Feature

Avoid Five Common Security Deposit Mistakes

June 30, 2014    
All too often, tax credit owners lose money because they make mistakes in withholding residents’ security deposits. It’s easy to overlook basic rules when you’re mired in the details of complying with security deposit laws. To help you avoid these mistakes at your tax credit site...
Compliance

Follow Six Rules to Avoid Converting Common Areas into Commercial Space

June 30, 2014    
Commercial space isn’t LIHTC basis eligible, but the IRS Code does allow for commercial use at a tax credit site. That commercial space may even be located in the same building where your low-income households live. For example, suppose a 50-unit tax credit building proposes that the entire...
In the News

HUD Publishes Final Rule on HERA Changes to Section 8

June 30, 2014    
On June 25, HUD published a final rule implementing changes to the Section 8 tenant-based and project-based voucher programs made by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). HERA made several changes to the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 that affect programs administered by HUD’s...
In the News

OHFA Releases Health Impact Assessment Report

June 30, 2014    
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) recently released the Health Impact Assessment (HIA), a report that examines the health implications of a proposed government policy to align affordable housing inspections. OHFA was awarded a grant from the Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert...
In the News

Support Grows to Extend Minimum Credit Rates

June 30, 2014    
On June 17, the ACTION Campaign submitted a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp asking that he permanently extend minimum 9 and 4 percent Housing Credit rates as part of his current tax extenders effort. ACTION (A Call To Invest in Our Neighborhoods) is a national,...
In the News

Donovan, Castro Nominations Approved by Senate Committees

June 30, 2014    
On June 24, the Senate Budget Committee approved HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan’s nomination to be director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by a vote of 15-6. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the nomination on June 25 by a vote of 9-1.
Feature

How to Prevent or End Sublets that Endanger Tax Credits

May 30, 2014    
Households that temporarily need to live elsewhere may decide to sublet their units while they’re gone. Or as Internet-based apartment-sharing services such as Airbnb have become more popular, households may seek to rent out their unit to strangers for short stays to supplement their income....
Compliance

Avoid Costly Lawsuits and Fines with Lead-Safe Work Practices

May 30, 2014    
Many contractors and maintenance workers who have been on the job for years believe they know all about the dangers of and the precautions necessary for working with lead paint. Others think lead paint poisoning simply went away years ago. It didn’t.
Maintenance

Five Steps for Responding to Water Intrusion Emergency

May 30, 2014    
Reports of water leaking from a bathroom ceiling or other types of water intrusion in a unit are serious complaints that deserve your immediate attention. Sometimes a pipe may break, in which case a household is not at fault. Other times, a resident’s child may have thrown toys down the...
In the News

Legislation Introduced to Permanently Freeze LIHTC Credit Floor

May 30, 2014    
On May 22, Reps. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, and Richard Neal, D-Mass., introduced H.R. 4717, a bill that would establish a permanent floor for both the 9 percent and 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. The bill would create a fixed 9 percent rate for new rental construction property and a fixed 4...