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NEW RULES - From HUD (not Bill Maher)

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced yesterday two new rules that will certainly impact housing owners/management companies involved with HUD programs.

The first rule, which is expected to be issued soon, requires documentation of Social Security numbers for all family members.  This is part of HUD's Proposed Rule on Upfront Income Verification (UIV) published last year.  The current rule provides that family members age 6 and older must document Social Security numbers or certify that they've never had a Social Security number.

HUD is instructing owners to notify residents of this impending change to the regulations, and to let them know they should start the process of obtaining Social Security numbers for all family members if they have yet to do so.  HUD states that once the rule is finalized, it will impact not only applicants but also residents at the time of Interim or Annual Recertifications.

The second rule is specific to pets for persons with disabilities and is set to become effective on November 26th.  It amends the existing regulations to provide as follows:

The new rule expands the definition of animals covered by the exclusion to “animals used to assist, support, or provide services to persons with disabilities.”
Clarifies that owners and management agents may not enforce any policies established for pets against animals that are necessary as a reasonable accommodation to assist, support or provide services to persons with disabilities.
Removes the training and tenant certification requirements in order for an animal to qualify for the exclusion.

While these two rules seem relatively straightforward, the potential impact here could be substantial.  NCHM is keeping abreast of developments, and we'll keep you informed.

My wish list

In my most recent blog post some two weeks ago, I asked you what compliance rules you would like to see changed if you had a chance to sit down with the next administration.  Well, it seems folks are a bit shy so in an effort to get the ball rolling, I'm going to share with you a bit of my "wish list" on this topic.

1. Since the Section 42 Low Income Housing Tax Credits program continues to thrive, the Internal Revenue Service and HUD should put their heads together and come up with one Compliance Monitoring Handbook.  The state agency groups have made efforts to address this and are deserving of recognition.  The time has come to get it done.  When an owner with Tax Credit properties in four different states has to have four sets of compliance rules, this results in confusion at best and a catastrophic non-compliance situation at worst.

2. Section 202/8: Get rid of the ridiculous rule in HUD Handbook 4350.3, Rev. 1 (Paragraph 7-4D) that implies adult children admitted after move in have their income counted even though their presence is necessary for the care of their parent(s).  And if you're going to prevent Section 202's from collecting NSF fees, allow those fees as "special claims."  The overwhelming majority of Section 202's are non-profits and their banks are charging them NSF fees.

3. Start approving Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plans (AFHMP's) that have been floating around your respective offices for months. 

More next time.