 26, 2015

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published in Interim Rule in the September 8, 2015 Federal Register, titled “ Streamlining Administrative Regulations for Public Housing: Revisions to Public Housing Flat Rents.” This interim rule amends HUD regulations…

The IRS and Extended Use Agreements

September 20, 2015

The IRS and Extended Use Agreements As outlined in §42 (h) (6), all LIHTC properties allocated credits after 1989 must have an extended use agreement (EUA). The agreement is entered into by the taxpayer and the Housing Credit Agency…

HUD Final Rule on Streamlining the Portability of the Voucher Program, August 20, 2015

September 2, 2015

On August 20, 2015, HUD published a Final Rule in the Federal Register titled, “Housing Choice Voucher Program: Streamlining the Portability Process.” This final rule amends HUD’s regulations governing portability in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. Portability is a…

Section 42 Audit Guide- Techniques Used During Audit

September 2, 2015

Audit Guide Chapter 3- Techniques Used During Audit The IRS audit process includes the accumulation of evidence for evaluating the accuracy of a taxpayer’s tax return. Evidence includes taxpayer testimony, books and records, examiner observations, and third party documents.…

The IRS Section 42 Audit Guide: How Tax Returns for LIHTC Properties are Analyzed for Audit Potential

August 23, 2015

How Tax Returns for LIHTC Properties are Analyzed for Audit Potential The IRS §42 Audit Guide provides guidance for analyzing tax returns before contacting taxpayers to determine the specific tax credit issues that should be audited. Prior to any…

HUD Moving Aggressively on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

August 17, 2015

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is moving forward aggressively with the departments new “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” campaign to desegregate the country’s primarily white neighborhoods. Rockford, IL will be an early test for HUD’s ability to impose…

Role of the IRS and State Agencies in Implementing the LIHTC Program

August 16, 2015

With the revision of the IRS Audit Guide for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, the IRS is providing a comprehensive examination of the requirements of the program. Chapter 1 of the Guide provides and introduction and overview of the…

Proposed Rural Housing Service Rule will Reduce Financial Reporting Requirements

August 14, 2015

On August 6, 2015, the Rural Housing Service (RHS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that will amend current regulations to change program requirements regarding financial reporting. The proposed change will align RHS requirements with those of the…

IRS Publishes Revised LIHTC Audit Guide – August 11, 2015

August 9, 2015

The IRS has published a revised Audit Guide for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, with a revision date of August 11, 2015. The Guide is intended to assist IRS examiners when auditing Partnerships that utilize the Federal Low-Income Housing…

GAO Recommends Joint HUD – IRS Oversight of LIHTC Program

August 2, 2015

Responding to a request from Senator Charles Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) as performed a review of the oversight and administration of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program. The results of the…

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing – HUD Final Rule

July 18, 2015

On July 8, 2015, the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule on the procedures that must be followed by localities with regard to affirmatively furthering fair housing. The rule directs HUD program participants to take…

HUD Guidance on First Amendment Conflict with Fair Housing

July 4, 2015

HUD Guidance on First Amendment Conflict with Fair Housing The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) published Notice FHEA-2015-01 on May 26, 2015. The title of the Notice is Substantive and Procedural Limitations on Filing and Investigating Fair…

Supreme Court Decision on Disparate Impact, June 25, 2015

June 29, 2015

Supreme Court Rules on Disparate Impact On June 25, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Community Project, Inc. The ruling found that housing policies…

Federal Preemption of State Landlord-Tenant Law

April 24, 2015

A recent ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court reaffirms the constitutional doctrine of Federal preemption. In Milwaukee City Housing Authority v. Cobb, March 2015, the Milwaukee Authority sued to evict a resident because he had violated the terms of his…

HUD Notice Grants Authority to Transfer Rental Assistance, Debt, Use Restrictions Between Projects

April 4, 2015

On March 31, 2015, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register establishing the conditions under which HUD will approve a request for the transfer of project-based rental assistance, debt held or insured by HUD, statutorily required income-based use restrictions…

Understanding Military Income and Allowances

March 28, 2015

I get many questions from managers regarding how to deal with and verify income for members of the military. Understanding the military pay system is confusing even for those in the military; it can be impossible for persons not familiar…

2015 Income Limits

March 7, 2015

On March 6, 2015, HUD published the 2014 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…

HUD Publishes 2015 Annual Adjustment Factors for Section 8 Rents

February 7, 2015

On February 9, 2015, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register listing the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program Annual Adjustment Factors (AAF) for fiscal year 2015. The adjustments may be made on the anniversary of assistance contracts. These…

HUD Publishes Interim Rule on Administration of the Housing Trust Fund

February 3, 2015

The Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) established a Housing Trust Fund (HTF) to be administered by HUD. The purpose of the HTF is to provide grants to State governments to increase and preserve the supply of rental…

Poverty Guidelines Published by HHS – Income Limits to Follow

January 31, 2015

On January 22, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services published the 2015 Poverty Guidelines in the Federal Register. These guidelines are used to determine financial eligibility for certain federal programs, including HUD Subsidized housing programs. HUD had…

HUD Memo Regarding Occupancy Protections for Residents in LIHTC Projects

January 20, 2015

HUD Memo Regarding Occupancy Protections for Residents in LIHTC Projects On January 12, 2015, HUD sent a memorandum to HUD offices and contract administrators providing guidance on protection of tenants of HUD projects when Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC)…

Documents to Retain for LIHTC Projects

January 16, 2015

Documents to Retain for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Projects In September 2014, the IRS published the Audit Guide for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Projects. This guide is intended to assist IRS agents during an examination of a Section 42…

Five Reasons to Go Smoke Free at Multifamily Properties

January 15, 2015

I have worked with a number of clients in assisting them to transition from smoking to non-smoking at their multifamily properties, and in all cases, the change has been positive – for both the owner and the residents. However, I…

HUD Proposed Regulation Regarding MOR Reviews and Vacancy Payments, January 14, 2015

January 14, 2015

HUD issued a proposed rule on January 14, 2015 titled “Streamlining Management & Occupancy Reviews for Section 8 Housing Assistance Programs and Amending Vacancy Payments for Section 8 and Section 162 Housing Assistance Programs.” This proposed regulation would amend existing…

HUD Proposed Rule on Multifamily Program Changes – January 6, 2015

January 9, 2015

HUD published a Proposed rule on 1/6/15, with comments due by March 9, 2015. The proposed rule makes some significant changes to operating procedures for many of HUD’s multifamily housing programs, including Section 8, Public Housing, and the Housing Choice…

2014 Year End Legislative Efforts

December 13, 2014

As always, the end of the year brings intense legislative activity in Washington. Recent actions affecting housing include the following: House Tax Extender Package The House passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 on December 3, which will…

New Staff Member for A. J. Johnson Consulting

December 12, 2014

It is with great pleasure that I announce the addition of a new full time staff member to A. J. Johnson Consulting Services, Inc. Effective February 1, 2015, Linda Moss will be joining us as a Compliance Analyst. We…

Imputed Rate for Assets Change – Effective February 1, 2015

November 7, 2014

HUD issued Notice H 2014-15 on October 31, 2014 changing the imputed rate for assets from 2% to .06%. Beginning on February 1, 2015, HUD will annually publish the passbook savings rate (i.e., imputed rate) to be used for…

Reduction in Rental Assistance for Section 515 Properties Reduce Pre-Payment Incentives

October 25, 2014

Federal funding reductions have significantly reduced the amount of rental assistance (RA) available for Rural Development Section 515 projects. As a result of this reduction, the Rural Development Service (RD) issued an Unnumbered Letter in July 2014 limiting the use…

Social Security COLA Announced

October 22, 2014

The federal government announced on October 22, 2014 that the Social Security Cost of Live Adjustment (COLA) for 2015 will be 1.7%. This will increase the monthly pension for the average retired worker by $22 per month. This is up from…

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