square footage Archives

Jul 10, 2019

EPA Lowers Dust-Lead Hazard Levels in Advance of Court Ordered Deadline

On June 21 the EPA released updated dust-lead hazard standards which reduce the acceptable levels from 40 μg per square foot to 10 μg per square foot for floors, and from 250 μg per square foot to 100 μg per square foot for window sills. The standards apply to most pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities, such as daycare centers and kindergarten classrooms. The EPA was ordered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to revise their standards by June 2019 after several environmental organizations sued the agency in 2016 for failing to update the standards. The revised… Read more

Dec 26, 2007

Amendment to the 80/20 Rule

On December 20, 2007, President Bush signed into law legislation dramatically liberalizing the so-called “80/20 Rule” restricting the amount of non-shareholder income cooperatives may receive.[1] As a practical matter, the legislation will eliminate commercial income restrictions for most cooperatives. Under the former rule, in order for a cooperative shareholder to receive the tax benefits normally afforded a homeowner, the cooperative could receive no more than 20% of its income from non-shareholder sources. As a result of this rule, cooperatives controlling substantial commercial space have often capped the rents payable by their commercial tenants below market rents in order to keep… Read more