Federal Legislative/Regulatory Relief and Responses to COVID-19

Last Updated March 11, 2021

NMHC is continually adding resources to this page, please bookmark this page to get the latest resources.

Resources by topic:

Emergency Rental Assistance
Federal Eviction Moratorium
Paid Sick and Family Leave or Medical Leave
Multifamily Mortgage Forbearance and Underwriting Standards
Tax Policies
HUD Housing Resources

Emergency Rental Assistance

In December 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act that—among other COVID relief measures— allocated $25 billion to the Treasury Department to create a new Emergency Rental Assistance program. In March, Congress appropriated another $24.7 billion for it.

As states begin to open enrollment, NMHC remains engaged with Congress and the Treasury Department to ensure the program is administered in an efficient and effective manner that works for both residents and property owners/managers.

NMHC Analysis of the Emergency Rental Assistance program - NEW - 2/25/2021

Federal Eviction Moratorium

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a temporary COVID-19 halt on residential evictions from September 4 to December 31, 2020. Resources and briefings related to this moratorium are available below.

CDC Temporary Halt to Residential Evictions – 9/4/2020
CDC-Issued Frequently Asked Question on the Federal Eviction Moratorium – 10/10/2020
NMHC Overview: CDC’s Eviction Moratorium FAQs – 10/13/2020
NMHC Webinar: Impacts of the CDC Eviction Moratorium – 9/24/2020
NMHC Issue Briefing: FAQs on the CDC Eviction Moratorium – 9/10/2020

Paid Sick and Family Leave or Medical Leave

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act that requires employers with under 500 employees to provide mandatory sick leave to those impacted by COVID-19, including employees who need time off to care for a child impacted by a school closure through December 31, 2020. Employers are entitled to a refundable tax credit for the required leave paid, up to specified limits, but the same wages cannot be counted for both the paid leave requirements and the Paycheck Protection Program..

Guidance from the Department of Labor on Taking Advantage of Expanded Family and Sick Leave

Treasury/IRS/Labor Summary of Paid Leave Requirement
IRS FAQs: COVID-19-Related Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave Provided by Small and Midsize Businesses
IRS Guidance: FAQs: Employee Retention Credit under the CARES Act (Explains the overlap between the Paycheck Protection Program and Paid Leave Tax Credits among other things)

Multifamily Mortgage Forbearance and Underwriting Standards

The CARES act provides up to 90 days of forbearance for multifamily borrowers with a federally backed multifamily mortgage loan (GSE, FHA) who have experienced a financial hardship as a result of COVID-19. In exchange for forbearance, borrowers receiving may not evict or charge late fees to residents for the duration of the forbearance period, plus 30 days. Borrowers must repay forborne amounts over a period of 12 months, but no late fees or interest charges will be applied during the forbearance period.

Tax Policies

Congress Fixes Alternative Depreciation System Issue for Multifamily
The COVID-19 relief and federal funding bill passed on December 21 includes a long-sought NMHC provision to correct an error in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The TCJA limits the ability of taxpayers in general to deduct business interest but allows multifamily real estate firms to continue to deduct said interest as long as they agree to depreciate their property under longer periods provided for under the Alternative Depreciation System (ADS).
Delay of Payment of Employer Payroll Taxes:
The Act enables employers and the self-employed to delay the payment of the employer side of Social Security payroll taxes. The provision enables the deferral of the 6.2 percent tax from the date of enactment through the remainder of 2020. Half of the amount must be repaid by December 31, 2021, and the other half must be repaid by December 31, 2022. Taxpayers with forgiven indebtedness arising from the small business loans authorized in the Act are ineligible to defer payroll taxes.
Net Operating Loss Carryback
The Act allows net operating losses (NOLs) generated in taxable years beginning in 2018, 2019, and 2020 to be carried back for five years. The provision also eliminates the 80 percent taxable income limitation to allow an NOL to fully offset income. Under current law, NOLs cannot be carried back. Thus, eligible taxpayers can amend prior-year returns and claim tax refunds. The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2020-23 to enable eligible partnerships to file amended partnership returns for taxable years beginning in 2018 and 2019 using a Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income, with the “Amended Return” box checked, and issue an amended Schedule K-1 to each of its partners. Full IRS Notice
Suspension of Limits on Excess Business Losses
The Act suspends the limitation of excess business losses applicable to pass-through businesses and sole proprietors that would otherwise be applicable for 2018, 2019, and 2020. This provision will help impacted taxpayers benefit from the NOL carryback described above.
Limitations on Business Interest
The Act increases to 50 percent the 30 percent business interest limitation rule for taxable years beginning in 2019 and 2020. Special rules apply to partnerships. Real estate taxpayers to whom the limitation applies may still elect out so long as real property is depreciated under the Alternative Depreciation System instead of MACRS.
Like-Kind Exchanges
Days after NMHC spearheaded a coalition asking Treasury Department to take administrative action to delay deadlines applicable to like-kind exchanges that are currently underway, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a rule that lines up with industry requests.
Employee Retention Credit

The CARES Act establishes a refundable employee retention tax credit for employers subject to closure due to COVID-19. The tax credit covers 50 percent of wages up to $10,000. Employers must exclude wages covered by employee sick leave tax credits provided for in the Phase 2 Coronavirus relief package. Additionally, employers who take SBA loans are ineligible.

Employers eligible for the tax credit are those that: (1) see operations fully or partially suspended due to orders from a governmental authority due to COVID-19; or (2) see gross receipts falling by more than 50 percent from the same quarter in the prior year. For employers with greater than 100 full-time employees, qualified wages are wages paid to employees when they are not providing services due to the COVID-19-related circumstances described above. For eligible employers with 100 or fewer full-time employees, all employee wages qualify for the credit, whether the employer is open for business or subject to a shut-down order. The credit is provided for wages paid or incurred from March 13, 2020, through December 31, 2020.

IRS Guidance: FAQs: Employee Retention Credit under the CARES Act

The COVID Relief Act enacts several changes to the credit effective for January 1, 2021, to June 30, 2021:
- Reduces the threshold for employers to qualify from those experiencing a 50 percent or greater reduction in gross receipts to those experiencing a 20 percent or greater reduction. It also provides a safe harbor that allows employers to use prior quarter gross receipts for qualification purposes.
- Increases the credit rate from 50 percent of wages to 70 percent of wages.
- Replaces the annual $10,000 limit of per-employee qualifying wages to a new quarterly limit of $10,000 per employee.
Finally, retroactive to the effective date of the CARES Act, the new legislation enables taxpayers that did not use forgiven Paycheck Protection Program loans to pay wages to qualify for the Employee Retention Tax Credit.
IRS Guidance on the Employee Retention Credit under Section 2301 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act