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Two HUD Studies on the Horizon
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recently begun informing owner/agents of two nationwide studies being conducted by the department, the HUD Improper Payment for Quality Control for Rental Subsidy Determination Study (HUDQC Study) and the Utility Allowance Comparison Study (UA Study). The HUDQC Study measures the amount and sources of error associated with determinations of eligibility and rent in HUD programs, and applicable utility allowance subsidies. The UA study will provide insight into the difference between program participants' utility allowance and out-of-pocket utility costs, and the difference between the PHA-/Project-developed utility allowance schedule and a utility allowance schedule developed using HUD's Utility Schedule Model. Programs and projects were selected using a randomized process that has been approved by HUD to ensure a variety of program types and project sizes for the study. Those who manage multiple Section 8 projects are more likely to be chosen and may have multiple projects selected in this study. HUD’s General Counsel requires participation in the HUDQC Study. In January 2016, program participants will be required to complete another online survey on their project’s certification practices, staff training and quality control methods. Field data collection for this study is scheduled from December 2015 through March 2016.
Tax Issues and Tax Reform
"LIHTC Champion"
State and Local Activities
"Portland May Require Developers to Include Affordable Housing in Projects or Pay"
"Housing Program Sees Huge Spike in Construction"
Green Building
"Tennessee Housing Agency Adopts Green-Building Standards"
Court-Related Activity
"Why Rental Affordability Should Be on Everyone's Radar"
Industry Trends
"Robust Building Activity Creates Wrinkles"
"Severely Cost-Burdened Renters Projected to Increase"
Association News
Register for Free SHCM Webinar
NAHMA Reviews Revised Utility Allowance Methodology
Deadline for COQ Awards Approaches
Learning on the Go with Webinar Wednesdays
Purchase a One-Of-A-Kind Gift
NAHMA Releases 2015 Affordable 100 List
Become a Specialist in Housing Credit Management® (SHCM®) Company!
Upcoming Events
Tax Issues and Tax Reform
LIHTC Champion
Apartment Finance Today (10/15) Serlin, Christine
For the past three decades, Bob Moss has played a major role in the affordable housing industry as an advocate for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. He is currently a principal and national director of governmental affairs for accounting firm CohnReznick. "The thing I'm most proud of is working with the state housing finance agencies over the years and going to the qualified allocation plan public hearings. A lot of times, I would be the only one in the room who showed up to provide input from the private sector," Moss says. His current priorities include getting the fixed rate for the 9 percent LIHTC made permanent and coordinating the efforts of states' independent housing councils. In September, state council leaders met in Atlanta at CohnReznick's Fall Affordable Housing Conference to formalize the Council of Independent State Housing Association. Moss also says he has been on the front lines of the industry's grassroots efforts to get legislators out to LIHTC developments in their districts as well as bring affordable housing developers to Washington, D.C., to meet with their representatives. "Every property that receives a tax credit award should be required to have a mayor or a member of Congress for ground breakings or grand openings," he asserts.
State and Local Activities
Portland May Require Developers to Include Affordable Housing in Projects or Pay
Bangor Daily News (Maine) (10/13/15) Harry, David
Developers of housing projects in Portland, Maine, with more than 10 units could soon be required to set aside 10 percent of the units as affordable housing. City councilors will hear public comments on Oct. 19 and vote on a set of zoning amendments, including so-called "inclusionary zoning" provisions. If passed, the ordinance amendments would allow greater building heights and "density bonuses" to create city housing stock. For projects with 10 or more units, developers would have to set aside 10 percent to meet the needs of people earning between 100 percent and 120 percent of the area median income, which ranges between $62,000 and $77,000, depending on family size. Developers who do not set aside housing to meet those income levels would have to pay $100,000 per unit to the city housing trust fund, which is used to help pay construction or remediation costs for affordable, workforce, and low-income housing projects. The city's Planning Board recommended inclusionary zoning not be adapted at its Sept. 15 meeting. Portland Director of Planning & Urban Development Jeff Levine said board members were concerned about a lack of data on how similar ordinances work, and whether inclusionary zoning is compatible with the city Comprehensive Plan. The Portland Community Chamber of Commerce also spoke out against the plan, such as a proposal to use of municipal bonding for more housing and creating more tax increment finance zones.
Housing Program Sees Huge Spike in Construction
Politico (10/13/15) Goldenberg, Sally; Cheney, Brendan
New York City's voluntary inclusionary housing program yielded more than triple the number of units in fiscal year 2015 than it did the previous year, according to data from the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). The city closed on 3,031 apartments through that program in FY 2015, compared to 936 the year before. The HPD spent $618 million in taxpayer money in the last fiscal year to subsidize these apartments, and hopes to create 80,000 additional units of affordable housing and preserve another 120,000. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has proposed a program requiring 25 percent of the total number of apartments built through a rezoning to be devoted to tenants earning on average 60 percent of the area median income, or $46,620 for a family of three. However, HPD administration officials and real estate executive are concerned over the possible loss of a popular development tax break known as 421-a. Negotiations are currently ongoing between the Real Estate Board of New York and the building trades union over whether to mandate a prevailing wage in 421-a legislation. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has requested an agreement by the end of the year, or the tax break will expire. Apartments created through the voluntary inclusionary program can also receive the 421-a tax break.
Green Building
Tennessee Housing Agency Adopts Green-Building Standards
Memphis Daily News (09/23/15) Faber, Madeline
The Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) developed new guidelines requiring affordable housing developers seeking Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to be certified by Enterprise Green Communities (EGC). Affordable housing developments will have to demonstrate sustainability through the categories of integrative design; location and neighborhood fabric; operations, maintenance, and resident engagement; site improvements; water conservation; energy efficiency; and materials and healthy living environment. Developers who go further can earn higher scores on the 100-point system to earn federal tax credits that would offset most of the construction costs for new multifamily buildings. The EGC standards are less time-consuming, less expensive, and more user-friendly than other green certification programs, according to Self-Tucker Architects' Jimmie Tucker. “The Green Communities program, when it started out, was geared toward nonprofits, so that's why it's set up that way,” he says. Tucker believes EGC will catch on quickly in Memphis, and he already is training his University of Memphis students on the 2015 criteria. THDA has slowly but steadily added energy efficiency to the tax credit program over the past eight years.
Court-Related Activity
Why Rental Affordability Should Be on Everyone's Radar
Affordable Housing Finance (09/16/15) Vanar, James
This summer, the California Supreme Court sided with the city of San Jose in a case now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The California court ruling validated a San Jose law that requires all new residential developments of 20 units or more to set aside 15 percent of those units for sale below prevailing market rates. Noting the scarcity of such housing options, the court said in its ruling that the problem has swelled to “epic proportions.” The California Housing Partnership Corporation estimates the state is 1.54 million units short of those needed for residents who earn less than 50 percent of the area median income, with many earning far less than that. Affordable housing advocates hope the decision will empower local authorities elsewhere to replicate San Jose's program and extend such support to existing rental housing, not just units for sale. State and local government leaders across the country also should examine ways to increase the low-income housing tax credit. A separate legislative proposal in California calls for allowing developers to sell those credits to investors who are not owners in the property.
Industry Trends
Robust Building Activity Creates Wrinkles
Apartment Finance Today (10/15) Machak, Lindsay; Kimura, Donna
The affordable housing industry is feeling the impact of increased construction activity in various ways. "The conventional market has been extraordinarily busy, which is driving a lot of what’s going on in our market since affordable developers access the same material suppliers and contractors,” says Richard Gerwitz, managing director and co-head of Citi Community Capital. "It's put a lot of pressure on the business." Robert Likes, national manager of community development lending and investment at KeyBank, notes that "when you combine the fact that you have higher project costs with the fact there’s generally less soft money available, it’s making projects more economically difficult to pencil." Fortunately for developers, low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) prices have been high to provide a healthy amount of equity to deals. However, some new wrinkles are developing. "Equity providers commit to the equity up front, at the closing of the construction loan, but they’re not wanting to put as much in as early, delaying their equity installments to increase their yields," Likes says. "This is causing an increase in construction loans and sometimes the need for equity bridge loans." The location of a project will determine how fiercely banks will vie for deals. Florida is considered a prime markets for attractive financing. Matthew Rieger, president and CEO of the Housing Trust Group, recently shopped to finance a few 9 percent LIHTC projects in Florida and found pricing to be incredibly competitive, with plenty of options to get deals closed.
Severely Cost-Burdened Renters Projected to Increase
Affordable Housing Finance (09/28/15) Kimura, Donna
The number of households with severe cost burden, or those spending more than half their incomes on rent, will increase significantly over the next decade, according to a report by Enterprise Community Partners and the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. In a baseline scenario where both rents and incomes grow in line with inflation (set at 2 percent), researchers found that demographic trends alone would raise the number of severely burdened renter households by 11 percent, up from an estimated 11.8 million in 2015 to 13.1 million in 2025. Among severely burdened households ages 65 to 74 and those ages 75 and older, assuming the base-case scenario for 2015 to 2025, that number would rise by 42 percent (830,000 to 1.2 million) and 39 percent (890,000 to 1.2 million), respectively, suggesting an urgent need for housing and services for the elderly. More than any other racial or ethnic group, Hispanic households are projected to have the largest increase in severe-renter burdens in the next decade under the base-case scenario. The number of severely burdened Hispanic households is expected to increase by 27 percent overall.
Association News
Register for Free SHCM Webinar
The Emerging Fair Housing Trends in Housing Credit webinar, takes place Thursday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. EST. Participation is free for current SHCM certification holders.
The topics covered include:
- Disparate Impact—Its Effect on Your Building, Rules and Regulations presented by Dodi Gershen
- VAWA and Other Laws Regarding Housing and Rights of Victims presented by Gwen Volk
- Case Law Decisions May Impact Your Management Decisions presented by Heather Staggs
The webinar provides 1.5 hours of instruction, which may be counted toward continuing education requirements, followed by a 30-minute questions-and-answers session. It is $75 for non-SHCM professionals. Please, be sure that you renewed your SHCM credential in 2015. By renewing your SHCM in a timely fashion, you will receive the opportunity to participate in this webinar free of charge.
For renewal questions, contact Natasha Patterson of the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) by emailing npatterson@nahma.org or calling 703-683-8630, ext. 117. For registration issues, contact Shana Treger of the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) by emailing shana@naahq.org or by calling 703-797-0608.
To register for this course, click on the Web Link below.
NAHMA Reviews Revised Utility Allowance Methodology
A September NAHMAnalysis, which compares a recently issued notice on completing multifamily housing utility analysis (UA) with comments NAHMA submitted regarding UA methodology, is available at NAHMA.org.
In September 2014, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a notice containing new draft methodology for completing a multifamily housing utility analysis. This notice provided instruction to owners and management agents for completing their utility analysis required at the time of the annual or special adjustment of contract rents. The notice built upon a June 2011 memo titled Clarification Utility Allowance Regulations, which provided clarification on existing statutes, regulations and policies, but did not identify a methodology to be used to complete a utility analysis and determine utility allowances.
The 2014 UA notice was released as part of HUD’s effort to streamline the UA methodology and to continue to make energy and water conservation a priority at all HUD Multifamily properties.
Stakeholders were invited to comment on the 2014 UA notice and its draft methodology. After receiving comments from NAHMA and other industry groups, HUD issued its revised notice, Methodology for Completing a Multifamily Housing Utility Analysis, on June 22, 2015. This NAHMAnalysis compares NAHMA’s comments with the revised notice as well as provide owners and management agents with considerations for completing a utility analysis.
To read the HUD notice, click the Web Link.
Deadline for COQ Awards Approaches
The submission deadline for entries to the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA)’s 2015 Communities of Quality Awards program is Nov. 6. The Communities of Quality (COQ) Awards recognize outstanding property management companies providing the highest quality of safe, affordable multifamily rental housing in communities across the country.
Help NAHMA honor the multifamily developments that prove affordable housing can be an asset to any community through the Communities of Quality (COQ) National Recognition Program and COQ Awards.
To be eligible for the COQ Awards, a community must be a COQ Nationally Recognized property. For more information on the Communities of Quality National Recognition program, visit http://www.nahma.org/awards-contests/communities-of-quality/.
The COQ Awards honor the achievements of affordable housing providers who have made an unprecedented contribution to the affordable housing industry by developing and maintaining outstanding properties that are safe and vibrant places to live.
If you are already a Nationally Recognized property, you have done the hard part. Now is the time to work on your application for the 2015 COQ Awards competition, which is due Nov. 6. The application brochure can be downloaded by clicking the Web Link below.
Learning on the Go with Webinar Wednesdays
Join National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI), Apartment All Stars and Multifamily Insiders for Webinar Wednesdays, the largest premium webinar series to provide SHCM designates with access to industry thought leaders to discuss innovative ideas, best practices and emerging trends. These webinars will give participants the tools they need to become industry superstars in their own right. To review upcoming webinars or to register, click on the Web Link below.
- Oct. 21, Tiffany Zwiefelhofer presents Marketing with Little or No Money
- Nov. 4, Mike Whaling presents Social Media: What Have You Done for Me Lately?
- Nov. 18, Rick Ellis presents The Resident Is Not the Problem-How to Overcome Resident Problems and Problem Residents … and Know the Difference
- Dec. 2, Bill Szczytko presents Escaping the Echo Chamber-Tech and Marketing Tips from Outside of Multifamily
- Dec. 16, Kate Good presents Your 2016 Marketing Playbook
Purchase a One-Of-A-Kind Gift
Order the 2016 National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) Drug-Free Kids Calendar now by clicking on the Web Link below. Don’t wait—the 2015 edition sold out.
The calendars feature outstanding original artwork by children, seniors and adults with special needs living in affordable multifamily housing. This year’s contest celebrated community spirit with its theme and subtheme, Our Hands Are United: Reach Out and Be a Good Neighbor.
The cost is $5.50 per calendar, which is a HUD and U.S. Department of Agriculture allowable project expense. The calendars will be shipped in late September.
NAHMA Releases 2015 Affordable 100 List
The National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) announces its 2015 Affordable 100—a list of the 100 largest affordable multifamily property management companies ranked by affordable unit counts—is available on its website, click Web Link below, as well as in the June issues of Affordable Housing Finance magazine and Units magazine. The NAHMA website version expands the list to the top 120 largest multifamily property management companies. In addition, the online version presents two specialty lists: the 25 largest housing credit (LIHTC) property management companies and the 25 largest Rural Development program property management companies.
Become a Specialist in Housing Credit Management® (SHCM®) Company!
The three national associations sponsoring the Specialist in Housing Credit Management® certification program invite your company to become a Specialist in Housing Credit Management® (SHCM®) Company, a corporate designation created specifically to honor management companies that successfully maintain a significant portion of their properties and staff to the high standards of the SHCM certification program.
The SHCM program, developed especially for management companies involved with properties developed and operated under the Low Income Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, is sponsored by the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA), the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI), and LeadingAge (formerly AAHSA, the American Association of Housing and Services for the Aging).
Earning the SHCM Company designation publicly demonstrates that a company is among the finest managers of LIHTC housing in the industry.
For more details on how to become a SHCM Company, click on the Web Link below.
Upcoming Events
NAHMA Regulatory Issues Forum
October 25-27, 2015
More info
LeadingAge Annual Meeting and Expo
November 1-4, 2015
More info
LeadingAge PEAK Leadership Summit
November 16-18, 2015
More info
NAA Student Housing Conference & Exposition
February 16-17, 2016
More info
NAHMA Federal Affairs Issues Forum
March 6-8, 2016
More info
NAA Education Conference & Exposition
June 15-18, 2016
More info
NAHMA Public Policies Forum
June 16-18, 2016
More info
NAHMA Regulatory Issues Forum
October 23-25, 2016
More info
Abstract News © Copyright 2015 INFORMATION, INC.
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