In the News
October 20, 2016
A bill signed by Governor Jerry Brown will allow California school districts to use federal tax credits, as well as local and state funds, when leasing property for the development of affordable housing for teachers and other school district employees. “When high-quality teachers can’t...
Feature
September 29, 2016
The owner of a tax credit site you manage may tell you that the site also gets bonds—that is, participates in the tax-exempt bond program. Owners who get approved for these bonds for their site enjoy a tax-exempt status, which means they get lower interest rates on mortgages. They also don...
Compliance
September 29, 2016
You probably know that when a low-income household’s income exceeds 140 percent of the income limit (or 170 percent in the case of deep rent-skewed units), you must follow the Next Available Unit (NAU) rule to make sure the owner can continue claiming credits for the over-income unit. But you...
In the News
September 29, 2016
In 2015, in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court upheld “disparate impact” liability under the Fair Housing Act. Under this theory, a housing provider violates the Fair Housing Act when the provider’s...
In the News
September 29, 2016
HUD recently released an Interim Report: Evaluation of HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), which found that “RAD has been extremely successful in attracting capital to help stabilize affordable housing developments.” The research, performed by Econometrica Inc., provided...
In the News
September 29, 2016
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently released a discussion draft of legislation to create a new middle-income housing tax credit (MIHTC) program. The MIHTC discussion draft is a detailed legislative proposal, but it is not final. It’s being circulated to stakeholders, members of Congress,...
In the News
September 29, 2016
HUD recently issued new guidance confirming that persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) are protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). LEP includes a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English. The guidance reasons that LEP persons are covered by the FHA because of their...
Feature
August 30, 2016
Suppose people showed up at your management office with official-looking badges and asked to see a copy of a resident’s file. Chances are you may not have encountered a situation like this before. Many well-meaning managers would probably hand over the file, especially if the agents said they...
Compliance
August 30, 2016
In the May issue, we discussed HUD’s new guidance on criminal background checks. The new guidelines spell out how HUD will evaluate fair housing complaints in cases where a site refuses to rent or renew a lease based on an individual’s criminal history. The new guidance has brought...
In the News
August 30, 2016
In an opinion piece recently published on CNN.com, the Democratic nominee for vice president, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, called for expanding the low income housing tax credit as part of a plan to “make housing fair in America.” According to Senator Kaine, the Democratic nominees’...
