(a)(1) HTF funds may be used for the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing and affordable housing for first-time homebuyers through the acquisition (including assistance to homebuyers), new construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of nonluxury housing with suitable amenities, including real property acquisition, site improvements, conversion, demolition, and other expenses, including financing costs, relocation expenses of any displaced persons, families, businesses, or organizations; for operating costs of HTF-assisted rental housing; and for reasonable administrative and planning costs. Not more than one third of each annual grant may be used for operating cost assistance and operating cost assistance reserves. Operating cost assistance and operating cost assistance reserves may be provided only to rental housing acquired, rehabilitated, reconstructed, or newly constructed with HTF funds. Not more than 10 percent of the annual grant shall be used for housing for homeownership. HTF-assisted housing must be permanent housing. The specific eligible costs for these activities are found in §§ 93.201 and 93.202. The activities and costs are eligible only if the housing meets the property standards in § 93.301, as applicable, upon project completion.

(2) Acquisition of vacant land or demolition must be undertaken only with respect to a particular housing project intended to provide affordable housing within the time frames established in the definition of “commitment” in § 93.2.

(3) HTF funds may be used to purchase and/or rehabilitate a manufactured housing unit, and purchase the land upon which a manufactured housing unit is located. The manufactured housing unit must, at the time of project completion, be connected to permanent utility hook-ups and be located on land that is owned by the manufactured housing unit owner or land for which the manufactured housing owner has a lease for a period at least equal to the applicable period of affordability.

(b) Forms of assistance to projects. A grantee may provide HTF funds as equity investments, interest-bearing loans or advances, non-interest-bearing loans or advances, interest subsidies consistent with the purposes of this part, deferred payment loans, grants, or other forms of assistance that HUD determines to be consistent with the purposes of this part. Each grantee has the right to establish the terms of assistance, subject to the requirements of this part.

(c) Multi-unit projects. (1) HTF funds may be used to assist in the development of one or more housing units in a multi-unit project. Only the actual HTF eligible development costs of the assisted units may be charged to the HTF program. If the assisted and non-assisted units are not comparable, the actual costs may be determined based on a method of cost allocation. If the assisted and non-assisted units are comparable in terms of size, features, and number of bedrooms, the actual cost of the HTF-assisted units can be determined by prorating the total HTF-eligible development costs of the project so that the proportion of the total development costs charged to the HTF program does not exceed the proportion of the HTF-assisted units in the project.

(2) After project completion, the number of units designated as HTF-assisted may be reduced only in accordance with § 93.203, except that in a project consisting of all HTF-assisted units, one unit may be converted to an onsite manager's unit if the grantee determines the conversion is reasonable and that, based on one fewer HTF-assisted unit, the costs charged to the HTF program do not exceed the actual costs of the HTF-assisted units and do not exceed the subsidy limit established pursuant to § 93.300(a).

(d) Terminated projects. An HTF-assisted project that is terminated before completion, either voluntarily or otherwise, constitutes an ineligible activity and the grantee must repay any HTF funds invested in the project to its HTF account from which the funds were drawn (i.e., local or Treasury account), in accordance with § 93.403(b). A project that does not meet the requirements for affordable housing must be terminated and the grantee must repay the HTF funds to the grantee's HTF account.

HTF funds may be used to pay the following eligible costs:

(a) Development hard costs. The actual cost of constructing or rehabilitating housing. These costs include the following:

(1) For new construction projects, costs to meet the new construction standards of the grantee in § 93.301;

(2) For rehabilitation, costs to meet the property standards for rehabilitation projects in § 93.301(b);

(3) For both new construction and rehabilitation projects, costs:

(i) To demolish existing structures;

(ii) To make utility connections including off-site connections from the property line to the adjacent street; and

(iii) To make improvements to the project site that are in keeping with improvements of surrounding, standard projects. Site improvements may include onsite roads and sewer and water lines necessary to the development of the project. The project site is the property, owned by the project owner, upon which the project is located.

(4) For both new construction and rehabilitation of multifamily rental housing projects, costs to construct or rehabilitate laundry and community facilities that are located within the same building as the housing and which are for the use of the project residents and their guests.

(5) Costs to make utility connections or to make improvements to the project site, in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) and (iii) of this section are also eligible in connection with the acquisition of standard housing.

(b) Refinancing costs. (1) The cost to refinance existing debt secured by rental housing units that are being rehabilitated with HTF funds, but only if the refinancing is necessary to reduce the overall housing costs and to make the housing more affordable and proportional to the number of HTF-assisted units in the rental project. The proportional rehabilitation cost must be greater than the proportional amount of debt that is refinanced.

(2) The grantee must establish refinancing guidelines and state them in its consolidated plan described in 24 CFR part 91. The guidelines shall describe the conditions under which the grantee will refinance existing debt. At minimum, the guidelines must 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.

(c) Acquisition costs. Costs of acquiring improved or unimproved real property, including acquisition by homebuyers.

(d) Related soft costs. Other reasonable and necessary costs incurred by the owner or grantee and associated with the financing, or development (or both) of new construction, rehabilitation or acquisition of housing assisted with HTF funds. These costs include, but are not limited to:

(1) Architectural, engineering, or related professional services required to prepare plans, drawings, specifications, or work write-ups. The costs may be paid if they were incurred not more than 24 months before the date that HTF funds are committed to the project and the grantee expressly permits HTF funds to be used to pay the costs in the written agreement committing the funds.

(2) Costs to process and settle the financing for a project, such as private lender origination fees, credit reports, fees for title evidence, fees for recordation and filing of legal documents, building permits, attorneys' fees, private appraisal fees and fees for an independent cost estimate, and builders' or developers' fees.

(3) Costs of a project audit, including certification of costs performed by a certified public accountant, that the grantee may require with respect to the development of the project.

(4) Costs to provide information services such as affirmative marketing and fair housing information to prospective homeowners and tenants as required by § 93.350.

(5) For new construction or rehabilitation, the cost of funding an initial operating deficit reserve, which is a reserve to meet any shortfall in project income during the period of project rent-up (not to exceed 18 months) and which may only be used to pay project operating expenses, scheduled payments to a replacement reserve, and debt service. Any HTF funds placed in an operating deficit reserve that remain unexpended after the period of project rent-up may be retained for project reserves if permitted by the grantee.

(6) Staff and overhead costs of the grantee directly related to carrying out the project, such as work specifications preparation, loan processing, and inspections. For multi-unit projects, such costs must be allocated among HTF-assisted units in a reasonable manner and documented. Although these costs may be charged as project costs, these costs cannot be charged to or paid by the assisted families.

(7) For both new construction and rehabilitation, costs for the payment of impact fees that are charged for all projects within a jurisdiction.

(e) Operating cost assistance and operating cost assistance reserves. For HTF-assisted units for which project-based assistance is not available, when necessary and subject to the limitations in § 93.200(a), HTF funds may be used to pay for operating cost assistance and operating cost assistance reserves, as follows:

(1) Operating costs are costs for insurance, utilities, real property taxes, and maintenance and scheduled payments to a reserve for replacement of major systems (provided that the payments must be based on the useful life of each major system and expected replacement cost) of an HTF-assisted unit. The eligible amount of HTF funds per unit for operating cost assistance is determined based on the deficit remaining after the monthly rent payment for the HTF-assisted unit is applied to the HTF-assisted unit's share of monthly operating costs. The maximum amount of the operating cost assistance to be provided to an HTF-assisted rental project must be based on the underwriting of the project and must be specified in a written agreement between the grantee and the recipient. The written agreement may commit, from a fiscal year HTF grant, funds for operating cost assistance for a multiyear period provided that the grantee is able meet its expenditure deadline in § 93.400(d). The grantee may renew operating cost assistance with future fiscal year HTF grants during the affordability period and the amount must be based on the need for the operating cost assistance at the time the assistance is renewed.

(2) An operating cost assistance reserve may be funded by the grantee for HTF-assisted units in a project where the grantee determines in its underwriting of the project the reserve is necessary to ensure the project's financial feasibility. If the operating cost assistance reserve is funded with appropriated HTF funds, the allowable amount of the reserve shall not exceed the amount determined by the grantee to be necessary to provide operating cost assistance for HTF-assisted units, for a period not to exceed 5 years, based on an analysis of potential deficits remaining after the expected rent payments for the HTF-assisted unit are applied to the HTF-assisted unit's expected share of operating costs. The grantee may renew operating cost assistance reserves with future fiscal year HTF grants during the affordability period and the amount must be based on the need for the operating cost assistance reserve at the time the assistance for the reserve is renewed. If the operating cost assistance reserve is funded with non-appropriated HTF funds, the reserve may be funded for the period of affordability.

(f) Relocation costs. The cost of relocation payments and other relocation assistance to persons displaced by the project are eligible costs.

(1) Relocation payments include replacement housing payments, payments for moving expenses, and payments for reasonable out-of-pocket costs incurred in the temporary relocation of persons.

(2) Other relocation assistance means staff and overhead costs directly related to providing advisory and other relocation services to persons displaced by the project, including timely written notices to occupants, referrals to comparable and suitable replacement property, property inspections, counseling, and other assistance necessary to minimize hardship.

(g) Costs relating to payment of loans. If the HTF funds are not used to directly pay a cost specified in this section, but are used to pay off a construction loan, bridge financing loan, or guaranteed loan, the payment of principal and interest for such loan is an eligible cost only if:

(1) The loan was used for eligible costs specified in this section, and

(2) The HTF assistance is part of the original financing for the project and the project meets the requirements of this part.

(h) Construction undertaken before the HTF funds are committed to the project. HTF funds cannot be used for development hard costs, as provided in paragraph (a) of this section, or for acquisition, undertaken before the HTF funds are committed to the project. However, the written agreement committing the HTF funds to the project may authorize HTF funds to be used for architectural and engineering costs and other related professional services, as provided in paragraph (d)(1) of this section.

(a) General. A HTF grantee may expend, for payment of reasonable administrative and planning costs of the HTF, an amount of HTF funds that is not more than 10 percent of the sum of each fiscal year HTF grant and of program income deposited into its local account or received and reported by its subgrantees during the program year. A HTF grantee may expend the funds directly or may authorize its subgrantees, if any, to expend all or a portion of such funds, provided total expenditures for planning and administrative costs do not exceed the maximum allowable amount. Reasonable administrative and planning costs are those costs described in paragraphs (b) through (h) of this section:

(b) General management, oversight and coordination. Reasonable costs of overall program management, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation. Such costs include, but are not limited to, necessary expenditures for the following:

(1) Salaries, wages, and related costs of the grantee's staff. In charging costs to this category the grantee may either include the entire salary, wages, and related costs allocable to the program of each person whose primary responsibilities with regard to the program involves program administration assignments, or the prorated share of the salary, wages, and related costs of each person whose job includes any program administration assignments. The grantee may use only one of these methods. Program administration includes the following types of assignments:

(i) Developing systems and schedules for ensuring compliance with program requirements;

(ii) Developing interagency agreements and agreements with entities receiving HTF funds;

(iii) Monitoring HTF-assisted housing for progress and compliance with program requirements;

(iv) Preparing reports and other documents related to the program for submission to HUD;

(v) Coordinating the resolution of audit and monitoring findings;

(vi) Evaluating program results against stated objectives; and

(vii) Managing or supervising persons whose primary responsibilities with regard to the program include such assignments as those described in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (vi) of this section;

(2) Travel costs incurred for official business in carrying out the program;

(3) Administrative services performed under third party contracts or agreements, including such services as general legal services, accounting services, and audit services;

(4) Other costs for goods and services required for administration of the program, including such goods and services as rental or purchase of equipment, insurance, utilities, office supplies, and rental and maintenance (but not purchase) of office space; and

(c) Staff and overhead. Staff and overhead costs of the grantee directly related to carrying out the project, such as work specifications preparation, loan processing, inspections, lead-based paint evaluations (visual assessments, inspections, and risk assessments), other services related to assisting potential owners, tenants and homebuyers (e.g., housing counseling); and staff and overhead costs directly related to providing advisory and other relocation services to persons displaced by the project, including timely written notices to occupants, referrals to comparable and suitable replacement property, property inspections, counseling, and other assistance necessary to minimize hardship. These costs (except homeownership counseling) may be charged as administrative costs or as project costs under § 93.201(d)(6) and (f)(2), at the discretion of the grantee; however, these costs (except homeownership counseling) cannot be charged to or paid by the low-income families.

(d) Public information. The provision of information and other resources to residents and citizen organizations participating in the planning, implementation, or assessment of projects being assisted with HTF funds.

(e) Fair housing. Activities to affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with the grantee's certification under 24 CFR part 91.

(f) Indirect costs. Indirect costs may be charged to the HTF program in accordance with 2 CFR part 200, subpart E.

(g) Preparation of the consolidated plan. Preparation of the consolidated plan required under 24 CFR part 91. Preparation includes the costs of public hearings, consultations, and publication.

(h) Other Federal requirements. Costs of complying with the Federal requirements in subpart H of this part.

(a) HTF funds may be used for new construction or rehabilitation of public housing units only in accordance with the following:

(1) HTF funds may be used for new construction of public housing as part of the Choice Neighborhoods (Choice) program under a HUD appropriation act or for new public housing units that have been allocated and will receive low-income housing tax credits under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 42).

(2) HTF funds may be used for the rehabilitation of existing public housing units in which the public housing assistance will be converted and used at the properties under the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program under HUD's 2012 Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 112-55, 125 Stat. 552, approved November 18, 2011) or subsequent statutes. HTF funds may also be used for the rehabilitation of existing public housing under the Choice program, and of existing public housing units that have been allocated and will receive low-income housing tax credits under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 42).

(b) The public housing units constructed using funds under this part must replace units that were removed from a public housing agency's public housing inventory as part of a Choice program grant, or as part of a mixed-financed development under section 35 of the 1937 Act. The number of replacement units cannot be more than the number of units removed from the public housing agency's inventory. The public housing units constructed or rehabilitated using funds under this part must receive Public Housing Operating Fund assistance (and may receive Public Housing Capital Fund assistance) under section 9 of the 1937 Act. These units cannot receive operating costs assistance or operating cost assistance reserves under this part.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, HTF-assisted housing may not receive Operating Fund or Capital Fund assistance under section 9 of the 1937 Act during the HTF period of affordability.

(d) Consistent with § 93.200(c), HTF funds may be used for affordable housing in a project that also contains public housing units, provided that the HTF funds are not used for the public housing units and HTF funds are used only for eligible costs, in accordance with this part.

(a) HTF funds may not be used to:

(1) Provide assistance (other than assistance to a homebuyer to acquire housing previously assisted with HTF funds or renewal of operating cost assistance or renewal of operating cost assistance reserve) to a project previously assisted with HTF funds during the period of affordability established by the grantee in the written agreement under § 93.404 (c)(2)(iv). However, additional HTF funds may be committed to a project up to one year after project completion, but the amount of HTF funds in the project may not exceed the maximum per-unit development subsidy amount established pursuant to § 93.300.

(2) Pay for the acquisition of property owned by the grantee, except for property acquired by the grantee with HTF funds or property acquired in anticipation of carrying out an HTF project.

(3) Pay delinquent taxes, fees, or charges on properties to be assisted with HTF funds.

(4) Pay for political activities, advocacy, lobbying (whether directly or through other parties), counseling services (except for housing counseling), travel expenses (other than those eligible under § 93.202(b)), or preparing or providing advice on tax returns. The prohibited use of funds for political activities includes influencing the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of one or more candidates to any Federal, State, or local office as codified in section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501).

(5) Pay for administrative, outreach, or other costs to manage and operate the grantee of HTF funds, except those administrative costs necessary to carry out the HTF program in § 93.202, including housing counseling.

(6) Pay for any cost that is not eligible under § 93.201 and § 93.202.

(b)(1) The grantee may not charge (and must prohibit subgrantees and recipients from charging) servicing, origination, or other fees for the costs of administering the HTF program. However, the grantee may charge owners of rental projects reasonable annual fees for monitoring compliance during the period of affordability. The fees must be based upon the average actual cost of performing the monitoring of HTF-assisted rental projects. The basis for determining the amount of the fee must be documented and the fee must be included in the costs of the project as part of the project underwriting.

(2) The grantee may also charge nominal application fees (although these fees are not an eligible HTF cost) to eligible recipients, to discourage frivolous applications. The amount of application fees must be appropriate to the type of application and may not create an undue impediment to an extremely low-income family to be able to participate in the grantee's program.

(3) All fees are applicable credits under 2 CFR part 200, subpart E.

(4) In addition, the grantee must prohibit project owners from charging fees that are not customarily charged in rental housing (e.g., laundry room access fees), except that rental project owners may charge:

(i) Reasonable application fees to prospective tenants;

(ii) Parking fees to tenants only if such fees are customary for rental housing projects in the neighborhood; and

(iii) Fees for services such as bus transportation or meals, as long as the services are voluntary and fees are charged for services provided.