With the aging of the U.S. population, you may find that the average age of your residents and applicants seeking units is older. Helping residents to age in place safely is a win-win for both owners and residents. Residents typically want to live independently for as long as possible, and...
Residents may ask employees to do personal tasks such drop off their dry cleaning or fix a stereo or some other personal equipment. This puts owners in a delicate position because, on one hand, allowing such employee behavior opens you up to liability risks, and on the other hand, barring...
By signing a lease agreement, a resident agrees to follow the terms of the lease. If the tenant breaks a clause of this contract, an owner must often first send the tenant a “Notice to Quit.” A Notice to Quit is a formal legal document an owner sends a resident in an attempt to fix a...
As part of its compliance monitoring responsibilities, a state housing agency must conduct on-site physical inspections and review low-income certifications and other documentation. The agency must perform these inspections and certification reviews at least once every three years after the...
Have you ever had a resident complain to you about another resident’s harassing or abusive behavior? Maybe the other resident is loudly insulting him or, worse, using racial epithets. You might be tempted to ignore the problem. But your decision could be costly. The resident who’s...
Your common areas play a major role in your site’s success. They’re the areas that your residents share and prospective renters see first. But your residents may cause problems in your common areas, inadvertently or otherwise. They may leave their garbage out, store personal property...
One way residents may steal electricity is by stealing from the building supply. Residents may tamper with wiring and hook up directly to your building’s metered electricity supply. A resident who does this taps into power that you’re paying for. Another way to steal electricity is...
If you don’t know when to count—and when not to count—the income of absentees, because of military service or otherwise, during recertification at your mixed-income site, you can miscalculate residents’ rent and jeopardize the owner’ tax credits. Counting the income...
When dealing with the death of a resident, you must remain sensitive to the family and friends of the deceased but also carefully follow legal procedures. We’ll tell you what steps you must take to deal with the deceased resident’s body and belongings. We’ll explain how you can...
When you hire an attorney to evict a resident from your tax credit site for violating the lease, you want to have the eviction handled as quickly and efficiently as possible. But the process may be unnecessarily hindered if you don’t give the attorney all the documents and information she...
Sports courts, such as basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts, are a great amenity for your site. But sports courts can also lead to problems. For example, residents may argue with each other over how much time a resident should be...
IRS regulations don’t require annual certifications for properties that are 100 percent tax credit. However, for mixed-income sites, recertifications serve an important function. Annual certifications ensure affordable housing units are occupied by income-eligible households, and provide a...
