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Earlier this year, President Biden made headlines as he introduced a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, titled “The American Jobs Plan,” to rebuild America’s infrastructure and revitalize the economy. With the federal moratorium on housing eviction ending in July, the majorities in Congress are pushing to enact a broad infrastructure plan to address social and economic challenges the nation faces.

COVID-related illness has forced many people to tap short- or long-term disability insurance.

In April, the Biden administration submitted to Congress the president’s priorities for fiscal year 2022 discretionary spending. The request reveals the administration’s priorities with regard to affordable housing. Along with seeking a significant expansion of rental assistance, the request seeks to address the shortage of affordable housing with a $500 million increase to the HOME Investment Partnerships program, for a total of $1.9 billion, to construct and rehabilitate affordable rental housing, and to support other housing-related needs.

Lawmakers recently reintroduced the latest reiteration of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) in the House and Senate with bipartisan support. The Senate and House versions of the AHCIA are identical companion bills. The AHCIA was first introduced in 2016, and its most recent version has earned the bipartisan support of more than one-third of the 116th Congress. This latest step to bolster affordable housing is coming as legislators are beginning to shift their focus from immediate COVID relief to infrastructure and economic recovery legislation.

We’ll answer seven FAQs to help you steer clear of discrimination claims.

When dealing with prospects and residents who use wheelchairs, it’s important to avoid violating the Fair Housing Act (FHA), which bans discrimination against people on the basis of disability, including people who use wheelchairs.

On Feb. 22, the Department of the Treasury released an updated FAQ to help states and communities quickly distribute more than $25 billion in emergency rental assistance to renters financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The $25 billion for the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program was provided for late last year by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. 

On Jan. 15, the IRS issued Notice 2021-12, which extends the temporary relief for qualified LIHTC sites from COVID-related difficulties. The notice also extends certain deadlines that were established in prior notices.

Don’t relax your COVID protocols too soon.

Although the vaccine rollouts have begun with health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities, normal operations for LIHTC sites are still a ways away. The current level of vaccine distribution won’t be able to stop a difficult winter with rapidly growing outbreaks and record hospitalizations threatening to overwhelm health care resources.

The new option would allow for deeper income targeting and could help your bottom line.

HUD recently charged two separate sites with discriminating against families with children. In one case, a Rhode Island site owner steered fair housing testers claiming to have children away from the site [HUD v. Francis, FHEO No. 01-19-2644.8]. Another case involved owners in Wyoming imposing overly restrictive policies on families with children [HUD v. Gunnarson, FHEO No. 01-19-2644-8]. Targeted site rules such as a curfew and a requirement for children to be supervised in common areas were imposed against children.