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Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices: 9.6.8 Diploma Mills

“Diploma mills” are defined as entities that: (1) for a fee, offer degrees, diplomas, or certificates which may be used to represent to the general public that the individual possessing such a degree, diploma, or certificate has completed a program of post-secondary education or training; (2) require such individual to complete little or no education or coursework to obtain such degree, diploma, or certificate; and (3) lack accreditation by a recognized accrediting agency or association.752 The Department of Education is required to maintain

Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices: 11.1 Introduction

Previous chapters have analyzed major issues facing UDAP litigants: whether the seller’s unfair or deceptive actions fall within the scope of the statute, whether the challenged practice violates the UDAP statute, and who can be held liable for the UDAP violation. But a number of other issues are important when litigating UDAP cases. Timing issues such as the statute of limitations and the effective date of the statute and its amendments are raised in many UDAP cases.

Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices: 11.2.1.2 Selecting a Statute of Limitations When the UDAP Statute Is Silent

In jurisdictions where no limitation period is found in the UDAP statute and the state has several general statutes of limitations applying to differing categories of actions, the court must determine which one applies to a UDAP action. Thus, there may be different limitations periods for an action arising from a nonpenal statutory right, a tort, a contract, or a penal statute. When a UDAP statute does not have a specific limitations period, consumer litigants must familiarize themselves with all of the state’s general statutes of limitations and determine which applies.

Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices: 11.5.1 Introduction

UDAP actions must comply with the state courts’ normal jurisdictional requirements. Jurisdictional and choice-of-law issues often arise in cases with out-of-state features. Even when a case has no multi-state aspects, there may be questions about which state court has jurisdiction. In other cases, the consumer may wish to litigate the case in federal court or bankruptcy court, or the defendant may seek to force the case into arbitration. This section discusses these questions.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 5.8.2 Establishing LIHTC Utility Allowances

The LIHTC regulations provide several options for owners to determine how utility allowances should be established. Regardless of the methodology used, telephone, cable television, and internet are not included in the utility allowance.251 Importantly, if any units in the project are subsidized by Rural Development (RD) or HUD or are occupied by voucher tenants, the RD or HUD rules, rather than the LIHTC rules, apply.252

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 5.8.3 Adjusting LIHTC Utility Allowances

Owners must review the basis on which utility allowances have been established at least once during each calendar year.265 The review must take into account changes in utility rates and any changes to the building that affect energy consumption, such as conservation measures.266 Unlike the other housing programs discussed above, there is no 10% rate-change threshold for determining when owners must recalculate allowances, so even smaller changes could justify advocating for an adjustment.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 5.9.1 Energy Efficiency Programs and Initiatives

Because many properties used for subsidized housing are old and/or poorly maintained, tenants, PHAs, HUD and owners frequently pay a kind of energy inefficiency premium. In an effort to rein in costs, reduce environmental impacts, and improve the comfort and well-being of tenants living in subsidized properties, many federal and state agencies are now attempting to increase energy efficiency in these properties.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 13.2.4 Parties Whom VAWA Protects

VAWA protects any individual who is or has been a survivor of actual or threatened VAWA crimes, and is living in, or seeking admission to, any of the covered housing programs.25

VAWA also protects a VAWA crime victim’s “affiliated individual,” defined as a spouse, parent, sibling or child of that victim; an individual to whom the victim stands in loco parentis; or an individual, tenant, or lawful occupant in the victim’s household.26

Truth in Lending: 3.7.8 Assignment Fee or Discount

Creditors (particularly sellers of future services, such as health spas) will frequently sell their consumer credit paper to other parties, such as finance companies, at a deep discount; that is, the creditor will assign the consumer’s obligation for less than the face value of the obligation. For example, if the amount financed for a health spa contract were $400, the finance company may pay the health spa only $300, thereby in effect charging the health spa $100 as a condition of purchasing the contract.

Truth in Lending: 3.7.9 Credit Insurance—Unless Excluded

Credit insurance premiums are, in the first instance, explicitly characterized as part of the finance charge.445 However, they are also the subject of one of the exclusionary rules.446 Because the exception has virtually swallowed the rule, credit insurance is discussed in detail in connection with the exclusions at § 3.9.4, infr

Truth in Lending: 3.7.10 Debt Cancellation Coverage; GAP Insurance

Debt cancellation agreements (DCAs) are contracts that generally serve the same purpose as credit insurance, but they are contracts directly between the creditor and the borrower to cancel the debt in case of a specified event.447 (Thus, they cut out the middle-man insurer.448) Included in the definition, for TILA purposes, are GAP (guaranteed automobile protection) agreements, or GAP insurance, which cancels any loan deficiency that may remain if property insurance on collateral is insuffic

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 5.1 Introduction

To keep subsidized housing affordable for low-income households, federal law for most federally assisted housing programs limits tenants’ rent contributions.1 The tenant rent contribution in these programs includes both shelter and the costs for a reasonable amount of utilities.2 Where utilities are tenant-paid, a tenant is entitled to a “utility allowance” to cover reasonable utility costs.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 5.2.1 Introduction

Federally subsidized tenants receive utility allowances if they pay for at least some portion of their utilities. The type of metering system used in a tenant’s building affects whether or not the tenant pays for some or all of the utilities. This section reviews how the different metering systems operate and interact with utility allowance procedures.

HUD Housing Programs: Tenants’ Rights (The Green Book): 13.2.5 “Core” Protections

VAWA prohibits otherwise qualified tenants and applicants from being denied or terminated from housing assistance, or from being denied admission or evicted from, a covered housing program on the basis that the tenant or applicant is or has been the survivor of a VAWA crime.33 The HUD VAWA Rule refers to these general anti-discrimination protections as the “core” protections as they apply to all HUD programs covered by VAWA.