[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 59 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14149-14150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7041]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5298-N-01]
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Tenant Data Collection;
Advance Solicitation of Comment on Data Collection Methodology
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and
Research, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 requires state
agencies administering properties receiving low-income housing tax
credits to submit to HUD, not less than annually, certain demographic
and economic information on households residing in such properties.
This statute also requires HUD to establish standards and definitions
for the information that state housing agencies must submit, and to
provide them with technical assistance in establishing systems to
compile and submit such information. This notice seeks early input from
applicable state agencies, and other interested stakeholders on a
methodology or approach to meet this statutory requirement in advance
of HUD's submission of a formal proposal for public comment.
Comment Due Date: May 29, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this notice to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, 451
7th Street, SW., Room 10276, Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Washington, DC 20410-0500. Communications must refer to
the above docket number and title. There are two methods for submitting
public comments. All submissions must refer to the above docket number
and title.
1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by
mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW, Room 10276,
Washington, DC 20410-0500.
2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
http://www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to
submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments
allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment,
ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately
available to the public. Comments submitted electronically through the
http://www.regulations.gov Web site can be viewed by other commenters
and interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the
instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.
Note: To receive consideration as public comments, comments must
be submitted through one of the two methods specified above. Again,
all submissions must refer to the docket number and title of the
rule.
No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.
Public Inspection of Public Comments. All properly submitted
comments and communications submitted to HUD will be available for
public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the
above address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters
building, an advance appointment to review the public comments must be
scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202-708-3055 (this is
not a toll-free number). Individuals with speech or hearing impairments
may access this number through TTY by calling the Federal Information
Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Copies of all comments submitted are
available for inspection and downloading at http://www.regulations.gov
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on LIHTC tenant data
collection, contact Michael K. Hollar, Senior Economist, Economic
Development and Public Finance Division, Office of Policy Development
and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th
Street, SW., Room 8216, Washington, DC 20410-6000, telephone number
(202) 402-5878, or send an e-mail to [email protected]. For
specific legal questions pertaining to Section 42 of the Internal
Revenue Code, contact Branch 5, Office of the Associate Chief Counsel,
Passthroughs and Special Industries, Internal Revenue Service, 1111
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20224, telephone number (202)
622-3040, fax number (202) 622-4451. Additional copies of this notice
are available through HUD User at (800) 245-2691 for a small fee to
cover duplication and mailing costs.
Copies Available Electronically: This notice and additional
information about the LIHTC program are available electronically on the
Internet at http://www.huduser.org/datasets/lihtc.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA)
Section 2835(d) of HERA (Pub. L. 110-289, approved July 30, 2008)
amends Title I of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.
) (1937 Act) to add a new section 36 (to be codified as 42 U.S.C.
1437z-8) that requires each state agency administering tax credits
under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (low-income
housing tax credits or LIHTC) to furnish HUD, not less than annually,
information concerning the race, ethnicity, family composition, age,
income, use of rental assistance under section 8(o) of the U.S. Housing
of 1937 or other similar assistance, disability status, and monthly
rental payments of households residing in each property receiving such
credits through such agency. New section 36(a) of the 1937 Act further
provides that, to the extent feasible, each agency administering tax
[[Page 14150]]
credits should collect such information through existing reporting
processes and in a manner that minimizes the burden on property owners.
New section 36(b) requires HUD to establish standards and
definitions for the information to be collected by state agencies and
to provide states with technical assistance in establishing systems to
compile and submit such information and, in coordination with other
federal agencies administering housing programs, establish procedures
to minimize duplicative reporting requirements for properties assisted
under multiple housing programs.
New section 36(c) provides that HUD ``shall, not less than
annually, compile and make publicly available the information submitted
to the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a).''
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
LIHTC is a tax incentive intended to increase the availability of
low-income housing. Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
provides an income tax credit to owners of newly constructed or
substantially rehabilitated low-income rental housing projects. The
credits allocated are based on the cost of units placed in service as
low-income units under particular minimum occupancy and maximum rent
criteria. In general, a building must meet one of two thresholds to be
eligible for LIHTC: (1) At least 20 percent of the units must be rent-
restricted and occupied by tenants with incomes no higher than 50
percent of the area median gross income (AMGI); or (2) At least 40
percent of the units must be rent-restricted and occupied by tenants
with incomes no higher than 60 percent of AMGI. The term ``rent-
restricted'' means that gross rent, including an allowance for tenant-
paid utilities, cannot exceed 30 percent of the tenant's imputed income
limitation (i.e. , 50 percent or 60 percent of AMGI). The rent and
occupancy thresholds remain in effect for at least 15 years, and
building owners are required to enter into agreements to maintain the
low-income character of the building for at least an additional 15
years.
Currently, there is no comprehensive administrative database
containing data on LIHTC tenant households. HUD's Office of Policy
Development and Research, under its broad authority to conduct research
on housing and urban development issues, has collected and published
data on LIHTC projects periodically throughout the life of the LIHTC
program, and annually since 1999. The HERA requirement reflects
Congressional intent to have data on households residing in LIHTC
properties collected annually and submitted under uniform standards.
This Document
Through this notice, HUD seeks to inform all the public of its
responsibilities with respect to LIHTC data collection, and to reach a
broader audience (than is possible through informal meetings) to
solicit early input from state agencies and other interested members of
the public on standards and definitions that would be helpful to state
agencies in their collection of the information required by section 36
of the 1937 Act, as well as input on procedures that would minimize
duplicative reporting requirements.
In an effort to initiate discussion of these statutory requirements
and commence the solicitation of informal feedback on these
requirements, the data collection requirements were first discussed in
a public forum at the Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System
(TRACS) quarterly industry meeting on October 22, 2008. At that time,
HUD also announced its intention to create an informal working group,
open, at any time, to any interested parties, for the members of the
working group to share their individual views of this data collection
effort, and any past experiences with similar data collection efforts.
HUD will use the information provided by the various members of the
working group and consider the members' individual recommendations and
suggestions in its development of the standards and definitions that
HUD is charged with issuing under section 36 of the 1937 Act.
HUD is seeking feedback from the public on the standards,
definitions, and procedures for collecting the required data. One
possible approach for which it solicits early comment, is to use two
forms, one requesting data on LIHTC properties, indicating among other
things project-based subsidies (so that universally applicable project
data need not be separately reported for each tenant), and the other
requesting data on LIHTC tenants and unit-specific characteristics. HUD
requests that the public provide comments on whether this approach will
minimize reporting burden on property managers, and on any other
approaches that HUD should consider.
To collect LIHTC property characteristics, HUD seeks comments on
whether the agency should use the form currently used to collect data
in HUD's LIHTC projects placed in service database. Annually, HUD
requests, through a contractor, data on a volunteer basis from the
state housing finance agencies on LIHTC projects placed in service.
This form has two advantages over creating a new form. First, it is
OMB-approved through 2011 and therefore would not require a new review
under the Paperwork Reduction Act unless modifications are made.
Second, the state housing agencies currently use this form and are
familiar with it. Continuing with a familiar form would assist the goal
of minimizing the reporting burden. More information on HUD's current
LIHTC projects placed in service database can be found here: http://lihtc.huduser.org/.
The proposed tenant data collection form is based on the National
Council of State Housing Agencies' (NCSHA's) best practices Tenant
Income Certification (TIC) Form. The IRS does not require a standard
form across states to certify tenants residing in LIHTC-financed units.
NCSHA's best practices TIC form is used by many state housing finance
agencies, either as is or in a slightly modified version. Since the
data requested on this form is already collected by many state housing
finance agencies, HUD believes this form, modified to account for
additional information that HUD is required by statute to report, would
minimize the reporting burden on the state agencies. The form
contemplated by HUD amends NCSHA's TIC to include race, ethnicity, and
disability status.
HUD anticipates publishing its formal proposal for implementing the
data collection during the summer of 2009. Once data transmission
methods are in place, data collection could begin as early as the first
or second quarter of 2010.
Dated: March 19, 2009.
Jean Lin Pao,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. E9-7041 Filed 3-27-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P