Preparing For Your HUD/LIHTC Review

We are aware that you spend a great deal of time and effort preparing for us to conduct a Compliance Review at your property. With the ever-changing HUD and LIHTC guidelines, we offer the following best practices to ensure that the Site Visit is a positive and productive experience.

Training: A staff member that is receiving continuing education regarding HUD and LIHTC guidelines is often better prepared for the Site Visit. This holds true for site and regional staff members. In addition to the LIHTC requirement, we recommend all staff attend at least one course or seminar per year. As an additional benefit, the staff members have the opportunity to network, which aides in problem solving with other industry professionals. Please feel free to contact any member of the ADOH team for further information regarding upcoming training opportunities.

Questions: We welcome you to contact ADOH during the year to address specific concerns regarding the Site Visit process and/or HUD/LIHTC guidance. Property staff are encouraged to spot-check resident files throughout the year to ensure the required documentation is present and accurate. We also encourage you to sign up for email Listserv(s) so that you may have the most current and updated information at your fingertips. Please contact ADOH for information regarding the applicable Listserv(s) for your property.    

Notification: Please carefully review the Notification Letter you receive regarding the Site Visit. The letter and some of the requirements have changed over the years. The documentation is requested in order to begin the review and to reduce the amount of time and disruption to your daily operations the day of the Site Visit.

Administrative Preparation: Preparing the administrative aspects of your property consists of implementing standardized practices at your site. Property policies and procedures should be readily available to the ADOH representative and (when required by HUD) the public.

Physical Preparation: Preparing the physical aspects of your property for the day of the Site Visit should begin with the basics, such as:

• Having the grounds neatly trimmed and mowed
• Units should be inspected as required by HUD guidelines and we suggest (at minimum) annual unit inspections for LIHTC properties
• Ensuring the common areas, maintenance areas, and the management office are all clean and tidy
• Review the most recent physical inspection report and ensure that any deficiencies noted have been corrected
• If any deferred maintenance tasks are present, the site staff should be aware and prepared to answer questions regarding the status and expected dates of completion of these type issues

The Big Day: When the big day arrives, please have staff available and prepared to accompany the reviewer for unit reviews and delivery of the files for audit. Please answer all questions as thoroughly as possible. Contrary to popular belief, usually the more information provided… the better the result!