The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status. In the most basic terms, the familial status provisions ban sites from denying housing to families with children. But you’ll have to do more...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2014, made several changes to the United States Housing Act of 1937. Five streamlining changes were implemented through a Federal Register notice on June 25, 2014. And on Jan. 6, 2015, HUD issued a proposed rule codifying these...
If your site was inspected recently, you may have lost points for a condition that violates HUD inspection standards, but that a local law permits or even requires. For example, you may have lost points for having window guards on your site’s windows, even though your local law requires...
HUD is amending the inspection protocol requirements to be followed by all Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS) inspectors who conduct physical inspections of HUD-assisted and -insured properties. In 2010, HUD issued Inspector Notice 2010-01 establishing requirements when an inspector is...
HUD recently issued a new notice regarding the passbook savings rate, effective Feb. 1, 2016. The passbook savings rate hasn’t changed since 2014. The passbook savings rate to be used for all move-in, initial, annual, and interim recertification when a family has net assets over $5,000 is...
A definite plan to deal with major emergencies at your site is an important element of providing a safe environment for your staff and residents. An emergency—such as a fire, flood, act of violence, earthquake, hurricane, or environmental disaster—can occur at your site at any time....
Major storms or other natural disasters may leave your site and residents without power. And in anticipation of future storms or disasters that may knock out power, your site may have an emergency backup generator. Generators offer the convenience of using our everyday devices despite a...
Congress and HUD have established various types of preferences in an effort to provide housing to those most in need. HUD rules currently include four different kinds of preferences that apply to various programs [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 4-6(B)]. Of these four preferences, three of them apply...
On Nov. 18, 2015, HUD published a joint notice under Notice PIH 2015-21: Amendment to the Definition of Tuition, which formally amends the definition of tuition found in Eligibility of Students for Assisted Housing Under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; Supplementary Guidance [71 FR...
Sloppy resident files are a headache you can do without during your annual audit or management and occupancy review. Auditors routinely review resident files to see how well your company complies with HUD rules. If a file is missing important documents, it may act as a signal to an auditor that...
On Oct. 13, HUD published the Operational Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAFs) that will go into effect nationwide for eligible multifamily housing projects having an anniversary date on or after on Feb. 11, 2016. These factors are used for adjusting or establishing Section 8 rents under the...
HUD requires many owners of nonprofit and limited-dividend sites with HUD-insured and HUD-held mortgages, including Section 202 program sites, to set up residual receipts accounts. Generally, all sites owned by nonprofit mortgagors and all Section 236 and 221(d)(3) projects owned by limited...
