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The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program – A Tool for Section 8 Owners

February 16, 2019

The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program was authorized by Congress in 1990 and is administered by the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). FSS helps low-income families get out of poverty by combining financial education and coaching with savings incentives.…

HUD Resumption of Multifamily Production and Asset Management Activities

February 3, 2019

The HUD Office of Multifamily Housing (MFH) issued two memorandums on February 1, 2019 outlining the departments plan for prioritizing the backlog of work from the shutdown. One memo deals with the resumption of multifamily production activities and the other…

Affordable Senior Housing – Demand Exceeds Supply

February 2, 2019

The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies recently published Housing America’s Older Adults 2018. A highlight of the report is that over half of U.S. households are now headed by someone age 50 or older. This indicates that the living…

Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Requirements for HOME Properties

January 26, 2019

The HOME final rule (24 CFR 92.351[a]) requires Participating Jurisdictions (PJs) and state recipients to develop, adopt, and follow written affirmative marketing procedures and requirements for rental and homebuyer projects containing five or more HOME-assisted units, regardless of the specific…

Homeownership Options for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program

January 15, 2019

It is not unusual to see Extended Use Agreements (EUAs) for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties with a provision requiring a homeownership option for residents at the end of the 15-year tax credit compliance period. In many cases, developers…

Dealing with “Zero Income” Households

November 18, 2018

While “zero income” households are rare on Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties (since there is no rental assistance, income is required in order to pay the rent), such households are not uncommon on Section 8 properties or developments with Rural…

IRS 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan

November 10, 2018

On November 8, 2018, the IRS released a Priority Guidance Plan for the period July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019. This plan outlines the areas that the IRS intends to provide formal guidance on for the rest of…

2019 Social Security COLA

October 12, 2018

The federal government announced on October 11, 2018 that the Social Security Cost of Live Adjustment (COLA) for 2019 will be 2.8%. This is the largest cost-of-living adjustment since 2012. The average SS check is $1,422 a month, meaning next…

Difference Between SSI and SSD

September 23, 2018

I recently received an email from a client who indicated that their corporate Section 8 department refused to accept a verification of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for a person under age 65 as a verification of disability. The Section 8…

Premises Liability – When Property Owners are at Risk

August 25, 2018

One of the least understood risks that owners of multifamily properties face is the risk related to someone being injured due to a violent crime at their property. This short article is intended to provide a general overview of “premises…

Opportunity Zones Present New Development Opportunities

July 28, 2018

The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 created something called “Opportunity Zones.” This is a brand new section of the federal tax code. An Opportunity Zone or “OZ” is an economically-distressed community where new investments may be eligible for…

Administration Proposing Significant Government Reorganization – Impact on Housing Programs

July 2, 2018

The administration recently released Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century: Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendation. This series of recommendations would reorganize how the federal government works and includes a number of revisions that would impact the affordable housing community.…

Additional Guidance on the Income Average Test

April 13, 2018

In order to meet the minimum set-aside, if owners select the new Income Average test, at least 40% of the units in the project must have rents and incomes at the various designated unit income limits selected by the owner…

HUD Publishes 2018 Income Limits

March 31, 2018

On March 30, 2018, HUD published the 2018 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, 2018. The limits for the LIHTC and…

Congressional Spending Bill Keeps Funding for Many Housing Programs

March 23, 2018

Congress has approved a $1.3 trillion spending bill designed to provide funding for the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends September 30. The bill has been sent to the President’s desk for signature (although he…

FAST Act Interim Final Rule Effective March 12, 2018

March 15, 2018

On December 12, 2017, HUD published an interim final rule in the Federal Register that amends the regulatory language for Public & Indian Housing PIH) and Multifamily Housing rental assistance programs. This interim rule went into effect on March 12,…

The Importance of Internal Controls

February 24, 2018

All executives are taught the importance of “internal controls.” Unfortunately, many executives don’t fully understand what is meant by the term “internal controls.” A recent HUD audit of a Section 8 project in Port Arthur, TX serves as a reminder…

Independent Contractor or Employee – How to Tell the Difference

January 17, 2018

Affordable housing property managers are required to verify the income of applicants and residents in order to determine both eligibility and (for some programs) rent. The most common type of income requiring verification is employment income and the most common…

Self-Employed Individuals in Affordable Housing Properties

January 14, 2018

One of the most difficult type of income to determine for managers of affordable housing rental properties (e.g. Section 8 or Low-Income Housing Tax Credit [LIHTC]) is self-employment income. Based on the number of issues we see when reviewing the…

NCSHA Publishes 2017 Recommended Best Practices

January 5, 2018

The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) has updated its Recommended Practices in Housing Credit Administration for voluntary adoption by Housing Credit Agencies. The organizations first recommended practices were published in 1993, and included recommendations relative to allocation and…

HUD Delays Fair Housing Affirmative Action Rule

January 5, 2018

In what is almost certainly the first step in elimination of the requirement that localities take proactive steps to affirmatively further fair housing, HUD is extending the deadline for submission of assessment of fair housing for Consolidated Plan Participants. This…

Correction to State Minimum Wage Increases

December 28, 2017

I recently published a news item on upcoming minimum wage increases across the United States. One of my clients found an error in the information for New York State and I wanted to correct the item. The correct information for…

Tips for Spotting Elder Care Abuse in Senior Housing

December 27, 2017

I often get expressions of concern from some of my clients who own or manage housing for seniors regarding the well-being of their residents – especially in cases where there may be some type of abuse of the elderly by…

Minimum Wage Increases in 18 States

December 24, 2017

Happy New Year! For workers in a number of states, the new year will bring an increase in minimum wages. Many of the states already had minimum wage levels higher than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour Owners…

Revisions to Senate Tax Bill – November 14, 2017

November 18, 2017

It is expected that the Senate will vote on its version of tax reform after Thanksgiving. The version to be voted on will include several changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and, unlike the House bill, retains…

Comparison of House and Senate Tax Bills

November 11, 2017

On November 9, the Senate Finance Committee released its tax plan, following the House Ways and Means Committee plan last week. Since I sent a memo on the House plan last week, I will only note the differences between the…

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – H.R 1

November 5, 2017

On November 2, 2017, the House Ways & Means Committee released H.R.1, “The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.” The 429-page bill includes five sections: Tax Reform for Individuals; Repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT); Business Tax Reform; Taxation of…

2018 Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAFs) and Utility Allowance Factors Released by HUD

November 5, 2017

On November 2, 2017, HUD published the Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAF) in the Federal Register. These factors are used for adjusting or establishing Section 8 rents under the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (MAHRA), as…

Financing for Multifamily Energy Conservation Improvements – the PACE Program

October 30, 2017

A number of states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation authorizing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs to finance the installation of energy conservation improvements on multifamily housing projects. HUD has established standards for determining whether such programs…

Tax Reform Update – October 22, 2017

October 22, 2017

Last Thursday, October 19, Congressional Republicans in the Senate approved a budget resolution for the 2018 fiscal year. This is the first in a long line of hurdles that must be overcome for there to be a tax bill this…

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