Developers placing a property in service
The first-year file set defines the credit period. A finding discovered after 8609 issuance is far more expensive than one caught during initial move-in.
Lease-up compliance
Affordable housing lease-up compliance support.
Altus Compliance reviews initial certifications in real time during lease-up so units release on schedule, first-year files close cleanly, and tax credit delivery is not delayed by a documentation problem found months later.
Lease-up
Programs covered
- LIHTC (Section 42)
- HUD Multifamily
- HOME
- Bond
- PBV
Nationwide engagements
Who this is for
Built for the teams carrying the compliance risk.
Management companies staffing a new lease-up
Site teams are absorbing applications, waitlists, and initial certifications at once, usually while learning the property's specific program layer.
Owners and syndicators tracking credit delivery
Investors want assurance that qualified occupancy is documented before capital contributions are released.
Problems it solves
What this work is actually for.
- Initial certifications sitting in a queue while units stand empty
- First-year files that will not survive a state agency review
- Income and asset verifications going stale before move-in
- Student status and household composition errors on initial files
- Applicant eligibility determined against the wrong income limit set
- Set-aside and unit-mix tracking drifting during a fast lease-up
- Site staff learning a new program layer under move-in pressure
- Credit delivery timelines slipping because files are not closable
Programs covered
Every major affordable housing program.
Altus Compliance works nationwide and layers program requirements the way funders do, so a property with multiple funding sources is reviewed against all of them.
LIHTC (Section 42)HUD MultifamilyHOMEBondPBVRADRural DevelopmentState and local programs
What we review
Every initial certification, reviewed before the unit is committed.
- Applicant eligibility against the correct income and rent limit set
- Household composition and student status determination
- Income verification for every source and every household member
- Asset verification and imputed income calculation
- Verification effective dates and 120-day currency at move-in
- Tenant Income Certification accuracy and signature requirements
- Lease and LIHTC lease addendum language
- Utility allowance selection and rent calculation
- Set-aside designation and unit-mix tracking as units fill
- First-year applicable fraction and building qualification support
The process
How the engagement runs.
- Step 1
Pre-lease-up setup
We confirm income limits, rent limits, utility allowances, set-aside structure, and the file standard before the first application is taken.
- Step 2
Real-time file review
Files are submitted as they are completed and reviewed on a short turnaround so move-ins are not held up.
- Step 3
Correction loop
Findings return with the citation and the specific fix. Corrected files are re-reviewed and closed.
- Step 4
Lease-up close-out
We reconcile the completed file set against the set-aside plan and flag anything that would affect first-year credit delivery.
Deliverables
What you receive.
- File-by-file findings with regulatory citations and severity ranking
- Same-week turnaround targets aligned to your move-in calendar
- Running set-aside and unit-mix tracker across the lease-up
- Pattern reporting so recurring site-level errors get corrected once
- Lease-up close-out summary for ownership and investor reporting
- Direct access to a reviewer for eligibility questions during the lease-up
Common compliance risks
The findings we see most often.
Stale verifications
Verifications obtained early in the application cycle expire before move-in, invalidating the initial certification.
Wrong limit set applied
Properties with layered funding or a set-aside election frequently get qualified against the wrong income or rent limit.
Student household errors
Full-time student rules are one of the most common sources of unqualified initial LIHTC files.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Related services
Work that pairs with this.
Third-party LIHTC file review
Independent Section 42 tenant file review for stabilized and post-lease-up properties.
Third-party LIHTC file reviewHUD and LIHTC layered compliance
For lease-ups where units carry both tax credit and HUD subsidy requirements.
HUD and LIHTC layered complianceOutsourced compliance monitoring
Continue oversight after the lease-up closes, on an ongoing cadence.
Outsourced compliance monitoringGet in touch
Starting a lease-up?
Tell us the placed-in-service target, the program layer, and the unit count. Altus Compliance will scope lease-up file review around your move-in calendar.