Affordable Housing Glossary

Question 1

50058

Answer 1

Income certification form used to confirm income for tenant-based Section 8 households. This is the form used by public housing authorities (PHA). ResMan does not do public housing.

Question 2

50059

Answer 2

Standard HUD certification form. Commonly known as a 59’, certification, or recertification. The 50059 A is a short form for partial (move-outs, terminations, unit transfers, and gross rent) certifications.

Question 3

8823

Answer 3

IRS form for housing creds report of non-compliance.

Question 4

AAF

Answer 4

Annual adjustment factor. For some HUD properties, HAP contracts guaranteed that contract rents would be adjusted each year based on this factor for their region.

Question 5

Abated Unit

Answer 5

A unit for which assistance cannot be paid due to natural disaster or health and safety reasons. These are units that cannot be occupied until work has been done to bring them up to standards. The units have been damaged by fire, flood, etc., infested, do not have fuctioning plumbing, heat etc.

Question 6

Actual income from assets

Answer 6

Interest produced by the household’s savings and checking accounts, dividends earned by stocks and bonds, rents and royalties received from real property, and income derived from other capital investments.

Question 7

Address Load

Answer 7

A type of TRACS file that includes unit and resident address information for every resident at a HUD property. It is used to establish a complete set of a property’s address information in the TRACS database.

Question 8

Adjusted Income

Answer 8

In government subsidized properties, this is a household’s (annual) income after al allowable deductions (allowances for dependents and elderly status, medical and handicap expenses etc.) have been subtracted.

Question 9

Adjusted monthly income

Answer 9

This is the adjusted annual income divided by 12.

Question 10

Adjustments to income

Answer 10

Refers to amounts that are subtracted from a household’s gross income before the income is compared to the income limit tables or rent is calculated. Dependents, elderly status, and certain medical, handicap, and child care expenses result in adjustments to income.

Question 11

Affirmative fair housing marketing plan

Answer 11

HUD-approved plan in which the owner outlines marketing strategies to attract an ethnic, racial, and income mix for the property. This plan is (supposed to be) updated periodically depending on the effectiveness of your existing plan and changing demographics in your area.

Question 12

Affordable housing

Answer 12

Housing that is affordable to low or very low-income households because of some form of government subsidy, inclues HUD, RHS (RD) and LIHTC.

Question 13

Allowance for dependents

Answer 13

For HUD and (RD) RHS-subsidized residents, this is a deduction of $480 from annual income for each family member who is not the head of household or the spouse, and who is under 18 years of age (17 years or less), a full-time student age 18 years or older, or handicapped or disabled.

Question 14

Allowance for handicapped assistance

Answer 14

For HUD and (RD) RHS-subsidized residents, this is the amount of handicapped assistance expenses for care attendants or auxiliary apparatus that exceeds 3% of annual income. Care must be necessary to enable an adult family member to work, look for work, or go to school. The allowance cannot exceed the amount earned.

Question 15

Allowance for medical expenses

Answer 15

For HUD and RHS-subsidized residents, this is the amount of total medical expenses that exceeds three percent of annual income. This allowance is for elderly-status households only.

Question 16

Area Median Income (AMI)

Answer 16

The median income is the average for the area. That is, half of the population in the area has a higher income than the midpoint; the other half has a lower income than the midpoint. These figures are published annually by HUD based on various population and earnings data. HUD and RHS use this, as well as tax credit to see who qualifies for you units.

Question 17

Annual income

Answer 17

total amount of income (before any deductions) that the household expects to receive during the 12 months following the effective date of a certification.

Question 18

Applicable Fraction/Low-income occupancy percentage

Answer 18

For LIHTC, this is the applicable fraction that determines tax credits received at the end of the year. It is the lower of the number of units in compliance divided by the total number of non-exempt units in the building, or the square feet of units in compliance divided by the total square footage of the building. This is usually expressed as a percentage. In other words, it is the percentage of the building that is treated as low-income use and generally eligible for the LIHTC. The applicable fraction is the lesser of the unit fraction or the floor space fraction. This is also known as the low-income occupancy percentage.

Question 19

Assets

Answer 19

Savings and checking accounts, CDs, stocks, bonds, real estate, and other items of value owned by the household that are considered when determining the household’s rent or eligibility for assistance. See the corresponding HUD or RHS regulations for details on what is or isn’t included. Refer to Imputed asset and Current asset (on page 7) definitions.

Question 20

Assistance Payment

Answer 20

An assistance payment is the amount HUD pays an owner each month for a unit occupied under RAP, Rent Supplement, or Section 8 programs. This amount is equal to the gross rent minus the total tenant payment. It is also part of the Rural Housing program. In some Tax Credit properties, the tenant could also get a voucher from public housing, which is rental assistance as well.

Question 21

Assisted Rent

Answer 21

Assisted rent is any rent less than the market rent. The difference is paid by HUD, RHS, or some other subsidizing agency.

Question 22

Assisted Resident

Answer 22

An assisted resident is a resident who pays less than the market rent. The difference is paid by an agency as a subsidy.

Question 23

Bank Passbook Savings Rate

Answer 23

This is the rate used to calculate an imputed income value from assets. HUD assigns the percentage (the passbook saving rate) used to calculate the asset total so that all assets will be included in a household’s gross income even if they do not produce income.

Question 24

Baseline

Answer 24

A baseline is a special type of TRACS file that includes the most recent full certification for each resident at the property. This file establishes a complete set of information in the TRACS database for a property.

Question 25

Basic Rent

Answer 25

At an RHS property, basic rent is the minimum amount a resident can pay toward rent without rental assistance.

Question 26

BIN

Answer 26

This is the building identification number for housing credits for both HUD and tax credits properties. For tax credits properties, the Building Identification Number is issued by the state agency for each building.

Question 27

Certificate/Voucher Programs

Answer 27

These programs allow a public housing agency (PHA) to subsidize very low-income households without requiring those households to live at a subsidized property. Recipients find their own apartments, and the PHA then provides certificates or vouchers that enable the residents to pay a portion of the rent while the PHA covers the rest, enabling the residents to get a reduced rent while the landlord still gets the full amount for the unit. Many LIHTC properties will also accept vouchers from this program. ResMan can accommodate this, as it is just another form of rent payment.

Question 28

Certification

Answer 28

For subsidized housing, this is the process of determining that an applicant/resident is eligible to receive assistance and determining how much assistance the household should receive. Certification also refers to the form used in this determination, that is, the HUD 50059 or the RHS 3560-8. This is also known as a recertification. You will commonly hear it called a Cert or a Recert.

Question 29

Child Care Expenses

Answer 29

For subsidized housing, child care expenses are the expenses a family incurs for the care of children age 12 or under that meet the agency’s (HUD or RHS) requirement for special allowances. The allowance for these expenses may not be more than the amount of the income they enable.

Question 30

Compliance regulations

Answer 30

Compliance regulations are laws and government program requirements that a site, unit, or resident must conform to in order to receive housing subsidy.

Question 31

Contract Administrator

Answer 31

A contract administrator (PBCA or CA) is an organization or agency that is appointed by HUD to administer and oversee Section 8 contracts. The contract administrator signs the HAP Request and administers the subsidy for the property. TRACS files are generally sent to the CA by individual sites.

Question 32

Contract Rent

Answer 32

Contract rent is the total rent amount an owner can collect from a household as authorized by HUD.

Question 33

Cooperative

Answer 33

This is a multifamily property in which the residents are considered stockholders of the corporation and hence actually own a share of the property.

Question 34

Correction Certification

Answer 34

This is the recalculation of a past certification that has already been reported to HUD on a HAP Request. When reported to TRACS, it “corrects” the previous certification’s calculations.

Question 35

Current asset

Answer 35

This is a “regular” asset that may or may not produce income. It is currently owned by a household member and may be a bank account, a certificate of deposit, real estate, stocks, etc. It is different from an imputed asset (an asset that was disposed of for less than its value) that lasts for two years.

Question 36

Dependent

Answer 36

This is any household member who is younger than 18, or handicapped or disabled, or a full-time student. The head of the household, his or her spouse, co-head of household (or RHS tenant or co-tenant), foster children, foster adults, and live-in attendants are never counted as dependents.

Question 37

Dependent deduction

Answer 37

For HUD or RHS households, this is a $480 deduction from annual income for each household member who is younger than 18, or handicapped or disabled, or a full-time student. The head of the household, spouse, co-head of household (RHS tenant or co-tenant), foster children, foster adults, and live-in attendants are never counted in determining dependent deduction. In the tax credit arena, no deductions are given unless there is some form of rental assistance.

Question 38

Developmental disability

Answer 38

This is a severe, chronic disability that results from a mental or physical impairment, was manifested before age 22 and is likely to continue indefinitely, results in serious limitations in several areas of major life activity, and requires special, individualized, extended treatment.

Question 39

DHS

Answer 39

DHS is the Department of Homeland Security. It administers the nation’s immigration laws.