Changing Seasons, Ongoing Challenges

Autumn is a season of change. While many poets refer to spring as the season of rebirth, I tend to think of the fall more as the marking of a new life cycle. September has always been my favorite month, when the heat and humidity yield to cooler, drier air. It’s generally a much more pleasant time in my view. While spring is nice, it also marks the nearing of oppressive summer heat in the Washington, DC, area where I live.

Fall is when the leaves burst with vibrant colors. It’s when we take the family out to enjoy apple picking. Students and their families begin with back-to-school preparations. Football season is starting. And baseball is heading into its final sprint to the World Series. It is our last chance to enjoy warm days and cool nights before the onslaught of snow, ice and colder temperatures – or for our readers in Florida, when you might put on a sweater to head to Publix.

This autumn, there’s plenty of change, rebirth and renewal coming to the affordable housing industry. In this issue, we take a look at some of the top-of-mind topics for property owners and managers. There are plenty of changes coming.

First off, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) modified and extended its eviction moratorium, giving landlords and tenants some additional time to apply for Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds.

Many NH&RA members are moving mountains to help their residents apply for and receive rental assistance funds. Our writer Mark Fogarty takes a look at the full-court press property owners and managers are making to get that assistance for their tenants. The ERAP funds have been slow to make their way into the system, with some states struggling in fits and starts to take on the Herculean task of disbursing billions of dollars to the people that need it most. And despite those bumps in the road, the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) notes that of the applications making their way through the rental relief process, just a fraction of the requests—about five percent—are turned down.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 continues to claim more lives as the Delta variant spreads like wildfire. After a year-and-a-half of struggling with supply chains, safety protocols and more, workers on the front lines of the pandemic are feeling burned out. And it’s not just health care workers and first responders. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the workforce participation rate is down about two percentage points from where it was before the pandemic. That means there’s a shortage of workers across all industries, including affordable housing.

This month we welcome a new writer, Pamela Martineau, a seasoned journalist who has worked on both coasts. She talks to several management companies and human resources professionals about how the worker shortage affects our industry, and how some companies are finding success in recruiting and retaining talent. It’s a must-read for Tax Credit Advisor subscribers.

I hope you can take some time to appreciate autumn in your neck of the woods. And I hope the coming months can be a little brighter than where we were a year ago.

Paul Connolly
Executive Editor

Tax Credit Advisor welcomes reader comments. Contact the executive editor at pconnolly@dworbell.com.