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

IRS Announces LIHTC Carryovers for 2016

October 20, 2016    

The IRS recently issued Revenue Procedure 2016-52, which publishes the amounts of unused housing credit carryovers allocated to qualified states under Section 42(h)(3)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code for calendar year 2016. This year, slightly more than $2.6 million in unused low-income housing...

Obama Administration Releases Housing Development Toolkit

October 20, 2016    

The White House recently released the “Housing Development Toolkit,” which highlights actions state and local jurisdictions can take to encourage housing development. The white paper argues that restrictive zoning contributes to high rents, exacerbates wealth inequality, and slows...

California Governor Signs Teacher Housing Bill

October 20, 2016    

A bill signed by Governor Jerry Brown will allow California school districts to use federal tax credits, as well as local and state funds, when leasing property for the development of affordable housing for teachers and other school district employees. “When high-quality teachers can...

District Court Dismisses Disparate Impact Claims in Texas

September 29, 2016    

In 2015, in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court upheld “disparate impact” liability under the Fair Housing Act. Under this theory, a housing provider violates the Fair Housing Act when the provider...

HUD Issues Interim Evaluation of Rental Assistance Demonstration

September 29, 2016    

HUD recently released an Interim Report: Evaluation of HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), which found that “RAD has been extremely successful in attracting capital to help stabilize affordable housing developments.” The research, performed by Econometrica Inc.,...

Senator Wyden Proposes a Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit Program

September 29, 2016    

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently released a discussion draft of legislation to create a new middle-income housing tax credit (MIHTC) program. The MIHTC discussion draft is a detailed legislative proposal, but it is not final. It’s being circulated to stakeholders, members of Congress,...

HUD Expands Fair Housing Liability to Include LEP Discrimination

September 29, 2016    

HUD recently issued new guidance confirming that persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) are protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). LEP includes a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English. The guidance reasons that LEP persons are covered by the FHA because of...

Democratic VP Nominee Tim Kaine Calls for LIHTC Expansion

August 30, 2016    

In an opinion piece recently published on CNN.com, the Democratic nominee for vice president, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, called for expanding the low income housing tax credit as part of a plan to “make housing fair in America.” According to Senator Kaine, the Democratic nominees...

Senators Urge HUD to Issue Guidance on How Nuisance Ordinances May Violate Laws

August 30, 2016    

Twenty-nine senators, led by Senator Al Franken (D-MN), recently sent a letter to HUD Secretary Julián Castro urging HUD to provide written guidance regarding how local nuisance ordinances may violate the Fair Housing Act and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The letter states, “...

IRS Releases 2016-2017 Guidance Priority Plan

August 30, 2016    

On Aug. 15, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released its 2016-2017 priority guidance plan and a fourth-quarter update to its 2015-2016 priority guidance plan. Through this plan year, the 12-month period from July 2016 to June 2017, the IRS plans to address 281 projects. Compared to the prior...

Housing Bill Seeks to Protect Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

July 28, 2016    

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) recently introduced legislation that would provide legal protections to ensure access to safe housing for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Building on protections in the Violence Against Women Act and the Fair Housing Act, the “Fair...

Study Finds Little Evidence of LIHTC Impact on Neighborhood Mobility

July 28, 2016    

The U.S. Census Bureau’s Center for Administrative Records Research and Applications recently released a new working paper titled “The Effect of Low-Income Housing on Neighborhood Mobility: Evidence from Linked Micro-Data.” The paper assesses the impact of LIHTC developments on...