Dos & Don'ts, In the News, Keeping It Straight, Private Letter Rulings, Q & A

Dos & Don'ts, In the News, Keeping It Straight, Private Letter Rulings, Q & A

Senate Democrats' Economic Justice Act Includes LIHTC Provisions

July 30, 2020    

Senate Democrats recently announced a proposal to invest $350 billion in communities of color, including specific policies that would increase investments in affordable housing and promote racial equity in homeownership.

The Economic Justice Act proposes to provide communities of color...

Housing Cost Burden for Low-Income Renters Spiked in Last Two Decades

July 30, 2020    

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reported changes in renter households and affordability from 2001 to 2017. The report, “As More Households Rent, the Poorest Face Affordability and Housing Quality Challenges,” is the first in a GAO series that aims to provide...

FHFA Housing Goals to Remain Same in 2021

July 30, 2020    

Because of the economic uncertainty related to the ongoing pandemic, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently proposed that its 2021 housing goals remain at the levels that they were for 2018–2020. The proposal establishes housing goals for single-family and multifamily housing...

Follow Insurance Notice Requirements to Boost Chance of COVID-Related Payout

June 11, 2020    

Businesses seeking to recover coronavirus-related losses under their business interruption and property insurance policies have had difficulty in doing so because of questions as to whether their policies cover such losses. How those coverage questions will be resolved remains an open question,...

Senate Finance Committee Details LIHTC Legislative Priorities

June 11, 2020    

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, recently released a list of affordable housing priorities he will push for in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation. His priorities are directed toward supporting LIHTC sites. Wyden’s focus on...

HUD: LIHTC Program Continues to Help Vulnerable Households

April 15, 2020    

In late March, HUD released the latest annual report that analyzes LIHTC household data collected as a result of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) passed in 2008. Among other things, HERA requires each housing finance agency (HFA) that administers the LIHTC to submit certain...

Report Finds Tight Rental Markets, Rising Cost-Burdened Households

February 11, 2020    

Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) recently released its annual “America’s Rental Housing 2020” report. The new report shows that rental markets are still extremely tight despite slowing demand and the continued strength of new construction. The JCHS report...

Congressman’s Report Calls for Increased LIHTC Allocation

February 11, 2020    

Representative Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., recently released a report entitled, “Locked Out: Reversing Federal Housing Failures and Unlocking Opportunity.” The report identifies the LIHTC program as the largest form of federal assistance to state and local governments in the form of a...

House Committee Discusses LIHTC as Infrastructure Investment

February 11, 2020    

The House Ways and Means Committee recently held a hearing called “Paving the Way for Funding and Financing Infrastructure Investments.” The hearing was held the same day that House Democrats unveiled their outline for a $760 billion infrastructure package that includes LIHTC as a...

Temporarily Displacing Residents

January 9, 2020    

Q We need to repaint some of the low-income units at our tax credit site. To accomplish this, we must temporarily displace residents—that is, have residents move out of their units—for a few days. Will the owner of our site stay...

Counting Rent Paid by Guarantors as Income

January 9, 2020    

Q My management company will let a qualified applicant with no credit history sign a lease if she can find a guarantor. One applicant told us that if we rent a low-income unit to him, his guarantor will pay the rent for two months. If we...

Unreported Marriage with No Household Change

January 9, 2020    

Q Our site is a project-based Section 8 site with LIHTC units. We recently found out that one of our residents who has lived at the site since 2007 got married in 2014 and never reported it. We know her husband doesn’t live in the unit...