The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will publish a notice in Thursday’s Federal Register delaying the compliance date for the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) final rule until Oct. 1, 2024, which is a year later than originally planned. The notice says HUD is taking this action to allow public housing authorities (PHAs) additional time to implement the NSPIRE standards, which were part of the Economic Growth Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act. That provides more time to train staff, communicate with landlords and for HUD to provide additional technical resources. HUD previously announced a similar delay for select programs. PHAs that wish to continue using Housing Quality Standards for inspections after Oct. 1, 2023, must notify HUD of their intent and the date on which they plan to transition to NSPIRE, which can be no later than Oct. 1, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a notice in today’s Federal Register designating 2024 difficult development areas (DDAs) and qualified census tracts (QCTs) for purposes of the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC). LIHTC properties built in a QCT or DDA are eligible to increase their eligible basis by up to 30%. The notice designates DDAs for all states, the District of Columbia and four major U.S. territories (Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). QCTs are based on income and poverty data released in the American Community Survey. The 2023 DDAs and QCTs are effective for LIHTC allocations made after Dec. 31, 2023, or for buildings financed by tax-exempt bonds that are placed in service after Dec. 31, 2023.