NY Priv Hous Fin L § 1112 (2021)
2021 New York Laws PVH - Private Housing Finance Article 19 - Affordable Home Ownership Development Program 1112 - Affordable Home Ownership Development Contracts.

§ 1112. Affordable home ownership development contracts. 1. Within the limit  of funds available in the affordable housing development account, the corporation is  hereby  authorized  to  enter  into  contracts  with eligible applicants to provide grants which such applicants shall use to finance  affordable  home  ownership development programs subject to the terms  and  conditions  of  this  article.  Any  grants  received  by  a municipality  hereunder  shall  not  be  deemed  to  be municipal funds. Grantees shall utilize funds provided pursuant to this article solely as payments, grants and  loans  to  owners  to  reduce  the  costs  of  new construction,   rehabilitation  or  home  improvement  or  the  cost  of acquisition, but only where such acquisition is part  of  an  affordable home   ownership   development   program  or  project  to  construct  or rehabilitate homes, or as otherwise authorized by  law.  Such  financial assistance may be in the form of loans, participation in loans including but  not  limited  to  participation  in loans originated or financed by lending institutions as defined in section forty-two  of  this  chapter, private  or  public  employee  pension  funds  or  the state of New York mortgage agency, or grants, on such terms and conditions as the  grantee with  the  approval of the corporation shall determine, provided that no such payments, grants and loans shall exceed the  lesser  of  (i)  sixty percent  of  the  project cost for projects involving acquisition or one hundred  percent  of  rehabilitation  programs  without  an  acquisition component  or  (ii)  the  following  per  dwelling  unit limitations (A) thirty-five thousand dollars for projects except as provided in item (B) of this clause or (B) forty thousand dollars for a high cost project  or a  project  which  will  receive  a  loan  from the federal farmers home administration. Up to ten percent of the program or project cost may  be used  for  grantee  operating expenses including expenses related to the organization operating support and administration of the contract. Among the criteria the corporation shall consider  in  determining  whether  a project  is a high cost project are: average cost of construction in the area, location of the project, and the impact of the additional  funding on  the  affordability of the project for the occupants of such project. No more than fifty percent of the total amount appropriated pursuant  to this  article  in  any  fiscal  year shall be allocated to homes located within any single municipality.   2. The corporation shall not enter into a contract under this  article except  with  an  eligible  applicant which has submitted an application pursuant to a request for proposals  issued  by  the  corporation  which application contains a plan acceptable to the corporation which provides that:  (a)  The  proposed  project  or  program  will  make  home  ownership, rehabilitation or home improvement  affordable  to  persons  who  cannot afford  to  own,  rehabilitate  or  improve  homes  by  relying upon the ordinary unaided operation of private enterprise.  (b) There shall be criteria, satisfactory to  the  corporation,  which provide  for  maximum income limitations or a system of income targeting designed  to  ensure  that  home  buyers  who  benefit  from   financial assistance provided pursuant to this article would be unable to acquire, rehabilitate  or  improve  homes  by  relying  upon the ordinary unaided operation of private enterprise.  (c) The payments, grants and loans provided by  grantees  pursuant  to this  article will be supplemented by private or other public investment and the payments, grants and loans provided by the grantee are the least necessary to make home ownership,  rehabilitation  or  home  improvement affordable  to  the income group to be served by the proposed project or program.  (d) The proposed project or projects, if not built or rehabilitated by a not-for-profit corporation,  will  be  built  or  rehabilitated  by  a private  developer/builder  who  has  agreed  to  limit  his  profit  in accordance with a formula, satisfactory to the  corporation,  which  has been established by the grantee.  (e) The proposed project or program will provide assistance in an area which  is  blighted,  deteriorated  or deteriorating, or has a blighting influence on the surrounding area, or is in danger of becoming a slum or a blighted area because of the  existence  of  substandard,  insanitary, deteriorating  or  deteriorated  conditions,  an  aged housing stock, or vacant  non-residential  property,  or  other  factors   indicating   an inability  or  unwillingness  of the private sector unaided to cause the construction, rehabilitation or home  improvement  for  which  payments, grants and loans under this article is provided.  (f)  Home  buyers  will  occupy  homes  as  their  principal  place of residence and funds provided for the benefit of the home buyer  will  be recaptured  by the grantee if the home buyer does not occupy the home as the home buyer's principal  place  of  residence  under  the  terms  and conditions of a formula established or approved by the corporation.  (g)  In  the case of a rehabilitation or home improvement program, the majority of payments, grants and loans provided for each home  shall  be used to perform work which prolongs the useful life of the home or shall be  used to correct basic structural defects or to repair basic building systems which threaten or if not corrected or  repaired  could  threaten the health and safety of the dwelling's residents.  (h)  The  corporation  shall  provide  the  applicant  with  a list of conditions that must be met prior to entering into a  contract  pursuant to  this  article.  Within  fifteen  working  days  of  receipt  by  the corporation  of  all  documents  in  satisfaction  of  the   list,   the corporation   shall   notify   the   applicant  of  the  sufficiency  or insufficiency of the documents. After satisfaction by the  applicant  of all  conditions  required  by  the  corporation prior to entering into a contract the corporation shall enter into the contract within forty-five working days of satisfaction of such conditions.  (i) Eligible applicants receiving awards pursuant to this article  for homes  located  in  cities  with a population of one hundred thousand or more shall provide preference to homebuyers who are members of a  police force  of  such  city,  provided  that such city has adopted a local law authorizing such preference.   3. In determining awards pursuant  to  this  article  the  corporation shall give preference to applications based upon the extent to which the proposed program or project will:  (a) Serve the lowest income households in the applicable region and is designed  to  continue  to  be  affordable  to  such  households  for  a substantial period of time.  (b) Leverage private and other public investment so as to  reduce  the amount  of  assistance  provided  pursuant  to  this  article  which  is necessary to operate or establish the program or project.  (c) Contribute to the development of the neighborhood or community  in which the program or project is located.  (d) Not directly displace current low and moderate income residents of such neighborhood or community.  (e) Be undertaken and completed in a timely fashion.  (f)  Utilize innovative, cost effective design techniques and building materials, which reduce construction, rehabilitation or operating  costs including, but not limited to factory built or modular homes.  (g) Be located on a brownfield site that has received a certificate of completion.    4.  The corporation shall not provide a grant to an eligible applicant pursuant to this article unless the corporation determines that there is a strong probability that the  private  investment  in  the  applicant's proposed  program would not be made without the grant and that the grant will not substitute for private funds which would be otherwise available to the program.   5. The corporation shall provide for the review, at periodic intervals not  less  than  annually,  of  the  performance  of  grantees receiving financial assistance pursuant to this article. Such review shall,  among other  things,  be  for  the  purposes  of  ascertaining  conformity  to contractual  provisions,  the  financial  integrity  and  efficiency  of grantees  and  the  evaluation  of  the  grantees' activities. Contracts entered into pursuant to this article may be terminated,  funds  may  be withheld  and unspent funds recaptured by the corporation upon a finding of  substantial  nonperformance  or  breach  by  the  grantee   of   its obligations under its contract.