Feature Articles

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.

Know Your Responsibilities During Presidentially Declared Disaster or HUD-Determined Emergency

July 17, 2019

Recently, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that he’s “extremely grateful” that Tropical Depression Barry didn’t cause the devastating floods that had been projected. According to the National Weather Service, Barry was briefly a Category 1 hurricane, but the system...

Use Community Room Agreement to Make Residents Responsible for Damage and Injury

June 13, 2019

A site’s community room is an ideal place for residents to throw parties or hold resident association meetings. But use of this amenity can cause problems. If residents or their guests act irresponsibly, they may damage the community room and its furnishings. And if someone’s injured...

How to Handle Balances Held Within and Distributions from ABLE Accounts

June 13, 2019

ABLE accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts for individuals with disabilities and their families. They were created as a result of the passage of the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014, better known as the ABLE Act. The beneficiary of the account is the account owner, and...

Require Households to Inform You of Long Absences

May 9, 2019

Lengthy unexplained household absences from your site can be frustrating and may even violate HUD lease provisions that require assisted households to use their units as their primary residences. You may have households that leave the site for months at a time during particular seasons. Or you...

Guidance Issued on Voluntary & Mandatory Conversions of Public Housing Units

May 9, 2019

In November 2018, HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) sent a letter to public housing agency (PHA) executive directors notifying them of their intent to reduce HUD’s public housing stock. Because Congress had failed to provide adequate funding for the public housing...