Section 346-16-5 - THRESHOLD REQUIREMENTSApplications must meet the following threshold requirements to be eligible for Credit:
A. Affordability.1. The Project will comply with Section 42 of the Code and this QAP for a minimum period of 45 years to maintain the Project as residential rental housing, keep at least 60% of the total Credit Units in a Project occupied by persons with 50% area median income and keep the Credit Units in the Project rent-restricted in accordance with Section 42 of the Code.2. The Applicant waives the right to request MaineHousing to present a Qualified Contract under Section 42(h)(6) of the Code.3. The Applicant must submit a letter of intent from an investor (and, in the event of any change in investor, the replacement investor) in which the investor agrees to the granting of an option to purchase: (ii) the partnership interest of the limited partner(s) or membership interest of the non-managing member(s) of the Project owner ("Purchase Options"), to one or more of the general partner, managing member, developer or sponsor on terms that at a minimum satisfy the threshold requirements set forth in Appendix E. The investor must also agree in the letter of intent that the Purchase Options complying at a minimum with the threshold requirements in Appendix E will be included in the Project owner's limited partnership agreement or limited liability company operating agreement.4. If the Applicant, general partner, managing member, developer, or sponsor of the Project is a Qualified Nonprofit Organization, the Applicant must submit a letter of intent from an investor (and, in the event of any change in investor, the replacement investor) in which the investor agrees to the granting of a right of first refusal ("ROFR") to the Qualified Nonprofit Organization on terms that at a minimum satisfy the threshold requirements set forth in Appendix E. The investor must also agree in the letter of intent that the ROFR complying at a minimum with the threshold requirements in Appendix E will be included in the Project owner's limited partnership agreement or limited liability company operating agreement.B. Total Development Cost (TDC). Cost reasonableness will be evaluated using an index, which is the weighted average of the TDC per unit and the TDC per bedroom. For mixed- use projects, the TDC for only the residential portion of the project, including common areas, will be used for this calculation. The weighted average will be calculated as follows: ([2 X TDC/unit] + [TDC/bedroom]) divided by 3.
The product of this calculation will be referred to throughout this document as the "TDC Index". An Application will be rejected if the TDC Index exceeds the TDC Index Cap below for a project of its type at any time prior to the later of the construction loan closing or carryover allocation.
Type of Project | TDC Index Cap |
Adaptive Reuse | $395,000per unit |
New construction | $370,000per unit |
Acquisition and rehabilitation of existing housing | $340,000 per unit |
Demolition and reconstruction of all housing on the same site or another site will be treated as new construction. If a Project involves more than one project type, the TDC Index Cap for the Project is the average of the TDC Index Caps allocable to each type, weighted by the number of units of each type.
C. Acquisition and Rehabilitation of Existing Housing. Projects that involve the acquisition and rehabilitation of existing multifamily housing are subject to the following: 1. Capital Needs Assessment. The Application must include a capital needs assessment satisfying the requirements set forth in Appendix C.2. Minimum Rehabilitation Requirements. The Rehabilitation Costs per unit of existing housing must be at least $75,000.3. Relocation/Displacement. The Project must comply with MaineHousing's Temporary Relocation and Permanent Displacement Policies and, if the Project is federally-assisted, all applicable federal requirements, including the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended. The Applicant must take reasonable steps to minimize the displacement of existing tenants of the Project. The Application must identify any tenants who will be permanently displaced and the reason for the displacement. The Project's TDC must include all costs associated with permanent and temporary displacement or relocation. MaineHousing will not allocate Credit until it has approved a project's relocation plan.D. Development and Management Experience and Capacity. Applicant teams must have sufficient knowledge, experience and capacity to adequately design, develop, complete, maintain, manage, and operate LIHTC Projects and to provide related services, such as accounting, tax and legal advice, and resident service coordination. If the Project will involve multiple subsidy sources in addition to LIHTC which results in overlapping targeting and rental restrictions, the Applicant team must have sufficient knowledge, experience and capacity to handle the increased complexity. If MaineHousing determines the Applicant's team lacks sufficient qualifications, the team may be required to 1. hire a qualified consultant,2. hire additional qualified staff, or3. replace a team member.E. Site Control. The Applicant must have site control of the Project throughout the Application process in the form of an option, a purchase and sale contract, ownership, or long-term lease. The Applicant, its agents, and MaineHousing must have access to the Project site, and if the Project is an existing occupied property, access to records and other information about the existing tenants, including current rent and income information.F. Growth Management Limitations. A Project that involves the new construction or acquisition of newly-constructed residential rental property or the conversion of existing buildings to residential rental property must comply with the State's Growth Management Law, 30-A M.R.S. §4349-A, as amended. Projects must meet one of the following two sets of criteria to be eligible for a Credit allocation: 1. If the municipality in which the Project is located has adopted a comprehensive plan or growth management plan that is consistent with applicable State law, then the Project must be in a designated growth area as identified in such plan; or2. Otherwise the Project must be located in an areaa) served by a public sewer system with existing capacity for the Project,b) identified as a census-designated place in the latest Federal Decennial Census, orc) in an urban municipality and defined under 23 M.R.S. §754 as compact. The law exempts projects that exclusively serve certain populations, such as persons with disabilities, who are homeless, or are wards of the State.
G. Project Feasibility. The Applicant must have the financial ability to develop and complete the Project and to operate it throughout the Compliance Period.1. Development Budget. The Applicant must identify a) all sources of funding for development and completion, whether direct or indirect, including the amount, timing, terms, conditions, and status (e.g. "applied for" or "committed") as of the date of the Application and uses of the funding based on the projected costs of and schedule for developing and completing the Project; andb) all sources and uses of funding for the Project, whether direct or indirect and whether they are included in the development budget for the Project.2. Operating Budget. The Applicant must identify alla) sources of income, including rent from the residential units, any income from commercial or non-residential space, and the amount, terms and conditions of rental or operating assistance; andb) costs of operating the Project as projected over the Compliance Period. The Applicant also must identify all forms of property tax relief (such as a PILOT, tax abatement or exemption, or Tax Increment Financing) and other assistance that reduces operating costs.3. Related Development. Any Related Development must be completed prior to or concurrently with the completion of the Project, and there must be sufficient funding to operate the Related Development. If MaineHousing determines that the Application includes information that is inconsistent with applicable requirements or is unreasonable based on comparable LIHTC projects, industry standards, or market conditions, MaineHousing may where it deems appropriate re-characterize such information to assess Project Feasibility notwithstanding the identified issue with the information provided.
H. Project Design and Construction Requirements. The design and construction or rehabilitation of the Project must comply with MaineHousing's Construction Standards and all applicable local, state and federal codes, regulations, statutes and ordinances. The latest version of Construction Services' Quality Standards and Procedures Manual can be found here: https://www.mainehousing.org/programs-services/housing-development/construction-servicesOf particular note are updates to MaineHousing's energy efficiency standards.
When applicable, Projects must also comply with:
2. Section 3 of the Housing and Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C § 1701u) and its associated regulations ( 24 C.F.R. Part 75). The Section 3 program requires that recipients of certain HUD financial assistance, to the greatest extent possible, provide training, employment, contracting and other economic opportunities to low- and very low-income persons, especially recipients of government assistance for housing, and to businesses that provide economic opportunities to low- and very low-income persons. Please refer to the Section 3 Contractor, Subcontractor and Subrecipient Package on our website:
https://www.mainehousing.org/programs-services/housing-development/construction-services
I. Project Amenities. The Project must have the following amenities and services: 1. Community Room. The Project must include an on-site community room with sufficient capacity to serve tenants' needs. For a scattered-site Project, only one community room is required and should be centrally located to the greatest extent possible to best serve all tenants.2. Laundry Facilities. The Project must include either a washer/dryer hook-up in each unit or a fully accessible, centrally located laundry facility with sufficient capacity to serve all tenants.3. Broadband Access. The Project must include broadband infrastructure with capacity sufficient to support the provision of Telehealth services. Broadband infrastructure includes cables, fiber optics, CAT5e (or greater) interior wiring, or other permanent (integral to the structure) infrastructure, including wireless infrastructure, as long as the installation results in broadband infrastructure in each dwelling unit sufficient for the build-to standard of The Maine Connectivity Authority.
Healthcare service providers and the tenants receiving care may not be charged for the use of the internet or wireless and telephone services provided for telemedicine services.
4. Shared Facilities. An amenity will meet the requirements if the amenity:a) is fully accessible and located on an accessible path to the Project,b) is within an existing multifamily housing project adjacent to the subject site,c) has sufficient capacity to serve both the Project's tenants and the existing project,d) will be available to the Project's tenants during the Compliance Period on the same terms as the residents of the existing multifamily project, ande) will not charge the tenants to use the shared amenity other than a reasonable fee that does not exceed the amount charged to any others for the same use.5. Recreational Activities. An area(s) of recreational activity must be located on the Project site or within a 1/2 mile. The area(s) and activities must be free of charge to the tenants and not require membership. Projects with single-family detached style units satisfy this requirement if each unit has a private lawn with sufficient room for playground equipment, gardening or other activities acceptable to MaineHousing.6. Exceptions. The requirements of this subsection do not apply to existing multifamily housing projects if the Applicant cannot comply with the requirements because of the nature of the site, structural limitations, zoning restrictions or other land use limitations.J. Resident Service Coordination. The Applicant must make a resident service coordinator available twice weekly to the tenants on-site a minimum of one (1) hour per week for every five (5) Credit Units. The coordinator shall meet with tenants in a private and confidential manner to evaluate individual needs and make appropriate referrals. The services provided must be free of charge to the tenants. The Applicant must maintain adequate funding throughout the Compliance Period.K. Smoke-free Housing. The Applicant must1. implement a written occupancy policy prohibiting smoking in the units and common areas,2. include a non-smoking clause in the lease for every household, and3. make educational materials on tobacco treatment programs (including the phone number for the statewide Maine Tobacco HelpLine) available to all tenants through the resident service coordinator.L. Waiting List Preference. The Applicant must give an occupancy preference to eligible persons whose names are on a public housing or Section 8 waiting list, except for Projects: (i) financed by Rural Development, or(ii) with Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (preference will apply to any Credit Unit without project-based rental assistance).99-346 C.M.R. ch. 16, § 5