(a) Credit Amount (Competitive HTC Only). (§2306.6711(b)) The Board may not award or allocate to an Applicant, Developer, Affiliate, or Guarantor (unless the Guarantor is also the General Contractor or provides the guaranty only during the construction period, and is not a Principal of the Applicant, Developer or Affiliate of the Development Owner) Housing Tax Credits in an aggregate amount greater than $6 million in a single Application Round. Prior to posting the agenda for the last Board meeting in June, an Applicant that has Applications pending for more than $6 million in credit may notify staff in writing or by email of the Application(s) they will not pursue in order to bring their request within the $6 million cap. Any other Applications they do not wish to pursue will remain on the waiting list if not otherwise terminated. If the Applicant has not made this self-selection by this date, staff will first select the Application(s) that will enable the Department to comply with the state and federal non-profit set-asides, and will then select the highest scoring Application, including consideration of tie-breakers if there are tied scores. The Application(s) that does not meet Department criteria will not be reviewed unless the Applicant withdraws an Application that is eligible for an award and has been reviewed. All entities that are under common Control are Affiliates. For purposes of determining the $6 million limitation, a Person is not deemed to be an Applicant, Developer, Affiliate, or Guarantor solely because it:
  (1) Raises or provides equity;
  (2) Provides "qualified commercial financing";
  (3) Is a Qualified Nonprofit Organization or other not-for-profit entity that is providing solely loan funds, grant funds or social services; or
  (4) Receives fees as a consultant or advisor that do not exceed $200,000.
(b) Maximum Request Limit (Competitive HTC Only). For any given Development, an Applicant may not request more than 150% of the credit amount available in the subregion based on estimates released by the Department on December 1, or $2,000,000 whichever is less. In addition, for Elderly Developments in a Uniform State Service Region containing a county with a population that exceeds one million, the request may not exceed the final amount published on the Department's website after the annual release of the Internal Revenue Service notice regarding the credit ceiling (2306.6711(h)). For all Applications, the Department will consider the amount in the funding request of the pre-application and Application to be the amount of Housing Tax Credits requested and will reduce the Applicant's request to the maximum allowable under this subsection through the underwriting process. While the Housing Tax Credit request amount for an Application may be reduced through the underwriting process or at the written request of staff, the Department shall otherwise consider the request amount final. The Tax Credit request amount cannot be changed through the Administrative Deficiency process. Regardless of the credit amount requested or any subsequent changes to the request made by staff, the Board may not award to any individual Development more than $2 million in a single Application Round. (§2306.6711(b)).
(c) Increase in Eligible Basis (30% Boost). Applications will be evaluated for an increase of up to 30% in Eligible Basis provided they meet any one of the criteria identified in paragraphs (1) - (4) of this subsection. Staff will recommend no increase or a partial increase in Eligible Basis if it is determined it would cause the Development to be over sourced, as determined by the Department, in which case a credit amount necessary to fill the gap in financing will be recommended. In no instance will the boost exceed more than the amount of credits required to create the HTC rent-restricted Units. The criteria in paragraph (3) of this subsection are not applicable to Tax-Exempt Bond Developments.
  (1) The Development is located in a Qualified Census Tract (QCT) (as determined by the Secretary of HUD) that has less than 20% Housing Tax Credit Units per total households in the tract as reflected in the Department's current Site Demographic Characteristics Report. New Construction or Adaptive Reuse Developments located in a QCT that has in excess of 20% Housing Tax Credit Units per total households are not eligible for a 30% increase in Eligible Basis, which would otherwise be available for the Development Site pursuant to §42(d)(5) of the Code, unless the Application includes a resolution acknowledging the Development is located in a census tract that has more than 20% Housing Tax Credits Units per total households and stating that the Governing Body of the appropriate municipality or county containing the Development has no objection to the Application. Rehabilitation Developments where this rule is triggered are eligible for the boost and are not required to obtain such a resolution from the Governing Body. An acceptable, but not required, form of resolution may be obtained in the Multifamily Uniform Application Templates. Required documentation must be submitted by the Full Application Delivery Date as identified in §11.2(a) of this chapter (relating to Competitive HTC Deadlines), or Resolutions Delivery Date in §11.2(b) of this chapter (relating to Tax-Exempt Bond and Direct Loan Application Dates and Deadlines), as applicable. The Application must include a census map that includes the 11-digit census tract number and clearly shows that the proposed Development is located within a QCT.
  (2) The Development is located in a Small Area Difficult Development Area (SADDA)) (based on Small Area Fair Market Rents as determined by the Secretary of HUD) or for Rural areas located in a Difficult Development Area (DDA) that has high construction, land and utility costs relative to the AMGI. The Application must include the SADDA or DDA map that clearly shows the proposed Development is located within the boundaries of a SADDA or DDA as applicable.
  (3) For Competitive HTC only, Development meets one of the criteria described in subparagraphs (A) - (F) of this paragraph pursuant to Code, §42(d)(5)(B)(v):
    (A) The Development is located in a Rural Area;
    (B) The Development is entirely Supportive Housing and is in accordance with §11.1(d) of this chapter (relating to the definition of Supportive Housing);
    (C) The Development meets the criteria for the Opportunity Index as defined in §11.9(c)(5) of this chapter (relating to Competitive HTC Selection Criteria);
    (D) The Applicant elects to restrict 10% of the proposed low income Units for households at or below 30% of AMGI. These Units may not be used to meet any scoring criteria, or used to meet any Multifamily Direct Loan program requirement;
    (E) The Development is in an area covered by a concerted revitalization plan, is not an Elderly Development, and is not located in a QCT. A Development will be considered to be in an area covered by a concerted revitalization plan if it is eligible for and elects points under §11.9(d)(7) of this chapter; or
    (F) The Development is located in a Qualified Opportunity Zone designated under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892). Pursuant to Internal Revenue Service Announcement 2021-10, the boundaries of the Opportunity Zone are unaffected by 2020 Decennial Census changes.
  (4) For Tax-Exempt Bond Developments, as a general rule, a QCT, non-metro DDA or SADDA designation would have to coincide with the program year the Certificate of Reservation is issued in order for the Department to apply the 30% boost in its underwriting evaluation. The Department acknowledges guidance contained in the Federal Register regarding effective dates of QCT, non-metro DDA and SADDA designations. Pursuant to the Federal Register Notice, unless federal guidance states otherwise, complete Applications (including all Third Party Reports) with a corresponding Certificate of Reservation that are submitted to the Department in the year the QCT, non-metro DDA or SADDA designation is not effective may be underwritten to include the 30% boost, provided a complete application was submitted to the bond issuer in the year the QCT, non-metro DDA or SADDA designation was effective. Where this is the case, the Application must contain a certification from the issuer that speaks to the date on which such complete application (as defined in the Notice) was submitted. If the issuer is a member of the organizational structure then such certification must come from the bond counsel to the issuer.

Source Note: The provisions of this §11.4 adopted to be effective December 31, 2023, 48 TexReg 7887