MAHMA

FEDERAL TRANSLATION REQUIREMENTS

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT

On March 28, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the NAA/NMHC lawsuit seeking to block the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Guidance. (Civil Action No. 07 0815 National Multi Housing Council, et al vs. Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of HUD.) The LEP Guidance, which went into effect on March 7, 2007, requires federally funded apartment owners to translate a broad array of documents in multiple languages and to provide verbal translations for those who do not read in their native language.

NAA/NMHC filed a lawsuit last May to have the rule overturned, arguing that the policy was illegal, unduly burdensome and exceeded HUD’s statutory authority. In its ruling, the court granted HUD's request to dismiss the case, saying that NAA/NMHC did not have standing to bring the suit and that the issue is not ripe for review yet because HUD has not taken any action to enforce the policy, since there is no plaintiff who has suffered damages trying to comply or for failing to comply.

Although the court dismissed the suit, the ruling stated that the LEP Guidance is a non binding, malleable standard that imposes no requirements on housing providers. In other words, it is a guidance document and not a new regulation. Both the ruling and statements made by the judge during oral arguments last October would undercut any attempt by HUD to pursue enforcement actions based solely on the Final Guidance. The court’s ruling as well as a memo analyzing the decision and its impact is available by clicking here.

16-Apr-08 12:00 PM

FEDERAL TRANSLATION REQUIREMENTS

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT

16-Apr-08 12:00 PM

New Guidance on “Reasonable Modifications” under the Fair Housing Act

noemail@mahma.com — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:00:00 GMT

New Guidance on “Reasonable Modifications” under the Fair Housing Act
On March 5, 2008, the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Justice (DOJ) released guidance reinforcing the right of persons with disabilities to make “reasonable modifications” to their dwellings if a structural change to their dwelling or to a common area of the building or complex in which they live is needed. The guidance is designed to strengthen housing providers and homeowners’ associations’ understanding of their obligations regarding the “reasonable modifications” provision of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA).
The new guidelines, issued in the form of questions and answers, cover such topics as:

What is a reasonable modification?
Who must comply with the reasonable modification requirement?
Who is responsible for expenses associated with the upkeep or maintenance of a reasonable modification?
When and how should an individual request permission to make a modification?
What types of documents and assurances may a housing provider require regarding the modification before granting the modification?
What procedures are available to a person wishing to challenge a denial of a requested modification?

The guidelines are available online at http://www.usdoj.gov/fairhousing.

21-Mar-08 11:00 AM

2008 Drug Free Poster Contest Information Available

noemail@mahma.com — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:00:00 GMT

The 2008 NAHMA drug free poster contest participant information manuel is now available for download. This year's theme is "Dreams & Possibilities: Discover the Magic of Science & Math."

Don't miss the opportunity for your residents to participate in this year's contest entry deadline for submission is May 16, 2008 to the MAHMA offices at 1225 Dublin Rd., Suite 120, Columbus, OH 43215.

2008 Drug Free Poster Contest Participant Manuel

6-Mar-08 10:00 AM

Educate Residents Before TV Goes Dark

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Congress has mandated that on February 17, 2009 all full-power television stations end their analog broadcast and begin broadcasting exclusively in digital format. Television sets that are connected to cable, satellite or a telephone service provider will not be affected and their broadcasts will be undisturbed. However, TV sets that are not connected to a paid television service or do not have a built-in digital tuner will lose their signal after the effective date. Digital TV (DTV) is a more efficient way to broadcast and will free up vital analog airwaves to allow for improved emergency response and the creation of new services. At the same time consumers picture and sound quality will improve and allow for more channels to exist. MAHMA encourages you to educate residents who may be without paid cable service and using an analog TV, and your staff who may be responsible for fielding questions. There are several ways to ensure cable signals are not lost on February 17, 2009. ...

20-Feb-08 2:00 PM

HUD Regarding Changing Efficiencies to One-Bedrooms

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:00:00 GMT

HUD has released a new policy on the conversion of efficiencies into one-bedroom units in regards to one-to-one replacement on preservation deals for HUD assisted and/or insured housing. Visit NAHMA's website at www.nahma.org to download the document.

20-Feb-08 10:00 AM

February 2008 LIHTC Newsletter

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The February 2008 issue of the LIHTC Newsletter is now available online. You can find it in the Tax Credit Committee Section of the NAHMA website.

20-Feb-08 8:00 AM

2008 HUD Income Limits

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The 2008 HUD Income Limits are now available online. Please go to the HUD Section of the NAHMA website (www.nahma.org) and look under HUD Data Sets.

20-Feb-08 8:00 AM

Funding Requests for Fiscal Year 2009

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The NAHMAnalysis 2008-0219: “FY 2009 Budget Request for Affordable Rental Housing Programs” details the Presidential funding requests for Fiscal Year 2009 for affordable housing programs, as well as NAHMA’s analysis of the requests. The NAHMAnalysis link is included below.

http://www.nahma.org/member/analysis.html

20-Feb-08 8:00 AM

Late Housing Assistance Payments

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:00:00 GMT

NAHMA has updated their position on HUD’s inability to make housing assistance payments (HAPs) on time in the Grassroots section of their website under the heading “Late HAPs”, which can be viewed by clicking here http://www.nahma.org/content/grassroots.html.

Late HAPs have forced property owners and managers to take the necessary money from other funds, resulting in late payments to mortgages and other bills, and compromising their ability to manage properties effectively. Under the H. R. 3965, HUD would be penalized for any payments made 30 days or later from the original due date.

If you have questions regarding contacting your representatives on this important matter, please view our “FAQs on Grassroots Advocacy”. The document can be found under the heading “Arranging a Congressional Visit” on the Grassroots section of NAHMA’s website, or by clicking here http://www.nahma.org/content/grassroots.html.

6-Feb-08 2:00 PM

Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Student Occupancy Legislative Victory

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Click the link for the complete NAHMAnalysis for the Student Rule.

/attachments/wysiwyg/5/Student_Rule_Correction_2008-0206.pdf

6-Feb-08 9:00 AM

Web Based Translation Service

noemail@mahma.com — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:30:00 GMT

Below is a link to a web based translation service specializing in various froms of media translation in 141 different languages.

http://www.worldlingo.com/

26-Jul-07 3:30 PM

Contact Congress Regarding Late HAP

noemail@mahma.com — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 19:00:00 GMT

NAHMA is asking members to contact members of Congress and make them aware of the current problem with HAP payments. Yesterday, NAHMA made a special appeal to our Board members to contact members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Today, we are asking all NAHMA members to join our efforts. We must educate elected officials about the impact late HAP payments have on affordable housing. Please contact your elected officials—both senators and representatives—and stress the following: HUD must fully fund the already overdue July HAP contracts. NAHMA is told HUD has identified funding to make these payments, but owners are unlikely to receive the actual payments before late July/early August; Increase the FY 08 appropriation for project-based Section 8—the Senate Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill (S 1789) funds project-based Section 8 at the President’s request—which is a real cut below the FY 07 funding; and Create a penalty for late...

12-Jul-07 3:00 PM

President signs H.R. 1675 into law

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:00:00 GMT

On Friday, June 14, President Bush signed into law H.R. 1675. As a result, Owner/Agents have the option of using the electronic APPS system or using the paper 2530. H.R. 1675 also removes the requirement for limited liability corporate investors to file 2530s at all. RBD first became aware of this news through the Nixon Peabody Affordable Housing Alert. For additional information or to sign up for their housing alert, visit the Nixon Peabody web site at

11-Jul-07 2:00 PM

LATEST ON THE EIV SYSTEM

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:45:00 GMT

After receiving the appropriate approval for access to HUDs Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system for Multifamily Housing Program users, two additional steps must occur before data in EIV can be viewed. First, the appropriate EIV role must be assigned to the users property(ies) and/or contract(s) available to the user in Web Access Secure Systems (WASS). Second, the users property(ies) and/or contract(s) must be certified within EIV. At this time, the certification of approved EIV Coordinators (with the HSC role) has been temporarily interrupted since the last certification date of March 29, 2007. This interruption is expected to continue for an additional two to three weeks. Therefore, EIV data will not be viewable by: EIV Coordinators who were approved for EIV Coordinator access by HUDs Multifamily Help Desk before March 29, 2007, but who did not perform the HSC role assignment to their property(ies) and/or contract(s) available to them in WASS until after March 29,...

6-Jun-07 11:45 AM

Congratulations MAHMA!

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:00:00 GMT

The Midwest Affordable Housing Management Association (MAHMA) has received the 2007 National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) AHMA of the Year Award and the Membership Recruitment Award in the Medium/Large AHMA category. These awards were voted on by the NAHMA Nominating Committee which felt that MAHMA is instrumental in furthering the cause of excellent affordable housing and maintaining its high standards in the industry. The AHMA of the Year award is given based on the following criteria. * Success in membership recruitment * Success percentage in membership retention * Success percentage in overall education and training course attendance * Number of Nationally Recognized Communities of Quality properties * Financial stability/growth * Frequency of meetings during the year * Frequency of education and training offerings during the year * Meeting attendance percentage during the year * Number of NAHMA FHC or CPO courses offered during the year * Number of...

6-Jun-07 11:00 AM

NAHMA Announces the 2007 Affordable 50

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:00:00 GMT

NAHMA today announced the release of the NAHMA 2007 Affordable 50, a list of the 50 largest affordable multifamily property managers, ranked by affordable unit counts. The list is available at NAHMA’s website, at www.nahma.org, as well as the June issue of Affordable Housing Finance magazine. The Affordable 50, created in an effort to accurately determine the size of the portfolio of affordable multifamily units receiving federal subsidy in the United States, lists affordable units containing at least one of following federal subsidies: HUD Project-based Assistance, Section 42 LIHTC, HOME funds, and USDA Section 515. “The NAHMA Affordable 50 list is designed to aid the national discussion on the future of federal funding for affordable multifamily housing,” said NAHMA President Michelle Norris, SHCM, NAHP-e. “Affordable property managers have been adapting to the ever-changing landscape of federal assistance requirements for years. It is time for federal...

6-Jun-07 11:00 AM

LATEST ON LEP

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:00:00 GMT

There are bound to be questions as you start working on your Language Access Plans (LAP). As with all new guides and policies, HUD has provided a resource to allow you to pose specific questions and receive clarifications. You can email questions to limitedenglishproficiency@hud.gov. In the past, HUD has posted responses to questions received from industry stakeholders. The LEP government website (www.lep.gov) also contains links to resources including Translator and Interpreter Organizations, cultural competence guides for providing language assistance services, and guidance issued by all federal agency for recipients under their various programs. The effective date of the Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient (LEP) Persons,” which was published in the Federal Register on January 22, 2007, has been extended. The new effective date is March 7, 2007. HUD...

6-Jun-07 11:00 AM

Proposed Rural Housing Service Change

noemail@mahma.com — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:00:00 GMT

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) is proposing to amend its regulation to change the requirements of the Reserve Account for the Sections 514/516 Farm Labor Housing program and the Section 515 Rural Rental Housing (RRH) program. According to the agency, “the intended effect of this action is to address reserve account requirements of new construction rental housing funded under Sections 514/516 and Section 515 and does not affect reserve accounts for existing portfolios.”

Comments must be received on or before June 4, 2007. NAHMA’s Rural Housing Committee will review the proposed rule and determine the appropriate response. For more information, please Click Here:

6-Jun-07 11:00 AM