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In response to COVID-19-related financial hardships, the federal
government is offering a reprieve on foreclosures for qualifying owners of
single-family and multifamily properties.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced
that it will be halting all evictions and foreclosures until May 1 due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
This moratorium on evictions and foreclosures applies
specifically to single-family homes with mortgages insured by the Federal
Housing Administration, a HUD agency that backs affordable home loans issued
through private firms. According to HUD, this relief will apply to about 8
million units. For more information, see HUD’s
press release on… Read More
Tagged: COVID-19
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this week urged owners of multifamily housing to share information about coronavirus with residents and employees.
CDC fact sheet on coronavirus
“While the risk of infections for Americans remains low, we are encouraging multifamily owners and agents, and public housing authorities, to make the information below available to residents,” C. Lamar Seats, deputy assistant secretary for multifamily at HUD, says in this letter. “We further encourage multifamily owners, agents, performance-based contract administrators, FHA lenders, and all stakeholders to make this same information available to their employees.”
What you need to know about… Read More
Regulations interpreting the reasonable accommodation and
disparate impact discrimination provisions of the California Fair Employment
and Housing Act take effect at the beginning of the new year.
The “disparate impact” impact regulations specifically address how a plaintiff would make a disparate impact claim based on the discriminatory use of criminal background checks. The approach of the regulations is similar to the “Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions” issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2016.
Tagged: ComplianceFair Housing
Over the objections of CAA, the San Jose City
Council this week moved forward with an ordinance that would require landlords
to consider prospective tenants bearing Section 8 housing vouchers.
The measure would prohibit blanket policies
against accepting Section 8 applicants and make it illegal to deny a tenancy
based on the tenant’s possession of a voucher.
Tagged: Section 8 Tri-County
It’s against federal law to hold a Section 8 voucher-holder accountable for a local housing authority’s failure to pay the rent. This means that a property owner cannot require a Section 8 tenant to pay the housing authority’s portion of the rent or evict a tenant because the housing authority’s payments are delayed.
The California Apartment Association wants to ensure that its members understand this regulation, as the partial federal government shutdown has dragged into its fourth week.
At present, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has enough money for Section 8 payments in February, but the same… Read More
The California Apartment Association is asking members who own or manage property in San Mateo County to take a survey and offer their thoughts on the local rental housing market and fair housing issues.
Taking part in the survey will help San Mateo County complete its “Assessment of Fair Housing Report,” which it must submit to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development later this year.
Tagged: Fair Housing Tri-County
Most rental housing policies that exclude applicants with criminal backgrounds are likely in violation of fair housing laws, according to new guidelines from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Coming on the heels of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding claims under the federal Fair Housing Act based on “disparate impact” or “discriminatory effect,” the new guidelines describe how the use of criminal background checks can result in liability for unlawful discrimination.
HUD Secretary Julián Castro has said, “No American should ever be discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity, even if that discrimination results from a… Read More
Tagged: Fair Housing
The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously approved a bill that would help streamline the Section 8 voucher program for both property owners and tenants.
H.R. 3700, the “Housing Opportunities through Modernization Act of 2015,” approved by the lower chamber of Congress on Tuesday, Feb. 2, would change one of the impediments that owners and tenants face in the Section 8 voucher program: the housing inspection.
The legislation provides that if the unit was inspected within the last 24 months that a Section 8 voucher holder can take possession of the unit immediately for an interim period of time until… Read More
Tagged: Section 8
Federal officials are reminding contractors to follow lead-safety rules or possibly face tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
Just about everyone who is paid to work on pre-1978 rental housing — where lead paint is presumed to be present — must provide specific disclosure pamphlets to tenants and be trained in lead-safe work practices.
The California Apartment Association has teamed up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make sure all apartment owners, managers and maintenance personnel are following these federal regulations.
The EPA issued the regulations in 2008 as the Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, and it took… Read More
Tagged: ComplianceEducationSafety
Despite the federal government shutdown, the Fresno Housing Authority will do its best to keep providing core services to residents, landlords and public partners.
That’s the main message in a letter that the Housing Authority’s chief executive officer, Preston Prince, sent to landlords and community partners Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Luckily, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided a large portion of the October money for Housing Assistance Payments to landlords. The Fresno Housing Authority will cover the additional $1.7 million.
If the federal government remains closed, however, HUD may be unable to authorize normal funding to housing… Read More
Tagged: Affordable housing Greater Fresno