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Legislation Section
Institute for Environmental Education It's Official, Massachusetts takes over RRP Rule Enforcement! (posted 12-07-2010) On July 9, 2010, the MA Division of Occupational Safety (DOS) took over the enforcement of the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP Rule) making it the ninth state to assume control of the Rule. The MA DOS, in conjunction with the Executive Office for Administration and Finance made several changes to both the Deleading and Lead-Safe Renovation regulation and the Licensing Fees for Lead-Safe Renovation Contractors and Lead-Safe Renovator Training Providers. The following is a summary of the changes: EPA RRP Firm Certification - Prior to July 9, 2010: If you have already registered your Firm with the EPA prior to July 9, 2010 and you conduct your business in Massachusetts, you will only need to fill out the Lead-Safe Renovator Contractor Licensing Waiver Application and send this, along with a copy of the EPA RRP Firm Certification to the MA DOS (no additional cost). NEW Lead-Safe Renovation Contractor - Beginning July 9, 2010: If you have not yet registered your Firm prior to July 9, 2010 and you conduct your business in Massachusetts, you will need to fill out the Lead-Safe Renovator Contractor Application, provide a copy of the RRP Certificate obtained from the training course, and send it in with a bank certified check or money order for $375.00 to the MA DOS. Note: A responsible person and/or manager must be RRP trained and certified prior to submitting this application. Additionally:
Deadline Extentions for Massachusetts Workers It would appear that the September 30, 2010 extension to obtain Firm Certification and December 31, 2010 extension to complete the RRP training course for Massachusetts workers may not be honored by the MA Department of Safety. We'll update you as the information becomes available to us. Massachusetts Department of Safety (DOS) Fines The MA DOS will fine $5,000.00 per day, per violation for any renovators not complying with the lead-safe work practices beginning July 9, 2010. Click here for a complete list of all EPA authorized states. To access the amendments to the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP Rule) on the Massachusetts Department of Safety website, click here. To access the Massachusetts Department of Safety regulation, click here. Sincerely, Roy Teresky VP Sales & Marketing Institute for Environmental Education Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (posted 12-06-2010) Follow these links to find out more about how this new law will affect your rental businesses http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/Small_Business_Jobs_Act_of_2010,201033707.aspx http://www.thecitywire.com/index.php?q=node/12132 http://blogs.forbes.com/janetnovack/2010/09/20/landlord-alert-more-tax-paperwork-on-the-way/ Legislation includes increased IRC Section 179 expensing limits, "bonus" first-year depreciation, changes to treatment of small business stock, general business credit, and health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. On September 27, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (H.R. 5297). Provisions contained in the act include: • Increased IRC Section 179 expense limits -- Effective for 2010 and 2011, the Small Business Jobs Act increases the maximum amount that may be expensed under IRC Section 179 to $500,000 and increases the phase-out threshold amount to $2 million. The act also temporarily expands the application of Section 179 to up to $250,000 of certain real property (e.g., qualified restaurant property). • First-year "bonus" depreciation extended -- The Small Business Jobs Act extends the additional 50% first-year depreciation deduction that was in effect for 2008 and 2009 for one year, to qualified property acquired and placed in service during 2010 (or placed in service during 2011 for certain long-lived property and transportation property). • Small business stock exclusion increased -- The act temporarily increases the exclusion percentage for qualified small business stock to 100 percent, and does not treat the excluded gain as an alternative minimum tax preference item. Therefore, no regular tax or alternative minimum tax will generally be imposed on the sale of qualified small business stock issued and acquired after September 27, 2010, and before January 1, 2011, if the stock is held for at least five years. • General business credit enhanced for small businesses -- Eligible small businesses (generally, non-publicly traded corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships with gross receipts of $50 million or less) will be able to carry back excess general business credits up to 5 years in 2010, and will be able to use the general business credit to offset both regular and alternative minimum tax liability. • Health insurance costs will reduce self-employment tax -- For 2010 only, the deduction allowed to self-employed individuals for the cost of health insurance for themselves, their spouses, dependents, and children who have not attained age 27 as of the end of the taxable year will be taken into account not only for income tax purposes, but in calculating net earnings from self-employment for purposes of self-employment tax (Self-Employment Contributions Act "SECA" taxes). • Cell phones no longer listed property -- Effective for tax years ending after December 31, 2009, cell phones are removed from the definition of listed property, significantly reducing the substantiation rules and depreciation limits that apply. • New reporting requirements for rental property expenses -- With some exceptions, starting in 2011 individuals who receive rental income from real property will be required to file an information return (Form 1099) when they make payments totaling $600 or more to a service provider (such as a plumber, painter, or accountant) in the course of earning rental income. • Retirement plan Roth availability expanded -- Beginning in 2011, governmental 457(b) plans will be able to allow participants to make Roth contributions. Effective immediately, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and governmental 457(b) plans can allow participants to roll over pretax dollars into a designated Roth account under the plan. • Portion of nonqualified annuity can be annuitized -- Beginning in 2011, a portion of a nonqualified annuity (an annuity that is not held by a qualified retirement plan or IRA), endowment, or life insurance contract can be annuitized, provided the annuitization period is for 10 years or more, or is for the lives of one or more individuals. The portion of the annuity or contract that is annuitized is treated as a separate contract for purposes of federal income taxation, and the investment in the contract is allocated on a pro rata basis. EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Information & Registration (posted 2-16-2010) At our February 2010 NWCLA Meeting, board members Jeff Landry and David Fleckner announced information about the upcoming legislation that affects any of us as landlords who do maintenance repairs on our buildings, and run that property as a business to make a profit. The new laws require that all landlords that fit into this category must be trained and certified in basic lead remediation. Please find below web site links, PDF forms to download and register, as well as other helpful information to instruct and guide you through this hot topic. The law goes into effect in April 2010 so please use this information to educate your selves as well as your property managers as soon as possible. Please see attached several documents, brochures and listed the websites with the best info. Hint – on the EPA web site – the red tool box is very helpful! http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/toolkits.htm http://www.IEEtrains.com/ Please feel free to call Donna Kelleher at IEE Trains with any questions or to register for a class. Donna Kelleher Sales & Marketing IEE – Institute for Environmental Education Office (978) 658-5272 x248 Fax (978) 658-5435 DKelleher@ieetrains.com (PB 365) New EPA RRP 8 hr Initial Class $215 (7:30 AM – 4:00 PM) English Feb 16, 17, 2010 Mar 1, 6, 12, 15, 2, 2010 In order to make registration easier for you, please send Donna an email with the following information for each person: * Legal Name * HOME address (EPA requires your Home address) * HOME phone * Last 4 digits of SSN (if you have it) * Date of Birth (if you have it) * Email address (optional) * COMPANY Name & Address Payment for the class is made the morning of the class  2010 Directions and Map to IEE Training (PDF)CONTRACTORS
Lead Safety During
Renovation (PDF) EPA’s
Renovation, Repair, and Painting
Final Rule 40 CFR 745:
Deadline: 4-22-2010 (PDF)RRP Application and Instructions for Firms (PDF)Renovator Repair and Painting (RRP) Questions (PDF)Small Entity Compliance
Guide to Renovate Right (PDF)Mandatory Rent Escrowing Click here to download complete PDF from Mass Rental Housing Authority (PDF)Status: this bill has been submitted to the State House. At this time, Thomas Stanley (Representative from Waltham and Vice Chair of the Housing Committee) and Pamela Richardson (Representative from Framingham) are sponsoring the bill, we’re working on getting additional sponsors for the bill. Objective: With the current legislation, a tenant can withhold rent if a call is made to the board of health and problems are found in the apartment. Unfortunately, in some cases, the tenant does not have the rent money and even after the problems are resolved, the landlord cannot get the rent. The proposed legislative changes would require that a tenant put the rent into an escrow account if the landlord serves the tenant a notice to vacate and the tenant then proceeds to call the Board of Health to report problems. This is called the “Free Rent Trick”. The money to be placed in escrow would be the current rent minus any repair costs the tenant incurs to resolve the problem. While many opponents to this change state that this is a burden on the tenant, there are multiple indications that this is not.
Get The Lead Out Fund Eligibility Click here to download Mass Housing (PDF)Download this PDF bulletin from Mass Housing regarding the eligibility for the funds. Please share this important clarification with anyone you know who either works with - or may be in need of - a Get the Lead Out loan. I'm sure many of you have already received it, but I wanted to be sure to share it with everyone. There seem to be remaining funds in the existing account that have not been applied for, perhaps partly due to various misunderstandings and miscommunications about eligibility guidelines. I hope this clarification will help us to promote the availability and facilitate distribution of existing funds in order to get assistance to those trying to bring properties into compliance with the Mass Lead Law and ensure healthier homes for families in our community. We all hope that the GTLO fund can be fully renewed and that, in combination with other sources of renovation, rehabilitation funding eligibility guidelines can be even expanded to include more properties in need of lead abatement. Phone Senators Today - HUD Lead Hazard Reduction Funding As you know, President Obama and Congressional leaders are working on a recovery and reinvestment plan that attempts to address immediate economic needs, create jobs and invest in the infrastructure America needs for recovery. As you may know too, the House passed its version of the "stimulus" bill last week, and the Senate is expected to vote on its version this week. Both House and Senate versions include an additional $100 million in funding for the Lead Hazard Reduction Program under the HUD Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. This additional funding could make a real difference in preventing childhood lead poisoning by creating more safe, affordable housing in communities around the country and across the Commonwealth, including our own. However, it is not yet certain that this additional funding will appear in the final version of the stimulus. Please take a moment to call Senators Kerry and Kennedy today and tell them you support retaining this funding in the Senate version of the stimulus bill. Kerry: (202) 224-2742 Kennedy: (202) 224-4543 IHere some helpful links for those who’d like to explore the proposed text in more depth: http://readthestimulus.org/ House Version: http://readthestimulus.org/hr1_text.pdf (PDF page 229)Senate Version: http://readthestimulus.org/s336_012709.pdf (PDF page 260) Please call both of your Senators and say: "Hello, my name is (your name here) and I am calling from the Northern Worcester Conty landlord Association. I am calling to ask the Senator to support retaining $100 million in additional funding for the "Lead Hazard Reduction" Program under the HUD Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control as currently included in both the House and Senate versions of the stimulus bill." [Explain in 1 or 2 sentences YOUR LOCAL issues with lead paint, organization's success in helping families, anything that makes it relevant for your legislator]. Thank the Senator for his support. And thank you all again for your support. National Association of REALTORS and Property Managers Webinars of RRP rule The National Association of Realtors is hosting additional free webinars on the RRP rule for REALTORs and property managers. The most recent session was for property managers on Wednesday, January 28 at 2:00 ET. The presentation has been changed from the previous December 18 session. NAR also hosted additional sessions for REALTORS and property managers on Thursday, February 4. To review the webinars from December 18 go to: REATLORS https://realtors.webex.com/realtors/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=29294197&rKey=D4AB3E204012AFF5 Property Managers https://realtors.webex.com/realtors/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=29303127&rKey=11EB44D3B47309F1 Thanks to the National Association of Realtors for offering these webinars. Tom Neltner National Center for Healthy Housing 443-539-4160 (o) or 317-442-3973 (c) tneltner@nchh.org or tneltner@nchh.info FANNIE MAE Increase Number of Loans to 10 for Investors Click here to download the Guidelines for Multiple Mortgages (PDF)Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company under US Government control, recently announced that it would increase the investor loan limit that a real estate investor can have in it’s system to 10. It had been reduced to 4 with everything that has gone on in the mortgage market the past year. The company will expand its limit for investor and second-home loans to as many as 10 properties per borrower, according to a February 6, 2009 notice to lenders on Fannie’s website. This new policy will become effective March 1, 2009. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac imposed a reduction in the amount of properties and their rationale was was their belief that investors who own higher numbers of rental condos and houses pose a greater risk of default, foreclosure and loss for the companies. In fact the restriction effectively shut out many small investors from Fannie's and Freddie's standard programs -- and pushed them into much higher-cost financing from so-called "hard money" lenders. Highly qualified real estate investors play a big role in the economy of this country. The lending environment for investors is so hostile now, they are preventing good deals from responsible investors from happening. That is not helping the housing market. Eligibility Qualifications
 
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