Feature Articles

How to Handle Online Assistance Animal Certifications for Reasonable Accommodations

November 22, 2019

Recently, HUD’s focus has been directed to certain websites that may be selling assistance animal verifications. HUD Secretary Ben Carson has written to Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Joseph J. Simons and Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Andrew Smith...

Purging Files at Year-End? Better Review HUD’s Record Retention Rules First

November 22, 2019

Applicant and tenant file records are important pieces of source documentation that’s used as evidence to support determinations and conclusions in all areas of occupancy. It’s important for a manager to ensure that all tenant application and occupancy files are maintained in...

Review Site’s Bedbug Rules, Lease Addenda to Ensure Compliance

October 29, 2019

In the fall, as the heat of summer diminishes, site managers typically experience an increase in pest complaints from residents as outdoor pests move indoors seeking warmth. Site managers also find an increase in bedbug sightings, despite the fact that bedbugs are indoor pests that are rarely...

Perform 11 Maintenance Tasks to Get Your Site Ready for Winter

October 29, 2019

You and your maintenance staff have different issues to tackle during each season of the year. In the fall, most sites need to prepare for winter. But because some of the things that should be on your “to do” list for fall haven’t been done in an entire year, it’s easy to...

SSA Announces 2020 COLA Increase of 1.6 Percent

October 29, 2019

The Social Security Administration recently announced that the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will increase 1.6 percent in 2020. The 1.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 63 million Social Security...

Answers to Common Questions About Handling Disability Insurance Payments

October 1, 2019

When you certify or recertify households, some members may tell you that they’re getting disability payments through a short-term or long-term disability insurance plan. These payments replace part of the wages household members lose when they can’t work due to illness or injury. The...

HUD Proposes Rules to Implement Several HOTMA Provisions

October 1, 2019

In 2016, President Obama signed into law the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). HOTMA touched upon a broad range of topics. The housing law was enacted to expand housing providers’ ability to develop housing for extremely low-income households and streamline operational...

Data Security: Take Steps to Protect Residents’ and Applicants’ Personal Information

September 10, 2019

A consistent stream of hacks and large-scale corporate data breaches in the news have heightened the public’s awareness and sensitivity towards privacy issues. Most recently, a major bank broke news of a data breach that affected approximately 100 million customers in the U.S. and another...

HUD Issues Guidance on Site Owners’ Responsibilities to Residents

August 15, 2019

HUD’s Office of Asset Management and Portfolio Oversight (OAMPO) recently issued a memo for multifamily regional directors, satellite office directors, performance-based contract administrators, and multifamily owners and management agents. The memo clarifies owners’ responsibilities...

How to Calculate Tenant Income from Real Estate Investments

August 15, 2019

by Daniel Bagliore

How to Handle Income from Temporary U.S. Census Bureau Employment

August 15, 2019

The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census of the population be conducted once every 10 years. Census data is used to determine the number of seats each state holds in Congress and how more than $675 billion in federal funds are distributed back to states and local communities every year for...

Send Notice to Preserve Options at HAP Contract Expiration

July 17, 2019

A housing assistance payments (HAP) contract is a contract between HUD and an owner to provide rental assistance for low-income residents. The rental assistance supplements what the resident pays for rent, which is usually 30 percent of the resident’s income.