Ongoing Owner/Property Manager’s Affordable Housing Responsibilities 1.
Annually certify that every tenant in an affordable unit is eligible for the program 2.
Provide Annual Summary Reports & Rent Updates to Program Administrator (e.g. DHCD, Masshousing, Masshousing Partnership, etc.) 3.
Update Marketing Plan (required every 5 years) 4.
Satisfy additional Special/Comprehensive Permit conditions (if applicable) 1. Annually certify that every tenant in an affordable unit is eligible for the program a.
Annual recertification is required for ALL affordable housing programs. Analysis of current income, asset and tax documentation must be provided to Owner/Property Manager along with annual application/certification prior to lease signing or lease renewal b.
Requirements can be found in the Regulatory Agreement and 40B Guidelines (allowable income limits, documentation required etc) c.
All new tenants must be certified prior to initial move-­‐‑in/occupancy d.
All current tenants must be recertified prior to lease renewal e.
Typically renewal income limit is 140% of the income limit for new applicants Annual Certification to Determine Household’s Program Eligibility Includes: • Calculating household income • Evaluating Household Composition • Verifying tenants do not have financial interest in development (are not a “Related Party”) • Where MHP is the Program Administrator, all occupants in the unit cannot be full-­‐‑time students (some exceptions apply) • Where DHCD/MassHousing is the Program Administrator, occupants cannot have previously owned a home(s) 2. Provide Annual Summary Reports & Rent Updates to the Program Administrator Reporting requirements and rent updates differ depending on the Program Administrator. The Regulatory Agreement will specify reporting requirements. In addition, the Comprehensive or Special Permit may have additional requirements beyond what is required by the Program Administrator. Therefore, municipalities should review the Regulatory Agreement and Comprehensive/Special Permit for each property to determine who the Program Administrator is in order to better understand the annual reporting required. a. Annual Summary Reports & Rent Updates and Annual Audits where DHCD is the Program Administrator i.
A typical DHCD Regulatory Agreement for Local Initiative Program (LIP) Units (40B) or Local Action Units (built under a Special Permit) has the reporting requirements listed in sections 2(b), 2(e) and 2(g) of the Regulatory Agreement. (Sample Language has been included in the back of this handout) ii.
The municipality should annually notify each property of the DHCD reporting requirements as many properties do not proactively supply these reports iii.
Annual rent increases must be sent to DHCD (and sometimes the municipality) for approval iv.
DHCD has recently begun to audit Local Initiative Program and Local Action Unit properties. As municipalities must annually certify in writing to DHCD that the affordable units are in compliance per the terms of the Regulatory Agreement, municipalities are therefore encouraged to review the annual reports and/or audit the property in advance of issuing the compliance report(s) sent to DHCD v.
If a municipality is interested in auditing a property, they should first contact DHCD b. Annual Summary Reports & Rent Updates (No Audits) For MassHousing i.
MassHousing annually sends each property a report that must be completed and returned ii.
Rent increases need to be submitted by the property to MassHousing for approval iii.
For old properties where CHAPA was designated as the original Monitoring Agent, CHAPA will perform the annual audit iv.
For newer 40B properties where MassHousing serves as the Program Administrator, there are currently no audits performed c. Annual Summary Reports & Rent Updates and Annual Audits For MHP i.
MHP requires bi-­‐‑annual reporting from the property and will annually do a site visit to audit compliance. The audit includes file reviews for all new lease-­‐‑ups and sample of existing files for lease renewals. Additionally, MHP reviews compliance with waiting list maintenance and fair marketing ii.
Rents are updated bi-­‐‑annually (when AMI changes and when the utility allowances change) but are not approved by MHP prior to updating 3. Update Marketing Plan (required every 5 years) a.
The Marketing Plan should elaborate upon ongoing marketing efforts and provide an explanation on how the Waiting List(s) are being managed. b.
Properties should post all Americans with Disability Act (ADA) unit availability on MassAccess c.
Properties should annually update Waiting Lists (and if Waiting Lists are open, the property should engage in new affirmative marketing) d.
An updated Marketing Plan should be sent to DHCD/MassHousing/MHP every 5 years for approval 4. Satisfy Additional Comprehensive/Special Permit Conditions a. For every development with an affordable component, the municipality should review the Comprehensive/Special Permit to determine if there are any other reporting or marketing requirements. b. If there are conditions for reporting and marketing, the municipality should contact the property management office to ensure compliance with those conditions c. Some municipalities (like Watertown) have their own annual audit requirements for all affordable units in the municipality What Can The Municipality Do? a. For developments where DHCD is the Program Administrator, require and review annual reports (check incomes, household sizes, last certification dates). b. Review and compare reports released by the development against previously issued reports c. For developments where DHCD is the Program Administrator, annually audit a sampling of the tenant files to sufficiently certify affordable unit compliance d. Annually review affordable rents to confirm property is compliant with current affordable rent maximums e. Review waiting list management and marketing plans f. To help with all these issues, municipalities can hire affordable housing specialists like SEB who shamefully plug their own services at the end of workshops. SEB also works for dozens of properties to ensure ongoing compliance with all affordable housing requirements. DHCD Regulatory Agreement Reporting Language 2(b) …Annually as part of the annual report required under Subsection 2(e) below, the Developer shall submit to the Municipality and DHCD a proposed schedule of monthly rents and utility allowances for all Low and Moderate Income Units in the Project. Such schedule shall be subject to the approval of the Municipality and DHCD for compliance with the requirements of this Section. Rents for Low and Moderate Income Units shall not be increased, without the Municipality’s and DHCD’s prior approval of either (i) a specific request by Developer for a rent increase or (ii) the next annual schedule of rents and allowances. Notwithstanding the foregoing, rent increases shall be subject to the provisions of outstanding leases and shall not be implemented without at least 30 days’ prior written notice by Developer to all affected tenants… 2 (e) Throughout the term of this Agreement, the Developer shall annually determine whether the tenant of each Low and Moderate Income Unit remains an Eligible Tenant. This determination shall be reviewed by the Municipality and certified to DHCD as provided in section 2(g), below… 2(g) Throughout the term of this Agreement, the Chief Executive Officer shall annually certify in writing to DHCD that each of the Low and Moderate Income Units continues to be Low and Moderate Income Unit as provided in sections 2 (a) and(c), above; and that the Project and the Low and Moderate Income Units have been maintained in a manner consistent with the Regulations and Guidelines and this Agreement.