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...
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.
Federal law requires housing providers to disclose to potential renters and buyers the presence of lead-based paint hazards on the premises. Almost all housing built before 1978, whether subsidized by HUD or not, is covered by the disclosure law. The penalties for noncompliance can be...
For the first time since the 1940s, bedbugs in the past five years have become a serious problem for housing providers across the United States and Canada.
The costs of dealing with a bedbug problem can easily overwhelm a site's annual budget for pest control. Bedbug control expert...
In late March, HUD announced that it was delaying the effective date of the Enterprise Income Verification System (EIV) and Social Security verification rules it issued in January (as discussed in last month's Insider). HUD has changed the effective date for the new EIV and Social...
The Alabama Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities (AAHRA) is cracking down on the unwanted presence of drug dealers and those engaging in criminal activity at its public housing sites. In February 2009, the 150-member association of housing authorities in the state revised its...
Dealing with reasonable accommodations may be trickier than you think. Last year the Department of Justice (DOJ) and HUD jointly issued new guidance on reasonable modifications under the Fair Housing Act. Since then, HUD has issued new statements on the housing rights of disabled applicants and...
With tens of thousands of military personnel overseas in 2003 and 2004, Congress rewrote a World War II-era law that provides certain financial protections to members of the military and their families. Today, the conflicts abroad are continuing to require the service of thousands of men and...
In late January 2009, HUD issued a final rule refining the income and rent determination requirements in its public and assisted housing programs. The final rule has two major new requirements for PHAs and multifamily housing program owners and managers:
When you're dealing with households whose rent is subsidized through the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, formerly known as the Section 8 Tenant-Based Assistance Program, it is important to remember that it is not the same as the Project-Based Section 8 program you are familiar with....
In a court case decided in January 2009, a New York owner tried to evict a Section 8 resident, claiming that she had violated her lease by creating a nuisance. In the notice of termination, the owner claimed that the resident engaged in violent behavior during domestic disputes. The violent...
In late 2008, housing groups and industry professionals met with former HUD Secretary James Preston to urge greater transparency about HUD activities. High on their agenda was discussing how HUD has discarded previous, more formal methods of notifying the public about new policies and...
