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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),…

Recapture – What it is and When it Occurs

January 6, 2016

Although taxpayers claim the low-income housing credit over a ten-year period, the owner of a low-income housing tax credit project is required to provide low-income housing in compliance with IRC §42 for 15 years (the compliance period). In effect, the…

HUD Final Rule Defining “Chronically Homeless”

December 13, 2015

On December 4, 2015, HUD published a final rule titled “Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing: Defining “Chronically Homeless.” This final rule establishes the definition of “chronically homeless” that will be used in HUD’s Continuum of Care…

Amendment to the HUD Definition of Tuition, Notice H 2015-12

December 2, 2015

Amendment to the HUD Definition of Tuition, Notice H 2015-12 HUD published Notice H 2015-12 on November 18, 2015, amending the definition of tuition as it relates to both HUD Multifamily Housing programs and Public and Indian Housing (PIH)…

HUD Notice on Designation of Difficult Development Areas and Qualified Census Tracts for 2016

December 1, 2015

On November 24, 2015, HUD issued a Notice in the Federal Register designating “Difficult Development Areas” (DDAs) and “Qualified Census Tracts” (QCTs) for purposes of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC). For the first time, HUD is using…

Developer Fees – How They are Viewed by the IRS

November 29, 2015

Developer fees represent payment for a developer’s services and are (at least partly) includable in eligible basis for a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project. There are three basic types of developer fees. Turnkey Project Fee The…

HUD Notice Regarding Exclusion of Use of Arrest Records for Housing Decisions, Notice 2015-10

November 29, 2015

On November 2, 2015, HUD issued Notice H 2015-10, Guidance for Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and Owners of Federally-Assisted Housing on Excluding the Use of Arrest Records in Housing Decisions. The purpose of this Notice is to inform PHAs…

Satellite Dishes – Rights of Landlords and Residents

November 28, 2015

Federal rules published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) give residents of apartment communities the right to install satellite dishes at an apartment community, subject to FCC limits. Many landlords are still unsure of exactly what the rules permit residents…

Unauthorized Distribution of Project Funds – HUD Announcement, November 2015

November 23, 2015

The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) recently sent a series of emails and published newsletters issuing announcements regarding restrictions on the distribution of project assets. The announcements were sent at the request of the HUD Office of Inspector…

Local Ordinances and Assistance Animals

November 15, 2015

Apartment owners and managers are well aware that when required due to the disability of an applicant or a resident, no matter what a property’s policy on pets may be, fair housing law requires that individuals with disabilities be permitted…

LIHTC Requirements Regarding Common Areas, Required Facilities, and Provision of Services

November 9, 2015

Section 42(d)(4)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code reads: “The adjusted basis of any building shall be determined by taking into account the adjusted basis of property (of a character subject to the allowance for depreciation) used in common areas or…

Short Term Rental Fees for Vouchers

October 19, 2015

In Velez v. Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, 2015 U.S. App. Lexis 13265 (6th Cir. July 30, 2015), an appeals court ruled that fees for short-term rentals are considered rent and must be paid as part of the rent under the…

Allocations Under the Nonprofit Set-Aside – IRS Requirements

September 28, 2015

IRC Section 42(h)(5) requires that a portion of each states annual credit ceiling be set aside for allocation to projects involving qualified nonprofit organizations. Specifically, the Code requires that not more than 90% of the state housing credit ceiling for…

Children For Whom Custody is Being Sought – To Count or Not to Count

September 21, 2015

Children for Whom Custody is Being Obtained – To Count or Not to Count When determining income eligibility for Section 8 or Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties, HUD Section 8 rules must be followed. The basic HUD guidance…

HUD Clarifications Regarding Completion of Utility Allowances

September 19, 2015

I sent a memo to clients on June 29, 2015, regarding HUD Notice H 2015-04, which was published by HUD on June 22, 2015. This Notice outlined revised HUD requirements relative to the Methodology for Completing a Multifamily Housing Utility…

Definition of a Parent for the Section 42 Student Rule

September 16, 2015

Section 42 (i) (3) (D) states that certain students do not disqualify a unit from being low-income for LIHTC purposes. Five exceptions are outlined in the Code, one of which states “A unit shall not fail to be treated as…

HUD Clarification on HOME Rental Requirements

September 10, 2015

HUD recently provided guidance on components of the HOME program that have raised questions. Following are the clarifications that apply to the use of HOME funds with multifamily housing. HOME funds cannot be used in public housing units that receive…

Determining the Cash Value of and Income from Annuities

September 8, 2015

Determining the Cash Value of and Income from Annuities There is some confusion among managers of affordable rental housing regarding how to determine the value of and income from annuities. Part of the confusion is the result of a…

Claiming Credits without an IRS Form 8609 – Guidance from the IRS Audit Guide

September 6, 2015

Claiming Credits without an IRS Form 8609 – Guidance from the Audit Guide IRC §42(l)(1) requires that taxpayers complete a certification with respect to the first year of the credit period. This certification is made by completing Part II…

Assistance Animals – A Reminder on What is Required

August 5, 2015

On July 15, 2015, HUD charged the owners and manager of Viking Villas, a 36-unit apartment complex in Sioux Falls, SD, with a violation of the Fair Housing Act for refusing to grant a reasonable accommodation to a disabled resident…

Rural Housing Service Accepting Applications for Multifamily Preservation and Revitilization (MPR)

August 3, 2015

On August 3, 2015, the Rural Housing Service published a Notice in the Federal Register announcing the timeframe to submit applications to participate in a demonstration program to preserve and revitalize existing Rural Rental Housing (RRH) projects under Section 514,…

RAD – Revised Program Notice PIH-2012-32, REV-2

July 6, 2015

On June 26, 2015, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register revising some of the rules of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program. HUD’s original notice on the program was published on June 26, 2012. The RAD program provides…

HUD Notice H-2015-04, Methodology for Completing a Multifamily Housing Utillity Allowance

June 29, 2015

On June 22, 2015, HUD issued Notice H-2015-04, Methodology for Completing a Multifamily Housing Utility Analysis. The Notice provides instructions to owners and management agents for completing the utility allowance required at the time of the annual or special adjustment…

Revision to RD Section 538 Guaranteed Loan Program Replacement Reserve Requirements

June 18, 2015

The Rural Housing Service published a Notice in the Federal Register on June 18, 2015, amending its regulation to change the requirements of the reserve account for direct Multifamily Housing (MFH) loans. The purpose of the Notice is to address…

Nonprofit Material Participation Requirements

June 6, 2015

Section 42 (h) (5) of the Internal Revenue Code requires that Housing Finance Agencies set aside at least ten percent of their annual allocation for use by non-profit entities. This “non-profit pool” is available only to Qualified Nonprofit Organizations and…

Good Cause Evictions – New IRS Guidance

May 26, 2015

The IRS issued a Chief Counsel Advice (CCA) memorandum on March 26, 2015 on the subject of Noncompliance Resulting from Conflicting Program Requirements in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. The memorandum was issued in order to change the advice…

Familial Status Case – Issue of Separate Sex and Bedrooms, April 2015

May 25, 2015

On April 30, 2015, HUD entered into a Conciliation Agreement with Piilani Gardens, LLC regarding alleged familial status discrimination at Piilani Gardens Apartments in Kihei, Hawaii. Piilani Gardens is a family project, but two of the 18 buildings in…

HUD Notice CPD-15-02, Appropriate Placement for Transgender Persons in Single Sex Emergency Shelters and Other Facilities – February 20, 2015

May 17, 2015

HUD published Notice CPD-15-02 on February 20, 2015, providing further guidance on the placement of transgender persons in single-sex emergency shelters and other facilities. This guidance is provided in order to clarify the final rule published by HUD on February…

Verification of Social Security and Supplemental Security (SSI) Payments

April 11, 2015

Verification of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Payments Managers of affordable housing properties (e.g., Section 8, LIHTC, Section 515, etc.) often struggle with the verification of income from Social Security (SS) or SSI. While verification of such…

HUD to Publish Proposed VAWA Regulation

March 30, 2015

HUD Secretary Julian Castro announced on March 25, 2015 that HUD’s proposed regulation implementing the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013) will shortly be published in the Federal Register. The rule will implement the VAWA 2013, which expands…

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