Recent Court Rulings

County Must Forfeit Affordable Housing Funds

October 13, 2015    
Facts: For nearly a decade, Westchester County, N.Y., has been engaged in litigation with HUD over whether the county has adequately analyzed—in its applications for HUD funds—impediments to fair housing within the county’s jurisdictions.
Recent Court Rulings

PHA Not Liable for Negligence Regarding Mold Complaint

October 12, 2015    
Facts: In 2001, a resident began renting a unit at a site owned and operated by the local PHA. In early February 2008, the resident requested that certain repairs be made to his unit and reported that mold was growing under the sink. The completed work order indicates that the mold was treated.
Recent Court Rulings

Resident Met $15,000 Threshold Needed for a Jury Trial

October 11, 2015    
Facts: A resident rented a unit at a federally subsidized site for a number of years. In March 2013, the owner notified the resident that, because of numerous lease violations, it was terminating her lease effective April 12, 2013, and directed her to vacate the unit by that date.
The Trainer

The Trainer — November 2015

October 10, 2015    
Requesting Withdrawals from Residual Receipts Account In this month’s feature, we discussed how HUD requires many owners of nonprofit and limited-dividend sites with HUD-insured and HUD-held mortgages to set up residual receipts accounts. If you have such an account, there may come a time...
Feature

Review Resident Selection Plan for Issues Covered in Recent HUD Memos and Notices

September 29, 2015    
If you own or manage an assisted site, you must have a written resident selection plan that incorporates the policies and procedures covering each step of the selection process. It’s important to have a well-written resident selection plan because it can show HUD you’re complying with...
Compliance

HUD Clarifies New Methodology for Calculating Utility Allowances

September 29, 2015    
In HUD multifamily sites where the residents pay either all or a portion of their own utility expenses, HUD provides a utility allowance in addition to the subsidy for each unit. This utility allowance is based on an estimate of the average monthly utility costs for each unit size.
In the News

GAO: Information on Collective Performance of Rental Assistance Programs Incomplete

September 29, 2015    
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report that examines fragmentation and overlap of rental assistance programs on the federal, state, and local levels. The GAO partnered with 25 state and local audit offices to design an audit plan that six participating audit offices...
In the News

New Census Report on Income and Poverty in the U.S.

September 29, 2015    
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released data that show no significant change in the official poverty rate or real median household income between 2013 and 2014. The data used by the Census Bureau in this report are from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. With...
In the News

House Financial Services Chairman Seeks HUD Restructuring Recommendations

September 29, 2015    
In commemoration of HUD’s 50th anniversary, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) recently issued a call for ideas to reform HUD and modernize the delivery of federal housing assistance. According to Hensarling, HUD hasn’t met the expectations set for the agency by...
In the News

More Americans Spending More Than Half Their Income on Rent

September 29, 2015    
Recently, Enterprise Community Partners and the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released a white paper entitled “Projecting Trends in Severely Cost-Burdened Renters: 2015-2025.” Rent is considered “affordable” if it totals 30 percent or less of one’s...