New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 5 - COMMUNITY AFFAIRS › Chapter 80 - NEW JERSEY HOUSING AND MORTGAGE FINANCE AGENCY › Subchapter 33 - LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT QUALIFIED ALLOCATION PLAN › Section 5:80-33.8 - Awards from the Reserve

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Projects that need credits because of
				technical errors or severe hardship can submit a reapplication for credits from the
				Reserve. The Reserve may also be used to fund cost overruns for unforeseen
				circumstances beyond the developer's control where NJHMFA determines that a
				project's financial feasibility is jeopardized. Any credits not dedicated to the
				Family, Age-Friendly Senior, and Supportive Housing Cycles shall be deposited into
				the Reserve. Awards of credits from the Reserve are subject to availability and
				NJHMFA's evaluation of the request.
1. Hardship
				requests for additional credits from the Reserve are limited to $ 150,000 per
				project. Total development costs shall not exceed $ 317,625 per unit for buildings
				of one to four residential stories, $ 346,500 per unit for buildings with five or
				six residential stories, and $ 375,375 per unit for buildings with over six
				residential stories, excluding capitalized permanent reserves, non-basis-eligible
				off-site improvements, up to $ 10,000 per unit and $ 400,000 maximum for an
				integrated community center or social service space, or up to $ 10,000 per unit, and
				$ 800,000 maximum for a standalone community or social service building (subject to
				third-party cost certification), required deferred developer fee, if any, and either
				up to $ 15,000 per unit for adaptive reuse projects or up to $ 7,500 per unit for
				projects achieving the Passive House standard. Hardship requests must be documented
				to the satisfaction of NJHMFA and must demonstrate the existence of an unforeseen
				emergency where the completion of the project is jeopardized without an award of
				additional low-income housing tax credits. No more than one hardship award shall be
				approved with respect to a given project. Hardship applications to the Reserve are
				accepted on an ongoing basis until September 30. To apply to the Reserve for a
				hardship reservation of additional credit, applicants must follow the procedures at
				N.J.A.C.
				5:80-33.13(a)1.
2. Credits in the Family Cycle shall be set aside
				for up to two eligible family projects located within a Targeted Urban Municipality
				with up to a 55-percent affordability component. Mixed-Income Reserve projects are
				eligible for a maximum annual allocation of credits for all projects of $ 2,000,000.
				The project's market study at
				N.J.A.C.
				5:80-33.12(c)1 ii shall clearly
				demonstrate that the tax credit units provide a minimum 20 percent market advantage
				compared to comparable market-rate units. Projects shall achieve a minimum of 65
				percent of the maximum score under the ranking criteria established pursuant to
				N.J.A.C.
				5:80-33.15. Should multiple projects be deemed
				eligible at the same Tax Credit Committee meeting, credits shall be awarded in
				accordance with the tiebreaker at
				N.J.A.C.
				5:80-33.19(a)1. Credits not
				awarded pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited for use in the Family Cycle at
				N.J.A.C.
				5:80-33.4.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions at (a)2 above,
				for the duration of the time period in which NJHMFA is accepting project
				applications to award the $ 305,000,000 in Federal Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery
				Fund dollars appropriated to the Affordable Housing Production Fund pursuant to
				P.L.
				2022, c. 49, or until
				December 31, 2025, whichever comes sooner, the percentage of credits set aside for
				eligible family projects located within a TUM with up to a 55-percent affordability
				component shall be 60 percent.
4. The
				Tax Credit Committee, which is composed of those individuals designated at
				N.J.A.C.
				5:80-33.22(a), may, at its sole
				discretion, award any one additional nine-percent application from either the
				Family, Age-Friendly Senior, or Supportive Housing Cycle that would otherwise not
				rank high enough for funding. The Tax Credit Committee shall publish a written
				explanation of the basis upon which any award is made. Awards from this reserve are
				entirely discretionary and the Tax Credit Committee may choose not to utilize this
				reserve in any given funding round. To be eligible for such an award, an application
				must satisfy the following criteria:
i. Have been
				scored by NJHMFA as being within five points, including any applicable cure points,
				of the lowest-scoring awarded project in its respective cycle;
ii. Meet the criteria set forth at
				N.J.A.C.
				5:80-33.12;
iii. Not be "substantially incomplete";
				and
iv. Satisfy at least one of the
				following:
(1) Represent a regional or geographic
				location that has received limited affordable housing resources;
(2) Leverage substantial financial resources from
				the Federal government or from other non-NJHMFA funding sources;
(3) Affirmatively further the purposes and
				policies of the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968) or
				contribute to a municipal fair share housing development plan;
(4) Respond to an urgent housing need or an
				underserved population; or
(5) Meet
				other critical State housing policy directives, goals, or
				priorities.