§92.252. Qualification as affordable housing: Rental housing. — Inbound Citations

(2) The affordable housing section shall include specific objectives that describe proposed accomplishments the jurisdiction hopes to achieve and must specify the number of extremely low-income, low-income, and moderate-income families to whom the jurisdiction will provide affordable housing as defined in 24 CFR 92.252 for rental housing, 24 CFR 92.254 for homeownership, and 24 CFR 93.302 and 24 CFR 93.304 (if the jurisdiction receives HTF funds from the State) over a specific time period.

(g) The jurisdiction must specify one-year goals for the number of homeless, non-homeless, and special-needs households to be provided affordable housing using funds made available to the jurisdiction and one-year goals for the number of households to be provided affordable housing through activities that provide rental assistance, production of new units, rehabilitation of existing units, or acquisition of existing units using funds made available to the jurisdiction. The term affordable housing shall be as defined in 24 CFR 92.252 for rental housing and 24 CFR 92.254 for homeownership.

(2) The affordable housing section shall include specific objectives that describe proposed accomplishments the State hopes to achieve and must specify the number of extremely low-income, low-income, and moderate-income families to which the State will provide affordable housing, as defined in 24 CFR 92.252 for rental housing, 24 CFR 92.254 for homeownership, and 24 CFR 93.302 for rental housing and 24 CFR 93.304 for homeownership over a specific time period.

(g) The State must specify one-year goals for the number of households to be provided affordable housing through activities that provide rental assistance, production of new units, rehabilitation of existing units, or acquisition of existing units using funds made available to the State, and one-year goals for the number of homeless, non-homeless, and special-needs households to be provided affordable housing using funds made available to the State. The term affordable housing shall be as defined in 24 CFR 92.252 for rental housing and 24 CFR 92.254 for homeownership.

(i) The private nonprofit organization has a tax exemption ruling from the Internal Revenue Service under section 501(c)(3) or (4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 CFR 1.501(c)(3)-1 or 1.501(c)(4)-1));

(ii) The private nonprofit organization is a subordinate organization that has been included in its 501(c)(3) or (4) central organization's group exemption letter by the Internal Revenue Service; or

(iii) The private nonprofit organization is wholly owned by the community housing development organization, as defined in this part, and is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner organization for Federal tax purposes.

(3) If a family is applying, renewing, or entering into a new rental assistance contract for tenant-based rental assistance pursuant to § 92.209, or applying for or living in a HOME-assisted rental unit in accordance with § 92.252, and the family is assisted by a form of Federal, State, or local public assistance (e.g., TANF, Medicaid, LIHTC, local rental subsidy programs, etc.) which examines the annual income of the family each year, then a participating jurisdiction may accept a written statement from a Federal or non-Federal entity administering the assistance. The statement must indicate the tenant's family size and state the amount of the family's annual income. When accepting the statement from a government administrator, the participating jurisdiction must still adjust income in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section. The statement must be for an income determination made within the previous 12-month period.

(2) For single family or multifamily projects, when loaning HOME funds to rehabilitate the units if refinancing is necessary to permit or continue affordability under § 92.252. The participating jurisdiction must establish refinancing guidelines and state them in its consolidated plan described in 24 CFR part 91. Regardless of the amount of HOME funds invested, the minimum period of affordability shall be 15 years. The guidelines shall describe the conditions under which the participating jurisdictions will refinance existing debt. At minimum, the guidelines must:

(i) Demonstrate that rehabilitation is the primary eligible activity and ensure that this requirement is met by establishing a minimum level of rehabilitation per unit or a required ratio between rehabilitation and refinancing;

(ii) Require a review of management practices to demonstrate that disinvestment in the property has not occurred, that the long-term needs of the project can be met, and that the feasibility of serving the targeted population over the minimum period of affordability of 15 years can be demonstrated;

(iii) State whether the new investment is being made to maintain current affordable units, create additional affordable units, or both;

(iv) Specify the required period of affordability, whether it is the minimum 15 years or longer;

(v) Specify whether the investment of HOME funds may be jurisdiction-wide or limited to a specific geographic area, such as a neighborhood identified in a neighborhood revitalization strategy under 24 CFR 91.215(e)(2) or a Federally designated Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community; and

(vi) State that HOME funds cannot be used to refinance single family or multifamily housing loans made or insured by any Federal program, including CDBG.

(d) The HOME funds must be used in accordance with the requirements of this part and the project must meet the requirements of this part, including rent requirements in § 92.252.

(i) The contribution must be made with respect to housing that qualifies as affordable housing under § 92.252 or § 92.254.

(b) Before committing funds to a project, the participating jurisdiction must evaluate the project in accordance with guidelines that it has adopted for determining a reasonable level of profit or return on owner's or developer's investment in a project and must not invest any more HOME funds, alone or in combination with other governmental assistance, than is necessary to provide quality affordable housing that is financially viable for a reasonable period (at minimum, the period of affordability in § 92.252 or § 92.254) and that will not provide a profit or return on the owner's or developer's investment that exceeds the participating jurisdiction's established standards for the size, type, and complexity of the project. The participating jurisdiction's guidelines must require the participating jurisdiction to undertake:

(1) An examination of the sources and uses of funds for the project and a determination that the costs are reasonable; and

(2) An assessment, at minimum, of the current market demand in the neighborhood in which the project will be located, the experience of the developer, the financial capacity of the developer, and firm written financial commitments for the project.

(3) For projects involving rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing pursuant to § 92.254(b):

(i) An underwriting analysis of the homeowner's ability to repay the HOME-funded rehabilitation loan is required only if the loan is an amortizing loan; and

(4) For projects involving HOME-funded homeownership assistance pursuant to § 92.254(a) and which do not include HOME-funded development activity, a market analysis or evaluation of developer capacity is not required.

(3) During the period of affordability, the participating jurisdiction must perform on-site inspections of HOME-assisted rental housing to determine compliance with the property standards in paragraph (f)(1) of this section and to verify the information submitted by owners in accordance with the requirements of § 92.252. The participating jurisdiction must perform inspections in accordance with its established inspection procedures. These procedures, at minimum, must include the following requirements:

(i) The participating jurisdiction must perform an on-site inspection within 12 months after project completion and complete one of the following every 3 years during the period of affordability:

(A) Perform an on-site inspection in accordance with the participating jurisdiction's inspection procedures to determine compliance with the property standards; or

(B) Accept a determination made within the past 12 months in satisfaction of another funding source's requirements, that the HOME-assisted project and units are decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair in an inspection conducted under the National Standards for the Condition of HUD housing (24 CFR part 5, subpart G) or an alternative inspection standard, which HUD may establish through Federal Register publication. If a participating jurisdiction is accepting a determination, then the participating jurisdiction must document the determination in accordance with § 92.508(a)(3)(iv) and is not required to perform an on-site HOME inspection of the project and the units for compliance with 24 CFR 5.703.

(ii) The owner must annually certify to the participating jurisdiction that each building and all HOME-assisted units in the project are suitable for occupancy, taking into account State and local health, safety, and other applicable codes, ordinances, and requirements, and the ongoing property standards established by the participating jurisdiction.

(iii) Inspections must be based on a random sample of the HOME-assisted units in the project with a mix of unit sizes (e.g., a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units) in accordance with the chart contained in this paragraph. All inspections must include the inspectable areas for each building containing HOME-assisted units. For projects with one-to-four HOME-assisted units, the participating jurisdiction must inspect 100 percent of the HOME-assisted units and the inspectable areas for each building with HOME-assisted units.

(iv) During the period of affordability, the participating jurisdiction must at least annually examine the financial condition of projects with 10 or more HOME-assisted units to determine the continued financial viability of the housing and must take actions to correct problems, to the extent feasible.

(3) The housing must be acquired by a homebuyer whose family qualifies as a low-income family, and the housing must be the principal residence of the family throughout the period described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section. If there is no ratified sales contract with an eligible homebuyer for the housing within 12 months of the date of completion of construction or rehabilitation, the housing must be rented to an eligible tenant as affordable rental housing and must comply with the requirements in § 92.252, including the period of affordability in § 92.252(d). In determining the income eligibility of the family, the participating jurisdiction must include the income of all persons living in the housing. The homebuyer must receive housing counseling. If housing is being purchased by an in-place tenant pursuant to § 92.255, then the housing may be acquired if the homebuyer's family was low-income at the time the homebuyer's family began occupying the HOME rental housing unit. If the housing does not meet the participating jurisdiction's property standards in § 92.251 at the time of acquisition, then the housing may still be acquired if the written agreement between the participating jurisdiction and the homebuyer requires the property to meet the standards within the period specified in § 92.251(c)(3)(ii) and funding is secured to complete the rehabilitation necessary to comply with the standards.

(d) The requirements of § 92.252 apply to HOME-assisted ECHO units, with the following modifications:

(1) Only one ECHO unit may be provided per host property.

(2) The ECHO unit owner may choose whether or not to charge the tenant of the ECHO unit rent, but if a rent is charged, it must meet the requirements of § 92.252.

(3) The ECHO housing must remain affordable for the period specified in § 92.252(d). If within the period of affordability the original occupant no longer occupies the unit, the ECHO unit owner must:

(i) Rent the unit to another eligible occupant on site;

(ii) Move the ECHO unit to another site for occupancy by an eligible occupant; or

(iii) If the owner of the ECHO unit is the host property owner-occupant, the owner may repay the HOME funds in accordance with the recapture provisions imposed by the participating jurisdiction consistent with § 92.254(a)(5)(ii). The participating jurisdiction must use the recaptured HOME funds for additional HOME activities.

(4) The participating jurisdiction has the responsibility to enforce the project requirements applicable to ECHO units.

(3) Use of the revised dollar thresholds for the periods of affordability in §§ 92.252 and 92.254 is only permitted for projects if the participating jurisdiction committed the HOME funds for the project on or after April 20, 2025.

(2) Rental housing is “owned” by the community housing development organization if the community housing development organization is the owner in fee simple absolute of rental housing (or has a long term ground lease running for the full period of affordability in § 92.252) leased to low-income families in accordance with § 92.252. If the housing is to be rehabilitated or constructed, the community housing development organization hires and oversees the developer that rehabilitates or constructs the housing. The community housing development organization must oversee or hire and contract with an experienced project manager to oversee all aspects of the development, including obtaining zoning, securing non-HOME financing, selecting a developer or general contractor, overseeing the progress of the work, and determining the reasonableness of costs. The community housing development organization must own the rental housing during development and for a period at least equal to the period of affordability in § 92.252. If the CHDO acquires housing that meets the property standards in § 92.251, the CHDO must own the rental housing for a period at least equal to the period of affordability in § 92.252.

(1) Any HOME funds invested in housing that does not meet the affordability requirements for the period specified in § 92.252 or § 92.254, as applicable, must be repaid by the participating jurisdiction in accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of this section.

(ii) The agreement must require housing assisted with HOME funds to meet the affordability requirements of § 92.252 or § 92.254, as applicable, and must require repayment of the funds if the housing does not meet the affordability requirements for the period of affordability. The agreement must require a means of enforcement of the affordability requirements by the State participating jurisdiction or, if the State recipient will be the owner at project completion of the affordable housing, the intended beneficiaries. The means of enforcement may include liens on real property, deed or use restrictions, a recorded agreement restricting the use of the property, covenants running with the land, or other mechanisms approved by HUD in writing, under which the participating jurisdiction has the right to require specific performance. The agreement must establish whether repayment of HOME funds must be remitted to the State or retained by the State recipient for additional eligible activities.

(vii) Records demonstrating that each rental housing project met the affordability and income targeting requirements of § 92.252 for the required period or met the requirements in § 92.255 for conversion to homeownership for in-place tenants. Records must be kept for each family assisted.

(iii) When CDBG funds are used for housing services eligible under § 570.201(k), such funds shall be considered to benefit low- and moderate-income persons if the housing units for which the services are provided are HOME-assisted and the requirements at 24 CFR 92.252 or 92.254 are met.

(iii) When CDBG funds are used for housing services eligible under section 105(a)(21) of the Act, such funds shall be considered to benefit low and moderate income persons if the housing units for which the services are provided are HOME-assisted and the requirements of § 92.252 or § 92.254 of this title are met.

(viii) For a § 570.201(k) housing services activity, identification of the HOME project(s) or assistance that the housing services activity supports, and evidence that project(s) or assistance meet the HOME program income targeting requirements at 24 CFR 92.252 or 92.254.

(b) For units assisted under the HOME program, rents may not exceed rent limits as required by the HOME program (24 CFR 92.252).

(ii) A participating jurisdiction must calculate a tenant's adjusted income if the tenant is living in a Low HOME Rent unit and is subject to the provisions of § 92.252(a)(2)(ii). To calculate a family's adjusted income to determine the Low HOME Rent in accordance with § 92.252(a)(2)(ii), a participating jurisdiction must apply the deductions in 24 CFR 5.611(a) and may choose to grant financial hardship exemptions in accordance with the process described in 24 CFR 5.611(c) through (e).

(c) When determining whether a family is income eligible, the participating jurisdiction must use one of the following two definitions of “annual income”:

(1) Annual income as defined at 24 CFR 5.609(a) and (b) (except 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 § 5.603 of this title); or

(2) Adjusted gross income as defined for purposes of reporting under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040 series for individual Federal annual income tax purposes.

(ii) A participating jurisdiction must calculate a tenant's adjusted income if the tenant is living in a Low HOME Rent unit and is subject to the provisions of § 92.252(a)(2)(ii). To calculate a family's adjusted income to determine the Low HOME Rent in accordance with § 92.252(a)(2)(ii), a participating jurisdiction must apply the deductions in 24 CFR 5.611(a) and may choose to grant financial hardship exemptions in accordance with the process described in 24 CFR 5.611(c) through (e).

(3) The housing must be acquired by a homebuyer whose family qualifies as a low-income family, and the housing must be the principal residence of the family throughout the period described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section. If there is no ratified sales contract with an eligible homebuyer for the housing within 12 months of the date of completion of construction or rehabilitation, the housing must be rented to an eligible tenant as affordable rental housing and must comply with the requirements in § 92.252, including the period of affordability in § 92.252(d). In determining the income eligibility of the family, the participating jurisdiction must include the income of all persons living in the housing. The homebuyer must receive housing counseling. If housing is being purchased by an in-place tenant pursuant to § 92.255, then the housing may be acquired if the homebuyer's family was low-income at the time the homebuyer's family began occupying the HOME rental housing unit. If the housing does not meet the participating jurisdiction's property standards in § 92.251 at the time of acquisition, then the housing may still be acquired if the written agreement between the participating jurisdiction and the homebuyer requires the property to meet the standards within the period specified in § 92.251(c)(3)(ii) and funding is secured to complete the rehabilitation necessary to comply with the standards.

(3) The ECHO housing must remain affordable for the period specified in § 92.252(d). If within the period of affordability the original occupant no longer occupies the unit, the ECHO unit owner must:

(i) Rent the unit to another eligible occupant on site;

(ii) Move the ECHO unit to another site for occupancy by an eligible occupant; or

(iii) If the owner of the ECHO unit is the host property owner-occupant, the owner may repay the HOME funds in accordance with the recapture provisions imposed by the participating jurisdiction consistent with § 92.254(a)(5)(ii). The participating jurisdiction must use the recaptured HOME funds for additional HOME activities.

(1) No owner, developer, or sponsor of a project assisted with HOME funds (or officer, employee, agent, elected or appointed official, or consultant of the owner, developer, or sponsor or immediate family member or immediate family member of an officer, employee, agent, elected or appointed official, or consultant of the owner, developer, or sponsor) whether private, for-profit or nonprofit (including a community housing development organization (CHDO) when acting as an owner, developer, or sponsor) may occupy a HOME-assisted affordable housing unit in a project during the required period of affordability specified in § 92.252(d) or § 92.254(a)(4). This provision does not apply to an individual who receives HOME funds to acquire or rehabilitate his or her principal residence or to an employee or agent of the owner or developer of a rental housing project who occupies a housing unit as the project manager or maintenance worker.

(3) The ECHO housing must remain affordable for the period specified in § 92.252(d). If within the period of affordability the original occupant no longer occupies the unit, the ECHO unit owner must:

(i) Rent the unit to another eligible occupant on site;

(ii) Move the ECHO unit to another site for occupancy by an eligible occupant; or

(iii) If the owner of the ECHO unit is the host property owner-occupant, the owner may repay the HOME funds in accordance with the recapture provisions imposed by the participating jurisdiction consistent with § 92.254(a)(5)(ii). The participating jurisdiction must use the recaptured HOME funds for additional HOME activities.

(1) No owner, developer, or sponsor of a project assisted with HOME funds (or officer, employee, agent, elected or appointed official, or consultant of the owner, developer, or sponsor or immediate family member or immediate family member of an officer, employee, agent, elected or appointed official, or consultant of the owner, developer, or sponsor) whether private, for-profit or nonprofit (including a community housing development organization (CHDO) when acting as an owner, developer, or sponsor) may occupy a HOME-assisted affordable housing unit in a project during the required period of affordability specified in § 92.252(d) or § 92.254(a)(4). This provision does not apply to an individual who receives HOME funds to acquire or rehabilitate his or her principal residence or to an employee or agent of the owner or developer of a rental housing project who occupies a housing unit as the project manager or maintenance worker.

(A) If an owner is undertaking a rental project, the agreement must establish the initial rents, the procedures for rent increases pursuant to § 92.252(e)(2), the number of HOME units, the size of the HOME units, the designation of the HOME units as fixed or floating, and include the requirement that the owner provide the address (e.g., street address and apartment number) of each HOME unit no later than the time of initial occupancy. In accordance with § 92.252(g), the written agreement must specify the option in § 92.203(b)(1) that the participating jurisdiction selected for calculating annual income.

(A) If an owner is undertaking a rental project, the agreement must establish the initial rents, the procedures for rent increases pursuant to § 92.252(e)(2), the number of HOME units, the size of the HOME units, the designation of the HOME units as fixed or floating, and include the requirement that the owner provide the address (e.g., street address and apartment number) of each HOME unit no later than the time of initial occupancy. In accordance with § 92.252(g), the written agreement must specify the option in § 92.203(b)(1) that the participating jurisdiction selected for calculating annual income.

(1) For families who are tenants in HOME-assisted housing and not receiving HOME tenant-based rental assistance, the participating jurisdiction must initially determine annual income using the method in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section. For subsequent income determinations during the period of affordability, the participating jurisdiction may use one of the following two methods in accordance with § 92.252(g):

(i) Examine at least 2 months of source documents evidencing annual income (e.g., wage statement, interest statement, unemployment compensation statement) for the family.

(ii) Obtain from the family a written statement or, where needed due to disability, a statement in another format, of the amount of the family's annual income and family size, along with a certification that the information is complete and accurate. The certification must state that the family will provide source documents upon request. If there is evidence that a tenant's statement and certification provided in accordance with this paragraph (b)(1)(ii) failed to completely and accurately state information about the family's size or income, a tenant's income must be re-examined in accordance with paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section.

(A) If an owner is undertaking a rental project, the agreement must establish the initial rents, the procedures for rent increases pursuant to § 92.252(e)(2), the number of HOME units, the size of the HOME units, the designation of the HOME units as fixed or floating, and include the requirement that the owner provide the address (e.g., street address and apartment number) of each HOME unit no later than the time of initial occupancy. In accordance with § 92.252(g), the written agreement must specify the option in § 92.203(b)(1) that the participating jurisdiction selected for calculating annual income.

(1) If a family is applying for or living in a HOME-assisted rental unit, and the unit is assisted by a Federal or State project-based rental subsidy program, then a participating jurisdiction may accept the public housing agency, owner, or rental subsidy provider's determination of the family's annual income and adjusted income under that program's rules.

(iii) A participating jurisdiction must calculate a tenant's adjusted income if the tenant is over-income, and rent must be recalculated in accordance with § 92.252(h)(2). To calculate the family's adjusted income for an over-income family, the participating jurisdiction must apply the deductions in 24 CFR 5.611(a).

(iii) A participating jurisdiction must calculate a tenant's adjusted income if the tenant is over-income, and rent must be recalculated in accordance with § 92.252(h)(2). To calculate the family's adjusted income for an over-income family, the participating jurisdiction must apply the deductions in 24 CFR 5.611(a).