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We answer site owners’ most frequently asked questions about the moratorium.
On Sept. 4, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took unprecedented action when they officially published an order in the Federal Register to temporarily halt all residential evictions to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. This national eviction moratorium, which covers millions of renters at risk of eviction, became effective on publication and will last until Dec. 31, 2020, unless extended.
With the additional $600 in unemployment insurance payments provided by the CARES Act having expired on July 31, many renters across America are at a precipice. Millions of Americans are experiencing job loss, reduced hours, and reduced income due to the economic effects of COVID-19. Thus far, Senate Republicans have proposed a narrow pandemic relief bill that would issue extra unemployment benefits at half the original rate, but negotiations have stalled.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS announced it’s providing low-income housing tax credit participants temporary relief from key program requirements. This is good news for LIHTC developers and owners dealing with delays and management difficulties related to the pandemic.
Management companies may get a boost from more business-friendly loan rules.
On June 5, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, which made changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to make it more user friendly for businesses. In short, the bill makes it easier for PPP borrowers to use the loans and receive forgiveness. This may be good news for companies that manage tax credit sites and already have a PPP loan—as well as those that apply for a PPP loan by June 30.
And considers issuing COVID-19 compliance guidance.
In late March, the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) sent a letter to the IRS and the Treasury Department asking them to take immediate action to provide deadline extensions and other necessary accommodations for the LIHTC program due to the severe disruptions the COVID-19 pandemic is having on construction activities and the ongoing operations of existing LIHTC sites.
We’ll review the best practices for operating a housing site during a public health crisis.
Whether or not cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in your area, you should review your site’s emergency response plans and update them accordingly as a precaution. Your efforts may not only reduce the spread of the disease, but can help you maintain site operations and minimize disruptions caused by staff absences.
Residents or applicants may inform you that they need to have an aide live with them to help them with daily tasks. If a resident who is elderly or who has a disability asks you to allow her to have a live-in aide to accommodate her disability and to provide supportive services essential to her care and well-being, the Fair Housing Act (FHA) requires you to grant the request as a reasonable accommodation.
But if you’re not careful, letting live-in aides reside in units at your site can lead to big problems.
The minimum wage in more than 20 states and 26 cities and counties across America increased on Jan. 1, according to the National Employment Law Project (NELP). This affects more than half of the country’s population and marks the greatest jurisdictional raise in U.S. history. Of the states and municipalities increasing their minimum wage, 17 of them will hit or surpass $15 an hour. And later this year, four more states and 23 more municipalities will raise their wage floors.
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is the federal government’s major program for helping very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, and participants are free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects.
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