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OHFA: Housing for Displaced Residents of Hurricane Irma

Published on September 20, 2017 by Ohio Housing Finance Agency
OHFA: Housing for Displaced Residents of Hurricane Irma

On September 10, 2017, President Trump declared Hurricane Irma a major disaster. As of September 15, 2017, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated 46 Florida counties as major disaster areas.

Under Internal Revenue Procedure 2014-49, the IRS provides housing tax credit owners temporary relief from income requirements for individuals displaced by a major disaster. Households are eligible for emergency housing in Housing Tax Credit (HTC) properties if their principal residence was located in an area eligible for individual assistance. Owners and managers of Housing Tax Credit (HTC) properties who wish to provide temporary emergency housing to displaced residents must have written approval from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA). Review the list of eligible counties here.

Owners who would like to provide emergency temporary housing must complete the Owner Request to Provide Emergency Housing form.

Unless your written policies and procedures provide a preference for households displaced by presidentially-declared disasters, you may not skip over households on your waiting list to provide emergency housing. Likewise, you may not displace existing households in order to provide emergency housing.

Owners that are approved to provide emergency housing must use the Displaced Household Certification for each displaced household.

Units leased as emergency housing are subject to the program rent limits. The Internal Revenue Procedure 2014-49 allows units to be used on a transient basis and relieves the owner and household from providing evidence of income eligibility. The emergency relief period ends September 10, 2018. After this date, displaced households that cannot document eligibility for the HTC program cannot occupy program units.

Please review Revenue Procedure 2014-49 carefully and in its entirety to avoid noncompliance. If you have any questions, please contact Betsy Krieger at bkrieger@ohiohome.org.