Dealing with Section 8 tenants who may be involved with drugs or addiction is hard enough for a family. But, according to the HUD Occupancy handbook, the Owner/Agent has the responsibility to protect the residents; “Owners must establish written screening criteria to prohibit the admission of certain individuals who have engaged in drug-related criminal behavior, or are subject to a state lifetime sex offender registration program, or are individuals whose abuse or pattern of abuse of alcohol interferes with the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents.” Continue reading Screening Affordable Housing Tenants for Drug Abuse and Other Criminal Activity
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Although I have previously written an article on this subject before it wasn’t until now that there was some more clarity from TRACS 202D and the impending TRACS release in September. Through this release we now have a recovery system in place through a new Section 7 of the MAT 30 record. However the question for most property managers is how do you keep a tenant who owes a debt to HUD from receiving federal housing subsidy? Continue reading TRACS 202D and Repayment Agreements HUD Housing Notice 2013-06, Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System, was issued today, March 12, 2013. This Notice supersedes Notices H 2011-21, H 2008-03, H 2009-20, and H 2010-10. The Notice is posted here at http://www.ahtcsonline.com/Industry Links/HUD Notices/HUD_Notice-H2013-06.pdf. Learn more by taking our new UPDATED class for EIV: http://www.AHTCSonline.com/regform.php The revised Notice:
All affordable housing leases and rental agreements require a security deposit. This is a dollar amount, usually one month’s rent, that’s intended to cover damage to the premises beyond normal wear and tear, and to cushion the financial blow if a tenant skips out early on the lease without paying. However the security deposit rules change from state to state, city to city, town to town. Finding the exact rules isn’t always easy but suffices to say where law’s conflict, O/As should follow the requirements that provide the greatest benefit to the tenant. Continue reading The HUD Required Security Deposit Amount The proverbial can has been kicked down the road once more. This announcement has now delayed the PBCA Awards again. This message is from the: NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY (NOFA) for the Performance-Based Contract Administrator (PBCA) Program for the Administration of Project-Based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Contracts:
“Litigation had been filed in the Court of Federal Claims seeking to enjoin HUD from proceeding with the PBCA NOFA. HUD agreed not to proceed with making the awards until the Court ruled on the matter. A decision was expected to be reached by or before February 22, 2013. Although the court had originally indicated that it would provide a verbal ruling at yesterday’s hearing (February 19, 2013), due to the complexity of the program and issues involved, the court requested more time to consider the arguments. Because the current PBCA contracts have been extended through June 2013, the court stated that it would make a decision before the end of June. The court has also reserved the right to call parties back for a supplemental briefings, though it did not set a definite schedule. The cases have been consolidated under docket number: Fed Cl no. 12-852C.”
After spending my beginning years in technical support at an affordable housing software company I was often asked many questions in regard to the timing of tenant reported income. I would always refer them to the HUD 4350.3 Handbook as it gives the best examples. In my opinion, I think each revision of the 4350.3 gets clearer and clearer especially with the examples they give. The question here is when do we perform an Interim Recertification (IR) when the tenant reports their income a couple of months after they already started their job? Continue reading Timing of HUD Section 8 Tenant Reported Income The decision to award the PBCA contracts has been delayed once again until or before February 22, 2013. Litigation has been filed in the Court of Federal Claims seeking to prevent HUD from proceeding with the PBCA NOFA. HUD has agreed not to proceed with making the awards until the Court rules on the matter. Continue reading NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY (NOFA) A revised form HUD-9834 Management Reviews of Multifamily Projects is now available from our webpage. http://www.ahtcsonline.com/Industry Links/MOR Forms/HUD-9834.doc. The form now has an expiration date of 02/28/2015 and is to be implemented for Management Reviews for Multifamily Housing Projects performed on or after December 4, 2012. All Management Reviews started prior to December 4, 2012, can use the previous version of the form. Updates to the form include organizational changes and additions for EIV and Lifetime Sex Offender Registration. HUD announced today that the FY2013 HUD Income Limits are now available and effective 12/11/2012 http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il/il13/index.html What do you do when the Contract Administrator’s (CA’s) software has limitations in processing a particular certification but the site software has complete functionality? This has been an ongoing issue for many years. The CA imposes their limitations and expects the site to work around it. It’s always good to try and work things out, but the site is not obligated (in some cases such as this). Here is the scenario: Continue reading When the Contract Administrator’s Software Can’t Handle a Certification That TRACS Will Accept Per HUD Notice H-2012-14 – Issued: August 3, 2012 HUD has received several incorrect miscellaneous payment requests for Residual Receipts offsets. To correctly submit these requests, please follow the instructions below. Owner Requirements 1. In order to accomplish the Offset Process, project Owners must submit a miscellaneous payment request through the Contract Administrator along with their electronic monthly HAP voucher. The request must include: (a) the amount of the offset, expressed as a negative amount and (b) the text phrase “RR OFFSET” in the comment field, along with the actual offset amount inserted. For example, if the project is using $1,000.00 of Residual Receipts each month, the entry would be: “RR OFFSET -$1,000.00” 2. The miscellaneous payment request must be sent to “Field Office Initiated Accounting Adjustment,” with a code of “FORQ.” TRACS will automatically deduct the offset amount from the total voucher amount approved, thus assuring that the proper amount will be paid via TRACS. What do we do as affordable housing Owners/Property managers of a Section 8 property when an Applicant requests a “Reasonable Accommodation” and it turns out the applicant fabricated the need just so they could have a larger unit? Here is a story of how Continue reading Exercising a Reasonable Accommodation in HUD Multifamily Today, HUD published Notice H 2012-16 “Extension of Housing Notice H 2011-24: Re-issuance of Revised Protocol for Placing a Flag in the Active Partners Performance System (APPS) when a Property Receives a Physical Inspection Score below 60 but Above 30.” Notice H 2011-24 clarified the protocol for placing flags in the APPS when a property receives a REAC score below 60 but above 30. It allows the property owner to correct the deficiencies within a reasonable time frame without being penalized by a flag in APPS. Notice H 2011-24 was set to expire on September 30, 2011. Notice H 2012-16 extends the previous notice until amended, superseded, or rescinded. A copy of the Notice may be found here: http://portal.hud.gov/huddoc/12-16hsgn.pdf There have been plenty of questions/concerns in affordable housing in regard to a Section 8 resident’s sole place of residence. I mean how many places can a tenant live? If they own the apartment or house, and they rent it out…no problem, you have to count it as an asset and count the rental income. But what if they rent an apartment for their own residence somewhere else? Continue reading Sole Place of Residence for a Section 8 Applicant or Tenant? Hurricane Isaac is projected to affect all of the Gulf states. Therefore, HUD is requesting that you do the following:
If you have any questions, you should contact your Asset Manager. Undergoing a file audit on your Section 8 property is a major undertaking. I think some folks are a bit nervous about somebody coming to “check their work.” Nobody likes to have their work criticized. But honestly the focus or the thoughts should be…”I’m finally having somebody check my files to make sure I didn’t miss anything.” When I do a file audit I want people to know that I am not there to belittle them or their company and I am not there to throw anyone under the bus. I am there to help them make sure that they have all of the documentation, verifications and everything signed and dated. On the most recent file audit, the property manager was attempting to take on a distressed property and in doing so was being pulled in all directions. When this happens there is always some aspect of the property that suffers. In this case it was the compliance. Tenant files were missing recertifications; important forms were not signed or dated; EIV reports were few and far between and the verifications were incomplete and or not sent out to be verified by the employer. The tenant compliance issues were indicative of the compliance issues in the office. Tenants had people living in the units that were not on the lease. They also had tenants who were just not motivated to help themselves. I believe that the compliance issues in the office would help the compliance issues with the tenants on the property. The most important aspect of a HUD property is to have all of your paperwork in order and that is where the file audit comes in. The tenant compliance issues will work themselves out once you have your house in order. Now that the paper work is in order, READ THE LEASE and learn the city/town ordinances! You also need to make sure that your Tenant Selection Plan and your House Rules spell everything out. This is how you will remedy the tenant compliance issues. Work with the local police department to establish a good rapport and understand what constitutes “trespassing” so you can clean up the property of those who are just “visiting”. The property we were auditing demonstrated that knowing the laws helps in clearing out the property of persons who have no business on your property. A file audit for your property, which prevents your property from losing your contract, should cost between $50-$75 per folder plus travel expenses. Depending on your situation and in what shape your files are in, a file audit will pay off in spades. This process will give you the peace of mind to know that your files are in order and assure you that you are following correct procedure or learning how to follow correct procedure. Give us a call or send us an email. We also offer classes on MOR Preparation and Tenant File Management. Click on this link: http://www.ahtcsonline.com
JUST A REMINDER: HUD stipulated in the HUD Notice, H 2011-25 (dated Sept 20) which clarifies obligations for provision of the brochure to current residents and applicants of affordable housing who are selected from the waiting list. Owner/Agents (O/A) using the EIV system must provide each tenant household with the EIV & You brochure at the time of annual recertification along with a copy of the HUD Fact Sheet “How Your Rent is Determined”.
O/A’s must also provide applicant households who have been selected from the waiting list for screening and final application processing with a copy of the EIV & You brochure.
ABC Apartments, is a designated Smoke-Free Housing Complex in accordance with all local, state and federal laws. We have amended our Section 8 House Rules to include a new smoke free housing policy for our community. NO SMOKING POLICY – No Smoking: Due to the increased risk of fire, increased maintenance costs and the known health effects of secondhand smoke, smoking is prohibited in all areas of the property, including all buildings, all common areas, inside apartment dwelling units, garages, parking areas and within 25 feet of the building(s) including entryways, porches, balconies and patios. Residents are responsible for ensuring that family members, roommates and guests comply with this rule. Since section 8 Owner/Agents are required to complete an annual recertification for each tenant family, it is important to realize that there are key differences between the annual recertification interview and the one performed when they first apply for affordable housing. At the Application interview Owners/Agents gather more data than at annuals (for example, all of the questions pertaining to screening and suitability would not be relevant at the annual). Continue reading Performing the HUD Required Annual Recertification Interviews What a burden these EIV reports are…now I got to track these repayment agreements??? How long does the tenant have to repay the amount they owe back to HUD? What if the tenant owes a ton of money, can I just have a EIV policy which states a maximum amount in which an owner will enter into a repayment agreement? All of these questions…it’s so overwhelming!!!!! |
           
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