Q & A

Documenting Efforts to Rent Vacant Units

March 28, 2013    
Q: One of our tax credit units became vacant early last year. We advertised regularly in the newspaper and on the Internet and posted flyers at local shopping centers. But all the prospective households were ineligible. We’ve finally succeeded in renting the unit to a qualified low-...
Dos & Don'ts

Don't Perform Full Recertifications When They’re Not Necessary

March 28, 2013    
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) eliminated the annual income recertification requirement for 100 percent buildings. Each state agency, however, may opt to tighten the rule and impose its own recertification requirements. In addition, some owners may still complete annual...
Dos & Don'ts

Focus on Resident Retention to Save Money, Paperwork

March 28, 2013    
The paperwork associated with tax credit sites is formidable. Owners and managers must not only deal with paperwork generated from the application process, but also annual owner certifications and submissions of various compliance forms on an annual basis.
In the News

HUD Issues Final Rule on Disparate Impact

March 28, 2013    
HUD recently issued a final rule to formalize the national standard for determining whether a housing practice violates federal fair housing law as the result of discriminatory effect.
Feature

Use Staff Focus Groups to Keep in Touch with Tax Credit Sites

February 27, 2013    
If you manage several tax credit sites or one very large one, you may find it hard to get an accurate day-by-day picture of how things are going at each of them. That’s because information tends to get altered in the course of reaching you. For example, maintenance staffers and leasing agents...
Dealing with Households

How to Notify Households of Upcoming Rent Increases

February 27, 2013    
At some point, you’re going to have to notify households that you’re raising their rent. Reasons for raising the rent on a low-income unit can include a utility allowance decrease, an over-income household, a change in your area’s median gross income, or, if the rent is below the...
Compliance

Send Letter to Households to Discourage “Transient Unit Rule” Violations

February 27, 2013    
As a tax credit manager, you probably know that you can violate the “transient unit rule” if you rent units to low-income households on a transient basis. The IRS presumes that you’re complying with the rule if your initial leases with households are for a term of at least six...
Q & A

Counting Children of Joint Custody Arrangements

February 27, 2013    
Q One of our low-income applicants is a divorced mother who has joint custody of her two children. The applicant says that, under the joint custody agreement, her children would live with her in the unit most of the time. If we accept this applicant at our site, should we count her children as...
In the News

Treasury Department Releases Second Update to Priority Guidance Plan

February 27, 2013    
On Feb. 5, the Treasury Department released the second quarter update to the 2012-2013 Priority Guidance Plan. The Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy and the IRS use the Guidance Priority List each year to identify and prioritize the tax issues that should be addressed through...
In the News

IRS Suspends Requirements at Tax-Exempt Bond Sites for Hurricane Victims

February 27, 2013    
Recently, the IRS suspended certain requirements for qualified residential rental projects financed with tax-exempt bonds that are providing emergency housing for victims of Hurricane Sandy. IRS Notice 2013-9 temporarily suspends income limitations and the non-transient use requirement for the...