NM/NMHC publish accessibility compliance white paper.

As civil rights groups continue to target large apartment firms with lawsuits alleging failure to comply with federal accessibility requirements, housing providers need to fully understand their obligations under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, now more than ever.

To help apartment firms understand their obligations, the National Apartment Association and the National Multi Housing Council (NAA/NMHC) have published a new members-only white paper to guide the industry through the maze of federal rules, guidance and standards.

"Understanding Your Obligations: Accessibility Under the Fair Housing and Americans With Disabilities Acts" reviews the most common misconceptions and violations, details the Fair Housing Act's seven primary design and construction requirements, identifies existing guidance and safe harbor design standards, reviews other federal accessibility laws and offers best practices for compliance. An appendix covers the applicability of insurance coverage to claims and costs resulting from alleged accessibility violations. The white paper can be downloaded at www.naahq.org/govern_affairs/.

In related news, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) annual fair housing report to Congress, disability discrimination surpassed race discrimination in the number of complaints for the first time in 2005. HUD and the state and local agencies funded by HUD's Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) report an 8 percent rise in complaints alleging housing discrimination against persons with disabilities. Complaints alleging disability discrimination made up 40 percent of the cases, filed with HUD and its state and local partners. Allegations of discrimination based on race made up 38 percent of the cases, and 22 percent of cases alleged that a housing provider refused to make a reasonable accommodation to rules or procedures to assist a person with a disability. The full report, which can help housing providers better understand HUD's fair housing enforcement programs, is at www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/library/FY2005 _Annual_Report.pdf.

White Paper Helps Overcome NIMBYism

NAA/NMHC have published an updated version of their free "From NIMBY to Good Neighbors" white paper. The document is designed to help apartment firms overcome not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) opposition to rental housing. The 10-page paper identifies various advocacy tools companies can employ to win approval for new communities. It also summarizes the growing body of academic research that refutes many of the common myths associated with rental housing, focusing primarily on the notion that apartments cause nearby property values to decline. NAA/NMHC's white paper, which includes links to all of the original research summarized in the report, is available on NAA's Web site at www.uaahq.org/govern_affairs/.

Final Do-Not-Fax Rules Adopted

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on April 5 adopted final regulations implementing the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005. They will become final 90 days after being published in the Federal Register. The law overrides earlier FCC regulations strenuously opposed by NAA/NMHC that would have required written permission before sending any commercial fax, including to prospects who had requested the information. The new law allows businesses, political organizations and industry associations to send unsolicited commercial faxes as long as they have an "established business relationship" (EBR) with the recipient. The FCC's final rules codify the EBR exemption, but the FCC press release announcing them does not mention any plans to limit the duration of an established business relationship. The law authorizes the commission, after a period of three months from the date of enactment of the statute, to consider such limits.

Even in the case of an EBR, a person sending a fax advertisement must obtain the fax number directly from the recipient or ensure that the recipient voluntarily agreed to make the number available for public distribution. The law--and the implementing regulations--require for the first time that faxes include an "opt-out" notice that gives recipients a cost-free way to decline all future faxes from the sender. According to the rules, opt out requests must be honored within the shortest reasonable period of time, not to exceed 30 days. NAA/NMHC will update guidance on the federal Do-Not-Call and Do-Not-Fax regulations once the final rules are published.

NAA/NMHC Testify to Preserve Rural Rental Housing

NAA/NMHC's Jim Arbury testified before Congress on legislation (HR 5039) on April 25 to preserve the 15,000 rural apartment communities and 460,000 apartment units financed through Section 515 of the Rural Housing Act. Among other things, the bill would: allow new financing for ailing properties; authorize a voucher program to ensure that residents are not disadvantaged by prepayment; and require owners to provide residents with detailed notices of prepayment. In his testimony, Arbury emphasized the need to preserve and improve as much of this housing as practical without overly restricting an owner's right to sell an aging property to a third party.

Of particular interest to NAA/NMHC members is a provision that would allow rental housing owners with loans originated before Dec. 15, 1989, to pre-pay. Currently, regulations prohibit such owners from pre-paying, forcing them instead to sue the government for damages. NM/NMHC also urged for broader flexibility in second loans, grants and first mortgage payment provisions that would allow property owners to put much-needed capital into these properties to make needed repairs and renovations.

FHA Proposes Mortgage Insurance Premium Increase

The Bush Administration's FY 2007 budget proposes to increase the FHA multifamily mortgage insurance premium (MIP) by 32 basis points for most multifamily risk categories, except mortgages for projects with low-income housing tax credits and for risk-sharing programs for GSEs and housing finance agencies. In no case would the resulting premium exceed 80 basis points. NAA/NMHC and others strenuously have objected to the increase because it is not justified by added portfolio or program losses, but rather is designed solely to generate revenue for other programs.

Since FHA began basing the MIP on actual program losses three years ago, the premium has been reduced from 1 percent to 45 basis points. The proposed premium increase is particularly disturbing given the rocky history of the VHA program. For the past 10 years, the VHA multifamily (221 (d) (3) and 221 (d) (4)) insured loan programs have been self-sufficient. Until legislation was passed eliminating the need for Congressional appropriations of credit subsidy each year, the program was plagued by insufficient capacity that caused repeated and abrupt shutdowns, leaving many borrowers in limbo while FHA sought additional Congressionally approved mortgage insurance authority. NAA/NMHC are working with members of the appropriations committees to eliminate the proposed MIP increase from the final budget.

Congress Considers FHA No-Downpayment Mortgages

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held a hearing on April 5 on a proposal by HUD to revitalize the Federal Housing Administration (VHA). Among other things, the bill would eliminate the current 3 percent downpayment requirement and allow FHA to use a risk-based approach to charge borrowers higher or lower premium rates, depending on their credit profiles. It would also significantly increase FHA loan limits and allow FHA to insure condominiums under its standard single-family product. NAA/NMHC sent a letter to committee members objecting to the proposal, pointing out that FHA foreclosures at the end of 2004 were at their highest level ever, which is more than double the average for the past 21 years. Eliminating the downpayment requirement will drive foreclosure rates higher.

Information compiled by NAA/NMHC Joint Legislative Staff: Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Jim Arbury; Lisa Blackwell, Vice President of Housing Policy; Vice President of Capital Markets and Technology David Cardwell; Vice President of Property Management Jeanne Delgado; Vice President of Communications Kim Duty; Vice President of Environment Eileen Lee; Tax Advisor Howard Menell; Vice President of Building Codes Ron Nickson; Chief Economist Mark Obrinsky; and Director of Property Operations Betsy Feigin Befus.