Mar 25 -- The Office of the Policy Development and Research, HUD invites comment by May 24, 2022 regarding the Statutorily-Mandated Collection of Information for Tenants in LIHTC Properties.
The statutory authority for this data collection is found in 42 U.S.C. 1437z-8, Collection of information on tenants in tax credit projects, which requires the state housing agencies submit to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) “information concerning the race, ethnicity, family composition, age, income, use of rental assistance under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 or other similar assistance, disability status, and monthly rental payments of households residing in each property.”
The congressional intent of this data collection is to provide basic information on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and the population it serves. The LIHTC program uses benefits available through the tax code as an incentive to produce qualified low-income housing units. The program is administered by 61 (predominantly state-level) allocating agencies. While the IRS has responsibility for issuing LIHTC regulations and ensuring compliance with the code for individual taxpayers, states administer the program and are also responsible for monitoring compliance at the project level.
The information to be collected in the LIHTC database will be used by HUD to comply with the reporting requirements of Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008, which requires HUD to make the data publicly available. Since December 2014, HUD has released annual reports summarizing the data. In addition to fulfilling this statutory requirement, HUD may use the data internally to inform policy.
Information will be submitted to HUD in XML formatted files by state Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) through HUD’s Secure Systems environment. All responses must be submitted electronically through this online system in the XML-format established by HUD. HFAs must submit the information annually with a deadline of September 30. The information will not be shared with any agencies or entities outside of HUD, aside from the statutory reporting requirements described above. This collection has not materially changed since its inception in 2010.
The property data will be added to HUD’s LIHTC Properties Placed in Service database, which does not contain any sensitive information and is used by policymakers, households searching for affordable housing and researchers.
LIHTC Database:
https://lihtc.huduser.gov/
Tenants in LIHTC Properties draft data collection forms and technical documentation:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vfpmpfvwvv3v4h5/AAA5mqzVUbROO5L-AhN6xvpSa?dl=0
FR notice:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-06282
