ORS Chapter 458 — Housing and Community

ORS 458.655. Home Ownership Assistance Account; grant preferences. (1) The Home Ownership Assistance Account is administered by the Housing and Community Services Department to expand this states supply of homeownership housing for families and individuals with income at or below area median income, including persons over 65 years of age, persons of color, indigenous persons, members of federally recognized Indian tribes, persons with disabilities, veterans and agricultural workers. An amount equal to 25 percent of moneys deposited in the account pursuant to ORS 294.187 is dedicated for expenditure to expand this states supply of homeownership housing for veterans and families of veterans. The Oregon Housing Stability Council shall have a policy of distributing funds statewide while concentrating funds in those areas of this state with the greatest need, as determined by the council. The councils policy of distributing funds may differ from the distribution policy for the Housing Development and Guarantee Account. (2) Funds in the Home Ownership Assistance Account must be used for: (a) Grants to organizations that provide down payment assistance; (b) Grants to organizations that both sponsor and manage homeownership programs for households with income at or below area median income; or (c) Grants and technical assistance to organizations that, in working with households with income at or below area median income, assist persons of color in obtaining homeownership under ORS 458.658. (3) The council shall develop a policy for disbursing grants or technical assistance under subsection (2) of this section for any or all of the following purposes: (a) To aid homeownership programs for households with income at or below area median income, including program administration, providing assistance with down payment costs, or providing homeownership training and qualification services or any combination thereof. Funds in the Home Ownership Assistance Account may not be used by an organization to pay for its general operations that do not support homeownership. (b) To match public and private moneys available from other sources to provide homeownership assistance for households with income at or below area median income. (c) To administer the Home Ownership Assistance Account as provided for in the legislatively approved budget, as that term is defined in ORS 291.002, for the Housing and Community Services Department. (4) The council, in developing policy under subsection (3) of this section, shall give preference in making grants to those entities that propose to: (a) Ensure long-term affordability and opportunities for generational wealth building, including through loan forgiveness or shared equity; (b) Ensure the longest use for the units as homeownership housing units for households with income at or below area median income, such as by including some form of equity recapture, land trust or shared equity provisions, as determined by the council; (c) Include services for occupants and proposed occupants of housing including homeownership training, mortgage qualification service and financial literacy; and (d) Support a comprehensive strategy to reverse the decreasing rates of homeownership among persons of color, giving priority to activities that support and incorporate best practices or demonstrate proven success in increasing homeownership for persons of color or receive grants or technical assistance under ORS 458.658.