To calculate household income for determining whether a household is eligible at a tax credit site, you’re required to follow the rules set out in HUD Handbook 4350.3. Sections 1 and 3 of Chapter 5 of the HUD Handbook (Determining Income and Calculating Rent) set out the rules you must...
Most tax credit managers know that state housing agencies must regularly inspect sites for compliance with the tax credit program. The agencies inspect units to make sure they’re suitable for occupancy and look at household files to make sure they’re accurate and complete. But many...
With certain exceptions, households made up entirely of full-time students aren’t eligible to occupy low-income units at a tax credit site. So when you screen applicants, it’s essential to ask them questions to determine whether you can rent to them without violating this rule, known...
The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits housing discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability. The law targets discriminatory practices by making it unlawful to deny housing—or discriminate in the terms and conditions of the rental...
The low-income housing tax credit program is administered at the state level by state housing finance agencies with each state getting a fixed allocation of credits based on its population. The state housing agency has wide discretion in determining which projects to award credits, and...
To help the owner of your site determine how many credits it may claim for a building, you must first calculate an “applicable fraction” for each month of the first year of the building’s compliance period. The applicable fraction is the percentage of a building dedicated to...
There’s more at stake when you approve applicants for units in tax credit buildings than when you approve applicants for other assisted sites. That’s because a move-in mistake on a tax credit site can result in an immediate loss of tax credit dollars for owners, possibly jeopardizing...
Creating a resident selection plan is a good idea for any type of site you might manage, including a tax credit site. Although the tax credit program doesn’t require written resident selection plans, creating one can help you process applications more effectively, educate your prospects...
In a proposed rule revealed on Nov. 12, the Department of Housing and Urban Development would require more than 3,100 public housing agencies overseeing 1.2 million units of public housing to go smoke-free within several years. The agencies would have to design policies prohibiting lighted...
Each time you manage a new tax credit site, you start with unoccupied units that you must rent to the right mix of households. And when households later vacate their units, some units may stay unoccupied for a while. Having these unoccupied units at your site can raise compliance issues. If you...
When certifying and recertifying low-income households at your tax credit site, you may encounter situations that require you to use special forms to get more information about household income. Sometimes, you’ll need to get household members to complete and sign these forms. At other...
