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...
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...
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...
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....
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 October, HUD announced a final regulation that delivers consistency between pet rules and service animal rules, says Denise Muha, executive director of the National Leased Housing Association (NLHA).
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...
On Sept. 18, 2008, HUD clarified its position on the use of the new model lease, after generating a storm of controversy by requiring that all leases contain an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval number and expiration date, which is currently 2011.
As a site owner or manager, you may have come across residents who receive annuities. If so, you must ask how the annuity should be treated—that is, as income or as an asset, or whether to exclude it entirely based on which it is, says affordable housing consultant Elizabeth Moreland, an...
Many owners and managers of assisted sites use leases that give them the right to conduct periodic inspections of units to discover unsafe and unsanitary conditions and unreported maintenance problems. Early detection of these and similar situations can help prevent problems, such as insect and...
