NAHP Property Management & Resident Services 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A manager at an affordable property receives a complaint that a resident is hoarding, creating a safety hazard. The best initial approach is to:
- File for immediate eviction
- Contact local fire authorities without notifying the resident
- Issue a lease violation notice and offer referral to supportive services (Correct answer)
- Post a public notice in common areas
Correct answer: Issue a lease violation notice and offer referral to supportive services
Hoarding may relate to a disability requiring a reasonable accommodation, so managers should address the lease violation while also connecting the resident to supportive services.
Question 2: Under LIHTC compliance, what happens if an income-qualified unit's income-eligible tenant's household income rises above 140% of the area median income?
- The unit immediately loses its tax credit status
- The next available comparable unit in the building must be rented to a qualifying household (Correct answer)
- The tenant must be evicted within 30 days
- The owner forfeits all credits for that year
Correct answer: The next available comparable unit in the building must be rented to a qualifying household
The 'Next Available Unit' rule (140% rule) requires that when an over-income tenant remains, the next comparable vacant unit in the project must be rented to an income-qualified household.
Question 3: A property manager receives a request from law enforcement to disclose a resident's address. Without a court order or consent, the manager should:
- Immediately comply to avoid liability
- Refuse and consult legal counsel before disclosing (Correct answer)
- Post the information publicly to comply with law enforcement
- Disclose only to federal agencies, not local police
Correct answer: Refuse and consult legal counsel before disclosing
Privacy obligations and potential fair housing implications mean managers should consult legal counsel before disclosing resident information without proper legal process.
Question 4: Which of the following is a characteristic of a 'scattered-site' affordable housing development?
- All units are located in a single high-rise building
- Affordable units are distributed across multiple locations in a community (Correct answer)
- Units are clustered in one neighborhood to maximize services
- All residents share one common property management office
Correct answer: Affordable units are distributed across multiple locations in a community
Scattered-site housing disperses affordable units across different neighborhoods to promote integration and reduce concentration of poverty.
Question 5: A resident's Section 8 voucher is about to expire because a suitable unit has not been found. The resident may request:
- An automatic conversion to a project-based voucher
- A voucher extension from the PHA for additional search time (Correct answer)
- A direct rent subsidy from HUD bypassing the PHA
- Immediate placement in public housing
Correct answer: A voucher extension from the PHA for additional search time
PHAs have the discretion to grant extensions to voucher holders who are making good-faith efforts to find housing but have been unable to do so within the initial search period.
Question 6: When screening applicants for affordable housing, a blanket 'no criminal history' policy is considered problematic because it:
- Violates IRS tax credit compliance rules
- May have a disparate impact on protected classes under the Fair Housing Act (Correct answer)
- Conflicts with HUD's minimum occupancy standards
- Is prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act
Correct answer: May have a disparate impact on protected classes under the Fair Housing Act
HUD guidance warns that blanket criminal history exclusions can disproportionately exclude racial minorities, potentially constituting disparate impact discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
Question 7: A property manager at a senior housing development (62+) receives an application from a household where the head is 64 but has a 25-year-old child. Which is correct?
- The application must be denied because the child is under 62
- The property may admit the household if it qualifies as housing for older persons under HOPA (Correct answer)
- The property must accept the household due to familial status protection
- The child must sign a separate lease to remain on the property
Correct answer: The property may admit the household if it qualifies as housing for older persons under HOPA
Under the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA), a 62-and-older community may have an occupancy policy that permits minor or dependent household members as defined in the community's rules.
NAHP Property Management & Resident Services 4
A manager at an affordable property receives a complaint that a resident is hoarding, creating a safety hazard.
The best initial approach is to: