Affordable Housing Compliance Workshop

Affordable Housing Compliance and Fair Housing Workshop, with AJ Johnson:

On Tuesday, April 12- Wednesday, April 13, Settlement Housing Fund, Inc. is sponsoring its Twenty-Third Annual Affordable Housing Compliance and Fair Housing Workshop, with AJ Johnson. AJ Johnson is a nationally recognized expert in the field of affordable housing compliance. This year, we are excited to offer two new topics: Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan and Development of Criminal Screening Policies.

The webinar will begin at 9 a.m. sharp each day and will run until 3 or 4; and regular breaks will be provided. There will also be a chat feature where participants will be able to ask questions.

The cost for the two-day webinar, which includes materials, is $350 per attendee. Online payments are preferred and can be made through the registration form below. For payment via check, checks can be made payable to Settlement Housing Fund, Inc. and sent to:

Settlement Housing Fund, Inc.
Attn: Fiscal Department
247 West 37th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10018

Once payments are sent, please send names, and email addresses of attendees to Mildred Flores, our Director of Marketing and Compliance at mflores@shfinc.org by Friday, April 7th. Each attendee will receive a link and unique password to join the webinar.

Topic Descriptions

Day 1

Income and Asset Verification & Calculation
This course provides concentrated instruction over a full day on the required methodology for calculating and verifying income and Assets and is applicable to all federal housing programs, including the low-income housing tax credit, tax-exempt bonds, Section 8, Section 515, HOME, and HOPE VI. A comprehensive discussion of employment income is a major part of the training, along with military pay, pensions/social security, self-employment income and child support. A full discussion of asset verification and calculation is included, and the course concludes with multiple workshop problems. These problems test what the student has learned during the discussion phase of the training and serve to reinforce HUD required techniques for the determination of income from all sources.

Day 2

Fair Housing (1/2 Day)
This three-hour course offers a complete discussion of the requirements of the Fair Housing Act of 1988, including detailed analysis of elements relating to each protected class. Examples of how to handle specific situations for each group are covered. Appropriate areas of Section 504 and ADA requirements are also covered, as are State specific fair housing requirements.

Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan – Understanding the Requirements (1.5 hours)
The Fair Housing Act requires federal agencies to administer all programs and activities relating to housing and urban development in a manner that “affirmatively” furthers fair housing. This means that it is not enough to prevent segregation – the government must encourage “integration.” Each owner who participates in HUD or Rural Development multifamily housing programs must develop and provide a description of the Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan (AFHMP) for the property to comply with the requirements of the Law. A cornerstone of an AFHMP is the requirement to market a property to those “least likely to apply.” This course outlines the basic requirements of an AFHMP, including marketing strategies, the meaning of “least likely to apply,” and updating the Plan. Completion of the course will assist managers in a full understanding of how to comply with HUD rules regarding these important plans.

Development of Criminal Screening Policies for Multifamily Housing (1.5 hours)
Does a property have to accept murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and pedophiles as residents? The answer is NO! But can you have a carte blanch policy of denying applicants due to a criminal record? Same answers – NO! Property owners may screen applicants for criminal behavior but must be careful in doing so – and must have clear and defensible policies relative to screening for past crimes. Poorly designed criminal screening policies may lead to disparate impact claims under federal or state fair housing law. This 1.5-hour discussion focuses on the Department of Housing & Urban Development guidance relating to the establishment of criminal screening policies and will lay out the standards that should be met when setting up such a policy. Topics to be covered include (1) why criminal screening policies are important; (2) how state and local laws impact criminal screening; (3) when to run the criminal record check; (4) the HUD guidance; (5) prohibited policies; (6) the types of crimes that should be subject to screening; and (7) the requirement for “individual assessments.” All owners and managers of multifamily housing – from affordable to luxury – will benefit from this in-depth discussion of this evolving area of housing law.

To register for the upcoming Virtual Affordable Housing Compliance and Fair Housing Workshop on April 12-13th, please fill out the form below: