The Specialist in Housing Credit Management® (SHCM®) certification has been developed by the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) especially for management professionals involved with properties developed and operated under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. The SHCM is designed by management professionals for management professionals to ensure they have attained the knowledge, experience and competence required to excel in the housing credit property management industry.

As experienced affordable housing management professionals know, the LIHTC program is the primary production tool for creating new affordable housing properties across every state in the country, and it is also the most important tool for rehabilitating and preserving the nation’s existing stock of aging affordable housing. To maximize their careers, management professionals in the affordable housing industry must be able to demonstrate their experience and expertise in mastering the complex requirements of the LIHTC program. Earning your SHCM enables you to do just that.

The SHCM is offered in association with the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) and LeadingAge, formerly the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA). Click here for press release (PDF).

Development of the SHCM exam was based on an exacting process established for national certification programs to ensure the exam is a reliable and pyschometrically valid testing tool for its subject matter. NAHMA retained a well-respected third-party consultant to assist in this process. For a full report on how the SHCM exam was developed, please click here. The test questions on the SHCM exam will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis.

To earn an SHCM, candidates must:

• Education – successfully accumulate a minimum of 12 hours (actual instruction time) of housing credit specific coursework or training from an approved provider* within two years of sitting for the SHCM exam
• Examination – successfully pass the SHCM exam
• Professional Experience – demonstrate a minimum of two years of housing credit management employment experience through an application process
• SHCM Code of Professional Conduct – commit to a defined code of professional conduct (see below)
• Complete Application – submit your SHCM application along with the $160 application fee.

• SHCM Continuing Education Tracking Form

SHCM certification is valid for one year and must be renewed annually each September 1st. Renewal consists of six hours of housing credit specific coursework or training by an approved provider* per year and $165 renewal fee.

*(The Affordable Housing Management Associations (AHMAs) are approved providers; click here for a complete list of regional, state and local AHMAs. The NAA and LeadingAge and their affiliated organizations are also approved providers.) 

Housing credit training and the Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM) exam are offered regularly across the country, throughout the year by regional, state and local Affordable Housing Management Associations (AHMAs), private trainers, and other organizations partnering with NAHMA.

SHCM Candidates Meeting the Two-Year Experience Requirement May —

• Accumulate 12 hours (instruction time) of housing credit training conducted by an approved provider*, and at the end of the training, sit for the SHCM exam. (The exam will be forwarded to NAHMA for grading; NAHMA will contact you regarding your exam results within four to six weeks of receiving the exam.) Once a candidate passes the SHCM exam, the final step in the process is completion and submission of the SHCM application to NAHMA. SHCM applications are forwarded to candidates with their exam results.
• Contact NAHMA for an SHCM application package, if you wish to take credit for a prior (minimum) 12 hours of LIHTC training you’ve accumulated in the past two years, and want to just sit for the exam now (a certificate or some other proof of training completion will be required); NAHMA will notify you of upcoming dates/locations at which you may sit for the exam. Again, the completed exam will be forwarded to NAHMA for grading, and NAHMA will contact you regarding your exam results within four to six weeks of receiving the exam. Once a candidate passes the SHCM exam, the final step in the process is completion and submission of the SHCM application to NAHMA.

SHCM Candidates with Less than the Two-Year Experience Requirement May —

Take advantage of the same two options listed above; however, these candidates will need to participate in a “candidacy period” equal to the amount of time remaining to meet the two-year work experience requirement. Once the candidacy period is satisfied, the candidate may then begin to use the SHCM certification. Candidates selecting this option may use the SHCM-c (SHCM-Candidate) designation, and must pay an additional one-time non-refundable administrative maintenance fee of $100 with the SHCM application. SHCM-Candidates are required to gain their two-year work experience within three years of passing the exam; exceptions will be considered by NAHMA on a case-by-case basis.

*(The Affordable Housing Management Associations (AHMAs) are approved providers; click here for a complete list of regional, state and local AHMAs. The NAA and LeadingAge and their affiliated organizations are also approved providers.)

• Receive a congratulatory welcome kit, including a certificate, pin, annual identification card, and draft press release for your internal company newsletter or local media.
• Have your name listed in NAHMA’s popular and prestigious Online Directory of Credentialed Professionals.
• Receive a free subscription to NAHMA News ($100 value), NAHMA’s bimonthly newsletter about issues affecting the rapidly changing affordable housing industry, including regulation, legislation and NAHMA initiatives.
• Receive a free subscription to UNITS magazine ($50 value), NAA’s full-color trade publication featuring news and newsmakers in the multifamily housing industry. Features include interviews of movers and shakers in the industry, profiles of cutting-edge firms and properties, and topical articles covering every aspect of residential property management and ownership. UNITS serves as the perfect arena to learn about what’s going on in the multifamily housing industry and is a great resource to keep on your bookshelf.
• Receive a free subscription to NAA’s Industry Insider e-newsletter, featuring late-breaking apartment industry news and information.
• Receive a free subscription to NAHP Update, NAHMA’s quarterly newsletter for its NAHP credential holders and other site staff focusing on professional development and hands-on property management topics.
• Receive free access to NAHMA’s LIHTC Web site.
• Receive a free subscription to SHCM Newsbriefs, a quarterly email/online newsletter which includes concise articles on key news-breaking issues of importance in the tax-credit arena, as well as the latest updates on the SHCM program, exam offerings and training.
• Participate for free in two SHCM training webinars per year. 

The following Professional Code of Ethics should be followed at all times:

• Exercise the highest level of integrity and professional conduct.
• Exercise reasonable compliance with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations and maintain professional standards.
• Provide equal employment and housing opportunity to any person no matter their race,color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, age, handicap, and any constitutionally protected class.
• Professionally manage properties, including but not limited to:
  1. Maintaining fiduciary obligations to clients;
  2. Avoiding disclosure of confidential information to third parties;
  3. Maintaining true and accurate accounting records; and,
  4. Protecting all clients’ assets.
• Use professional means if seeking to influence legislation, regulations, or public opinions.