Residents of sites operated by Cohoes Housing Authority in Cohoes, N.Y., have one less worry in a medical emergency. The housing authority has implemented a medical emergency data card system that puts all the information emergency medical personnel would need at their fingertips.
HUD has established “Privacy Principles” in which the agency outlines its obligation to protect privacy and safeguard the information that individual citizens entrust to it (see HUD's Privacy Principles on p. 7). This obligation is, HUD says, a fundamental part of its mission to...
The weakened economy and poor job market are affecting everyone. In assisted housing, one problem that's hitting site managers around the country is a growing incidence of unauthorized guests.
The Insider talked with a California property management company executive about how...
Owners and managers of assisted housing often struggle to comply with fair housing requirements. Laws protecting people with disabilities can be especially tough to interpret. To help clarify the requirements, particularly with respect to people with mental health disabilities, the Insider...
According to HUD regulations, owners and managers of assisted housing may not apply or enforce pet rules against individuals with animals that are used to assist persons with disabilities. HUD does not consider assistance animals or support animals to be pets.
It is now a lot easier for you and your residents to get federal aid to make units energy-efficient. The economic recovery program enacted earlier this year provided a substantial increase in funding for the residential Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). In addition, the U.S. Department of...
When is an eviction retaliatory? That is an important question for managers of rental housing because many state and local rental housing laws bar “retaliatory eviction.” In addition, the Fair Housing Act makes certain retaliatory actions against residents illegal if they hinder the...
One of the toughest jobs of a site owner or manager is writing a good tenant selection plan. The tenant selection plan is a crucial document, says Dan Bancroft, an attorney who has written tenant selection plans for project-based sites. It gives you a way to explain and justify your decisions if...
Unless it has been removed by a professional lead abatement contractor or during normal renovation or painting, most housing that was built before 1978 has some painted surfaces with layers of old lead-based paint underneath. Because exposure to even small amounts of lead can be permanently...
On June 23, 2009, HUD issued Change 3 to Handbook 4350.3 REV-1, “Occupancy Requirements of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs.” The changes in the new version are not as extensive or significant as the ones HUD made in Change 2 in June 2007, but there are still some points you...
In April 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued important new rules on renovation, repair, and painting of housing that was built before 1978. According to the EPA, the new requirements are part of a comprehensive federal effort to eliminate childhood lead poisoning.
