As my faithful readers know, I can be found every January in Washington, DC at the National Council of State Housing Agencies’ Housing Finance Institute. This is an opportunity for state housing agency staff and other industry professionals to meet with and learn from HUD and IRS officials, swap ideas, and catch up on the latest trends. And as reliably as Punxsutawney Phil, I am here every February to summarize the highlights for you in Housing Management Update.
For the HOME program:
- The proposed FY2016 federal budget included drastic cuts that would have virtually eliminated funding for the HOME Program. Fortunately, its proponents campaigned successfully to save it and even secured a $50M increase from its 2015 funding level!
- Another HOME victory came in the form of legislative reform which establishes an exception to the 30-day notice of eviction requirement for HOME if a tenant poses “a direct threat to the safety of the tenants or employees of the housing or an imminent or serious threat to the property.” Prior to this change there were no exceptions to this notice requirement.
- HUD reported that further guidance should be coming on the deferred implementation dates from the 2013 HOME Final Rule provisions involving Property Standards, Inspection Schedules, and Utility Allowance.
- HUD also reported an increase in findings regarding prohibitive lease language and leasing terms for HOME and suggest that PJs check HOME leases more closely for these. (This means management should be checking for this, too.)
For LIHTC:
- The fixed, flat-rate 9% applicable credit percentage was secured in the tax extender bill passed by Congress at the end of 2015, which represents a huge success for the LIHTC industry!
- 2016 marks the upcoming thirty-year anniversary of the LIHTC Program. To mark this milestone, NCSHA is commissioning its first comprehensive report on the program in many years. (NCHM will also keep you informed of their findings upon publication.)
- The IRS reported that in their current Priority Guidance Plan, they are revisiting the compliance monitoring standards required of State Housing Agencies so revisions are probably on their way. (Stay tuned for NCHM’s reporting of these as well.)
I will now return to my “compliance burrow” until next month, when I’ll be back with another installment for your reading pleasure. In the meantime, you may reach me with any LIHTC or HOME questions through NCHM’s eHotline.