Feature

Beyond Lead-Free: How to Use Safe Painting Practices at Your Site

March 15, 2019    

By Carolyn Zezima, Esq.

Avoid Seven Mistakes When Verifying Disability

March 14, 2019    

April is National Fair Housing Month, which, according to HUD, is time for people to come together “as a community and a nation to celebrate the anniversary of the passing of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and recommit to that goal which inspired us in the aftermath of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther...

Follow Four Rules When Maintaining an Electronic Waiting List

February 15, 2019    

HUD defines a waiting list as a formal record of applicants for housing assistance or assisted housing units that identifies the applicant’s name, date and time of application, selection preferences claimed, income category, and the need for an accessible unit. The waiting list may be kept...

The Government Shutdown's Impact on HUD & Federal Housing Programs

January 15, 2019    

Since the latest continuing resolution, which funded HUD and several other federal agencies in the absence of enacted Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 appropriations bills, expired on Dec. 21, 2018, Congress and President Trump haven’t enacted a final FY 2019 HUD bill. As a result, funding for HUD...

Don't Let Inspectors Deduct Points for Five Common Site Conditions

December 11, 2018    

Inspectors sometimes hit sites with inspection violations (what HUD calls “defects” or “deficiencies”) for conditions that aren’t actually violations or that the inspector shouldn’t have inspected in the first place. This happens because HUD’s inspection...

Avoid HUD Scrutiny by Taking Residents' Rent Debt Collection Seriously

November 19, 2018    

Some sites don’t pursue residents aggressively enough to collect back rent owed and excess assistance. They believe that because residents’ income levels are low and the amounts owed are small, it’s not worth the sites’ time or money to chase after these debts. So these...

How to Avoid Discrimination Complaints When Dealing with Environmental Concerns

October 16, 2018    

According to federal reports issued in June 2018, HUD lacks adequate oversight of lead-based paint in the public housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs. The reports, issued by the HUD Office of Inspector General and U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), described disjointed...

What to Know Before Setting a Gun Policy at Your Site

September 24, 2018    

by Andrea Brescia

Seven Rules for Preventing and Dealing with Sexual Harassment of Residents

September 12, 2018    

As a site owner or manager, you must be concerned about your liability for sexual harassment. Federal fair housing law protects residents from sexual harassment at your site. A resident can sue you if she thinks that you or any employee at your site sexually harassed her. Sexual harassment can...

How to Prevent Caregivers from Becoming Unauthorized Occupants

August 14, 2018    

Occasionally, a resident may ask you what steps need to be taken to allow a professional caregiver on site to assist him or her with activities of daily living. Typical duties of a caregiver might include taking care of someone who has a chronic illness or disease; managing medications or...

Understand 'Foreseeable' Crime to Reduce Site's Premises Security Liability

July 19, 2018    

Every manager’s worst nightmare is a violent crime against a resident at his assisted housing site. And compounding the tragedy of the crime is the risk of liability. You could be held liable for the crime if you knew your residents were at risk of that type of crime. In legal terms, the...

Six Rules for Avoiding Discrimination When Marketing Your Assisted Site

June 13, 2018    

HUD recently suspended the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule. This rule was a 2015 regulation that required any community receiving HUD development block-grant funding to routinely identify instances of racial segregation and provide solutions to counter them. It was intended to fulfill...