Insights
Field-tested perspectives on affordable housing compliance.
From the team at Altus. Focused, opinionated, and written for people doing the work.
We publish periodically on topics that come up consistently in our work: regulatory transitions, operational patterns, common findings, and the practical mechanics of running compliance operations. These pieces aren't comprehensive guides. They're focused, opinionated, and written for people doing the work.
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HUD Compliance
The MOR checklist HUD actually scores you against
A practitioner walkthrough of HUD Form 9834, what contract administrators score during a Management and Occupancy Review, the findings cited most often, and a 60-day MOR preparation timeline.
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LIHTC
What a third-party LIHTC file review actually checks
Line by line, what an independent Section 42 tenant file review examines: initial eligibility, income and asset verification, student status, rent and utility allowance limits, and recertification history.
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Regulatory
The HOTMA deadline almost everyone missed
On December 18, 2025, HUD extended the HOTMA compliance deadline to January 1, 2027. Most HUD multifamily owners didn't notice. Here's what the extension means and what owners should be doing right now.
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Operations
Why TRACS submissions keep failing for the same reasons
Most TRACS rejection patterns aren't TRACS problems. They're certification quality problems disguised as submission problems. A look at the five recurring causes and how to fix them at the source.
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LIHTC
The Available Unit Rule, in practice
The Available Unit Rule is one of the most consequential and most misunderstood provisions in Section 42. How it actually works in the field, what monitors look for, and where owners commonly trip up.
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HOTMA
HOTMA and the $50,000 asset threshold
HOTMA introduces a $50,000 net family assets threshold that changes how verification works for HUD multifamily. What the threshold actually means operationally, and what compliance teams should be doing differently.
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Perspective
Compliance staff are the unsung backbone of affordable housing
A short piece on what compliance professionals actually do, why their work matters to housing stability, and how the industry consistently undervalues them.
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Advisory
When to bring in outside compliance support
Most portfolios benefit from outside compliance support at specific moments. A framework for recognizing those moments, with examples drawn from real engagements.
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HUD Compliance
EIV explained: what the system does and what HUD expects from you
A plain-English guide to HUD's Enterprise Income Verification system: what data it holds, the required EIV reports, how owners are expected to use and document them, and the security rules that govern access.
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EIV access and login: how owners and agents get in, and stay in
How EIV access actually works through HUD Secure Systems: the roles involved, what a coordinator has to approve, why accounts lock or expire, and the common reasons a login fails.
Read articlePhysical Inspections
From REAC to NSPIRE: what actually changed in HUD inspections
REAC is the office. NSPIRE is the inspection standard that replaced UPCS. A practical explanation of the new standards, the inside, outside and unit areas, deficiency severity levels, and correction timeframes.
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Carbon monoxide detectors in HUD housing: where they go and how many you need
Placement rules for carbon monoxide alarms in HUD-assisted housing, how many each unit needs, which units are covered, and why a missing or inoperable alarm is treated as life-threatening under NSPIRE.
Read articleHUD Compliance
The VAWA lease addendum: what owners and tenants need to know
A practical guide to the HUD VAWA lease addendum, the protections it provides for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, and what owners are required to do under it.
Read articleHUD Compliance
Tenant income certification: how annual income is calculated and certified
A step by step walkthrough of the HUD tenant income certification process, the verification hierarchy, what counts as income, and the calculation errors monitors cite most.
Read articlePhysical Inspections
Trip hazards under NSPIRE: what inspectors cite and how to fix them
The NSPIRE standard for trip hazards in HUD assisted housing, where inspectors look, what counts as a deficiency, the severity levels, and how owners should prepare.
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Fire door tagging and inspection requirements under NSPIRE
Fire door requirements under NSPIRE, why tagged and self closing doors are a high severity category, what inspectors check, and how owners can verify compliance before an inspection.
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Physical Inspections
GFCI protection under NSPIRE: where it is required and why it fails
Where NSPIRE requires GFCI protection in HUD assisted housing, how inspectors test outlets, the deficiencies cited most often, and how owners verify protection across a portfolio.
Read articleHUD Compliance
PRWORA and noncitizen eligibility in HUD assisted housing
How PRWORA and HUD noncitizen rules govern eligibility, what prorated assistance means, the documentation owners must collect, and the errors reviewers cite most.
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HUD Compliance
Citizenship and eligibility verification: the owner's documentation standard
The citizenship and immigration status verification steps HUD expects at move in and recertification, the evidence that satisfies a reviewer, and how to keep the file defensible.
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Section 8 annual recertification: the calendar, the notices, and the file
How the Section 8 annual recertification cycle works, the notice schedule HUD expects, the verification window, and the reasons recertifications are cited as late or incomplete.
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Physical Inspections
HUD REAC inspections explained: scoring, notice, and what changed
What a HUD REAC inspection was, how properties were scored, what triggered a follow up, and how the transition to NSPIRE changed inspection practice for owners.
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Physical Inspections
How many carbon monoxide detectors a unit needs
How to determine the number of carbon monoxide alarms required in an assisted housing unit, the sleeping area rule, multi level units, and how inspectors count devices.
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Physical Inspections
Housing inspection preparation: the owner's 30 day plan
A practical 30 day plan for preparing a property for a housing inspection, the unit level walk, the common deficiencies found in pre inspections, and how to document corrections.
Read articlePhysical Inspections
NSPIRE standards reference: areas, severity, and correction timeframes
A reference to the NSPIRE inspection standards: the inspectable areas, how deficiencies are classified by severity, correction timeframes, and how the standards are organized.
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NSPIRE inspection checklist: a unit by unit walk plan
A practical NSPIRE inspection checklist for owners and site teams, organized by unit, inside, and outside, with the life threatening items to clear first and how to record corrections.
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