Section 1807.401 - Affordable Housing-Rental HousingTo qualify as Affordable Housing, each rental Multi-family housing Project financed with a CMF Award must have at least 20 percent of the units rent-restricted to any combination of Low-Income, Very Low-Income, or Extremely Low-Income Families and must comply with the rent limits as set forth in the applicable NOFA and Assistance Agreement in any CMF funding round. The CDFI Fund may require a greater percentage of the units per Project to be income-targeted and/or require a specific targeted income commitment in any given CMF round, as set forth in the applicable NOFA and Assistance Agreement.
(a)Rent limitations. The gross rent limits for Affordable Housing are further specified in the Assistance Agreement.(b)Nondiscrimination against rental assistance subsidy holders. The Recipient shall require that the owner of a rental unit cannot refuse to lease the unit to a Section 8 Program certificate or voucher holder ( 24 CFR part 982, Section 8 Tenant-Based Assistance: Unified Rule for Tenant-Based Assistance under the Section 8 Rental Certificate Program and the Section 8 Rental Voucher Program) or to the holder of a comparable document evidencing participation in a HOME tenant-based rental assistance program because of the status of the prospective tenant as a holder of such certificate, voucher, or comparable HOME tenant-based assistance document.(c)Initial rent schedule and utility allowances. The Recipient shall ensure that utility allowances and submetering rules are consistent with regulations concerning utility allowances and submetering in buildings that are subject to gross rent restrictions as set forth in the Assistance Agreement and under IRC sec. 42(g)(2), as applicable.(d)Periods of affordability. Housing under this section must meet the affordability requirements during the Affordability Period. The affordability requirements apply without regard to the term of any loan or mortgage or the transfer of ownership and must be imposed by deed restrictions, covenants running with the land, or other recording instruments. Upon receipt of a written approval from the CDFI Fund, a Recipient may use a different recording instrument as provided for in the Assistance Agreement. The affordability restrictions are allowed to terminate upon foreclosure or transfer in lieu of foreclosure. To the extent allowed under State law, in the event of a sale of property at foreclosure, transfer in lieu of foreclosure, short sale or other types of disposition, proceeds available to pay off a mortgage financed with a CMF Award shall be treated as Program Income.(e)Standard lease terms and conditions. All tenants occupying rental CMF Units shall be required to enter into a written lease or rental agreement setting forth the terms and requirements which are, but not limited to, compliance with applicable State and local law.(f)Tenant income determination.(1) At the time of each initial lease and occupancy, the tenant income shall be determined to ascertain income eligibility. During the Affordability Period, the existing tenant income shall be re-examined in a manner as set forth in the Assistance Agreement. Tenant income examination and verification are ultimately the responsibility of the Recipient. Tenant income shall include income from all Family members. The Recipient must require the Project owner to obtain information on rents and occupancy of Affordable Housing financed or supported with a CMF Award in order to demonstrate compliance with this section.(2) One of the following two definitions of "annual income" must be used to determine whether a Family is income-eligible: (i) Adjusted gross income as defined for purposes of reporting under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040 series for individual Federal annual income tax purposes; or(ii) Annual Income as defined at 24 CFR 5.609 (except that when determining the income of a homeowner for an owner-occupied Rehabilitation Project, the value of the homeowner's principal residence may be excluded from the calculation of "Net Family Assets," as defined in 24 CFR 5.603 ).(3) The CDFI Fund reserves the right to deem certain government programs, under which a Family is a recipient, as income eligible for purposes of meeting the tenant income requirements under this section.(g)Over-income tenants.(1) CMF Units continue to qualify as Affordable Housing despite a temporary noncompliance caused by increases in the incomes of existing tenants if actions satisfactory to the CDFI Fund are being taken to ensure that all vacancies are filled in accordance with this section until the noncompliance is corrected.(2) The maximum rent for tenants whose incomes no longer qualify is either 30 percent of the Family's annual income, or the amount payable by the tenants under State or local law, whichever is less; however, tenants whose income exceeds the Eligible-Income level are not required to pay rent in excess of the market rent for comparable, unassisted units in the neighborhood.(3) If the income of a tenant of a CMF Unit no longer qualifies, the Recipient may designate another unit within the Project as a rent-restricted replacement unit that meets the affordability qualifications for the same income category as the original unit, as further set forth in the Recipient's Assistance Agreement. If there is not an available replacement unit, the Recipient must fill the first available vacancy with a tenant that meets the affordability qualifications for the same income category of the original unit as necessary to maintain compliance with the CMF requirements and the Assistance Agreement.