Topic: Compliance

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced proposed regulations to expand the obligations of owners of commercial facilities, including those found at assisted housing and other residential multifamily sites, regarding accessibility for persons with disabilities.In particular, the DOJ proposes adopting accessibility guidelines previously issued by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board to reflect the accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

As a site owner or manager, you may not be aware that the IRS has a “safe harbor” rule for tax credit sites. The safe harbor rule lets low-income residents qualify for units before the beginning of the first taxable year of a building's tax credit period, says affordable housing expert A.J. Johnson, an expert in IRS rules as applied to tax credit sites.

 This article is the second of a three-part series on complying with federal design and accessibility requirements. Part 1, in our June issue, explained what the requirements are and how to tell whether your site is among those that must comply with them. Part 2, below, gives you five rules to follow to ensure your buildings and common areas are in compliance with the requirements. Part 3, in our August issue, will give you six rules covering unit-specific compliance requirements.

 This article is the first of a three-part series on meeting the federal design and accessibility requirements. The first part outlines what the requirements are and whether your site is among those that must comply with them. The second and third parts, which will be published in the next two issues, will give you 11 rules that your site must follow to remain in compliance. 

To comply with many key tax credit requirements, it is important to take into account unit size, that is, either a unit's square footage or its number of bedrooms. If you don't take unit size into account where required, your site is likely to fall into noncompliance, which could put the owner's tax credits in jeopardy. Many managers who have experience with other housing programs, but are new to the low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program, make mistakes because they don't realize that unit size plays a key role in tax credit compliance.

Real estate businesses in New York face sales tax issues; it's a fact of life in the Empire State. And, generally, when a real estate business fails to comply with its tax obligations, the New York State Department of Tax and Finance (DTF) sends it a notice of examination. The notice triggers an audit of the business owner's transactions and purchases for a period up to six years prior to the audit. Business owners who have undergone a tax department audit are aware that it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and, possibly, into the millions.

 This article is the third of a three-part series on complying with federal design and accessibility requirements. Part 1 (June 2008) explained the requirements and how to tell whether your site is among those that must comply with them. Part 2 (July 2008) gave you five rules to follow to ensure your buildings and common areas are in compliance with the requirements. Part 3, below, gives you six rules covering unit-specific compliance requirements.