Blair L. Schiff

Blair L. Schiff is an associate in the Financial Services Practice Group, resident in the Washington office of Pepper Hamilton LLP. He also is a member of the firm’s Sustainability, CleanTech and Climate Change Team.

Mr. Schiff represents residential and commercial developers, investors and lenders, nonprofit organizations and public entities by assisting them in their compliance with various multifamily affordable housing regulations. He specializes in programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and low income tax credits. Mr. Schiff is one of the few attorneys who passed the Green Building Certification Institute’s exam to qualify as a LEED^® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional.

Mr. Schiff’s practice involves the planning, negotiation, documentation and closing of transactions involving multifamily property development, preservation and disposition throughout the country. These transactions frequently involve a variety of assistance and funding sources, including Section 8 subsidies, Interest Reduction Payments, tax-exempt bond issues, LIHTC investment, federal nonprofit grants, and insurance by both state and federal housing agencies.

Mr. Schiff frequently navigates through the restrictions that accompany federal programs for public and privately subsidized, assisted and partially assisted projects. Most importantly, Mr. Schiff is familiar with the legal and political reasons for those restrictions. He has worked with public housing authorities in various mixed-finance transactions, including HOPE VI funded projects. Mr. Schiff has guided owners through the hurdles of HUD’s lead-based paint regulations (including avoiding penalties for non-compliance), assisted both for-profit and nonprofit property owners in Interest Reduction Payment “decouplings,” represented owners going through Mark-to-Market restructurings and represented owners in disputes with HUD’s Departmental Enforcement Center.

Education
J.D. 2005 George Mason University School of Law; member, George Mason Civil Right Journal; member, Moot Court
B.A. 2001 Centre College

Bar Admissions
Admitted to practice in New York and the District of Columbia