Dos & Don'ts, In the News, Keeping It Straight, Private Letter Rulings, Q & A

Dos & Don'ts, In the News, Keeping It Straight, Private Letter Rulings, Q & A

JCHS Report Emphasizes Lack of Affordable Housing Production

July 24, 2019    

Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) recently released its annual report, “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2019.” The report examines the state of the housing market in 2018. It found that:

Bipartisan Senators Reintroduce Bill to Establish Affordable Housing Task Force

June 27, 2019    

Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), along with a group of 13 bipartisan senators, reintroduced the Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act, which aims to better understand and respond to America’s housing affordability...

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro Proposes Affordable Housing Plan

June 27, 2019    

Presidential candidates are increasingly focused on affordable housing. Most recently, Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro joined other presidential hopefuls, including Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in...

NLIHC Releases Annual Housing Affordability Report

June 27, 2019    

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) recently released the 30th anniversary edition of the Out of Reach report. The report documents the gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing throughout the U.S. The national Housing Wage--the hourly wage a full-time worker...

Bipartisan Bill Aims to Improve Disaster Recovery for Older Adults and People with Disabilities

June 27, 2019    

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and Senate, including Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Representatives Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.), recently introduced the “Real Emergency Access for Aging and Disability Inclusion for Disasters Act...

NCSHA Asks IRS to Rescind Final Compliance Monitoring Regulations

May 30, 2019    

The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) recently sent a letter to the IRS urging it to rescind the recently released final amended compliance monitoring regulations and to work with states to develop a “workable alternative.” The new compliance monitoring final...

ACTION Campaign Updates Fact Sheets Showing National Impact of LIHTC

May 30, 2019    

The A Call to Invest In Our Neighborhoods (ACTION) Campaign is a coalition of over 2,200 national, state, and local organizations and businesses working to address our nation’s severe shortage of affordable rental housing by protecting, expanding, and strengthening the Low-Income Housing...

Study Explores Experiences of LIHTC Residents and Perceptions of Their Neighborhoods

May 30, 2019    

A recently published study in Housing Policy Debate, “Rethinking Opportunity in the Siting of Affordable Housing in California,” found that residents’ perspectives on housing affordability, neighborhood conditions, and access to educational and economic opportunity can differ...

Modest Improvement in Low-Income Families’ Ability to Meet Basic Needs Despite Improving Economy

May 30, 2019    

A recent study by the Urban Institute, “Despite Labor Market Gains in 2018, There Were Only Modest Improvements in Families’ Ability to Meet Basic Needs,” found that families saw little improvement over the past year in their ability to meet basic needs despite rising...

IRS Releases Second Set of Opportunity Zones Guidance

May 16, 2019    

In October 2018, the IRS published the first set of proposed regulations providing much of the direction taxpayers had been seeking. And while those regulations represented a step forward in understanding how to implement an Opportunity Zone project, many questions remained. Recently, the IRS...

White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Publishes Implementation Plan

May 16, 2019    

President Trump established the Opportunity and Revitalization Council in December 2018 to target, streamline, and coordinate federal resources to be used in Opportunity Zone (OZs) and other economically distressed communities. The interagency Council is chaired by HUD Secretary Ben Carson....

HUD Discloses Its Activities in Opportunity Zones, Requests Public Input

May 16, 2019    

HUD recently released a document that provides a snapshot of HUD’s programs and initiatives within Opportunity Zones (OZs) and requested input and recommendations on how HUD can incorporate OZs into existing policies, practices, planned actions, regulations, and guidance. According to HUD...