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
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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. Continue reading Sample Affordable Housing Smoke-Free Housing Policy 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. Continue reading Sample Affordable Housing Smoke-Free Housing Policy 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. Continue reading Sample Affordable Housing Smoke-Free Housing Policy 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. Continue reading Sample Affordable Housing Smoke-Free Housing Policy 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!!!!! Continue reading EIV Policy for Tracking Repayment Agreements to HUD You may have thought that in affordable housing when you received the keys that the tenant was considered to be moved out, but that is simply not the case. A property cannot wait on moving out a tenant because they didn’t receive their keys, especially when they know that the unit has been vacated. According to the HUD Handbook… Continue reading When is a Section 8 tenant considered “Moved out”? I understand why Owners of HUD subsidized properties and Management companies are sometimes afraid to spend money on training their staff. Some folks had some questions about whether or not the classes would be considered HUD approved training expenses and others had concerns they are afraid to spend too much on training for fear their staff will take the skills they just learned and take them to “greener pastures”. In some cases this a cyclical process. Sometimes you lose an employee whom you just trained and then you pick one up. Continue reading Clarification of HUD Approved Training Expenses Based on the most recent TRACS industry meeting, we were told about the new schedule for the release of TRACS 202D. As always this schedule is subject to change but for now the scheduled stands: Vendor Testing is to commence on: December 1 – This means that the affordable housing software vendors, Contract Administrators and the like will be testing and sending TRACS files to help sort out the bugs. The plan then is to correct any problems with TRACS 202D and Go live with the Contract Administrators by March. The next step is to implement and go live with the Owner/Agents between March 1st – September 1st. As always there is a transitional period and the drop dead date. You will have basically 3 months where TRACS will accept both TRACS 202C and TRACS 202D versions. The total conversion should take place between September 1 for October voucher. This is where the only files accepted will be for TRACS 202D. Visit us to find out more, take our TRACS 202D class: http://www.ahtcsonline.com/class_schedule.html The most recent TRACS 202d Industry meeting held on March 13th & 14th was two days of great information. HDS Software was nice enough to sponsor the first unsanctioned HUD meeting where we covered the TRACS 202d Final Specifications. Mary and Jed did a great job of going over the changes of the TRACS 202D specifications. Some of the changes involved: Continue reading Just Some of the New TRACS 202D Changes On January 30, 2012 HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced new regulations to ensure equal access to housing for all Americans regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status. These new regulations were published in the Federal Register on February 3, 2012 with an effective date of March 3, 2012. These regulations apply to all of HUD’s programs. The Final Rule, published as Equal Access to Housing in HUD programs makes the following provisions: Continue reading New HUD Protected Class Rule I had a client email me to ask if he was required by the ADA compliance to install a pool lift; “One of our properties is in the process of building a pool which will open in May. It is a Tax Credit property. Do we have to install a lift chair due to the new ADA rule? It would be a private pool. I get a lot of folks saying we probably do, the pool company saying definitely, and our CA saying maybe. It will cost $15,000 roughly. Thanks” Continue reading The ADA Guidelines Requiring Pool Lifts in HUD Subsidized Property I hate cleaning…well, I hate some aspects of it. I don’t mind vacuuming or mopping the floors…but I know I dislike dusting which makes me sneeze. No Matter how much I dislike cleaning, it is imperative to have well maintained affordable housing units. Having a clean and well maintained property contributes to a healthy environment and can have a positive affect on your next Management Occupancy Review (MOR). This is why it is vital to inform tenants as to your expectations on keeping their units in tip top shape. Continue reading Unit Inspections for Section 8 Housing |
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