Summer has arrived, and with it the heat and humidity we in Florida know only too well. It’s also hurricane season again, which means increased anxiety about high winds, destruction, and chaos. For those of you who don’t live in Florida, just think EIV. (Speaking of which, the EIV system is once again functional after taking a hiatus that caused half of our industry to gulp down antacids in bulk quantities, and the other half to raise their glasses with ill-concealed glee. But let’s move on …)
It seems most of the industry I’ve spoken with was unaware that Chapter 6 of HUD Handbook 4350.1 now includes the criteria for an “Above Average” rating on a Management and Occupancy Review. I have to include myself in the category of the unaware, as the last I had heard was that the entire handbook would be revised. Moreover, HUDCLIPS didn’t have this update on its site (it showed the most recent update as being 1992). So I want to thank the individual that shared this “mysterious” revision with me. I have confirmed that, HUDCLIPS notwithstanding, this is an accurate revision of Chapter 6.
I also recently had a question through our eHotline service (available to NCHM certified individuals) that I feel compelled to include here. The question, in essence, was whether the HUD “Noncitizen Rule” (HUD Handbook 4350.3, Rev. 1, Paragraph 3-12 applied to 100% Section 42 Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties. At issue was whether a remaining family member could continue to live in a Tax Credit qualified unit even though they had no documentation as to their immigration status.
The question is a fair one. The answer is that HUD’s Noncitizen Rule does not affect 100% Tax Credit properties with no HUD project-based assistance. When a rule does not apply to a property, the non-applicability generally is across the board. In the case of the Section 42 LIHTC program, the regulations derive from the US Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, not HUD.
The reason I share this is to remind housing professionals that it is unrealistic to find the answers to every possible question or scenario in a manual (and in the case of Tax Credits, there is no “one source” guidebook as there is with HUD; State housing finance agencies have a good deal of latitude for guidelines and interpretations as Section 42 is effectively a state-administered (not federally administered) program. Consequently, source documents, consultation with your state housing agency, and developing appropriate procedures and policies, are keys to compliance success. When in doubt, check it out, and do not lose either patience or your sense of humor.