109.00.14 Ark. Code R. 001
As contained in Arkansas 15-5-1702(3) of the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund Act of 2009, the purposes of the AHTF shall be:
As contained in Arkansas 15-5-1709(a) (1) of the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund Act of 2009, eligible beneficiaries of AHTF activities must have total annual household incomes equal to or less than eighty percent (80%) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") area median income, adjusted for family size.
As contained in Arkansas 15-5-1708(b) of the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund Act of 2009, the eligible activities of the AHTF may include, without limitation or priority, the following:
As contained in Arkansas 15-5-1708(c) of the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund Act of 2009, eligible applicants of assistance from the AHTF shall include, without limitation or priority, the following:
As contained in Arkansas 15-5-1708(a) of the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund Act of 2009, the uses of the AHTF shall be to provide assistance for eligible activities proposed by eligible applicants, including, without limitation, grants, loans, and loan subsidies.
As contained in Arkansas 15-5-1709(a) of the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund Act of 2009, for an activity to be eligible for AHTF support, the following minimum requirements must be present:
As contained in Arkansas 15-5-1709(b) of the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund Act of 2009, the following rules shall apply to distribution of any AHTF resources:
Activities shall be selected through a competitive process.
The following groups served shall be eligible for set-asides or incentives, without limitation:
AHTF resources will be provided to approved recipients in a manner consistent with fund distribution of other ADFA housing resources. This requirement includes meeting the following conditions, at a minimum, prior to fund disbursement:
. All AHTF recipients will be required to execute an AHTF Agreement drafted by ADFA staff. The agreement, when executed by all parties, will serve as the commitment of AHTF funds by ADFA and will outline all applicable requirements to be accomplished by the AHTF recipient.
. Satisfactory execution of the AHTF agreement, closing documents, and filing of the applicable documents, as required, including the filing of a mortgage and note in favor of ADFA for the full amount of AHTF resources allocated as loans.
. A preconstruction or pre-implementation conference is conducted with the recipient and ADFA representatives present.
. ADFA will issue one written Notice to Proceed applicable to all ADFA housing programs approved for the AHTF-assisted activity. It is imperative the recipient does not begin the project or activity until the written Notice to Proceed is issued by ADFA and received by the recipient.
. For all activities involving construction, rehabilitation, land acquisition, or infrastructure, the recipient must complete and ADFA must approve the appropriate HUD environmental review process.
If AHTF funds are provided to eligible recipients in the form of a loan, the funds will be loaned at a minimum interest rate of one percent (1%) per annum for a minimum loan term of twenty (20) years, amortized over twenty (20) years. For projects utilizing AHTF resources and U.S. Department of Agriculture ("USDA") Rural Development ("RD") funds, the AHTF loan may match the terms of the USDA RD loan. For projects utilizing AHTF resources and HUD funds, the AHTF loan may match the terms of the HUD loan.
AHTF activity which generates program income, as defined in the AHTF grant or loan agreement between the recipient and ADFA, as a direct result of AHTF-funded activity(s), the recipient must remit such program income received from AHTF activity(s) directly to ADFA within sixty (60) days of receipt of the program income. ADFA will reallocate any program income received to eligible AHTF applicants for eligible AHTF activities.
As contained in Arkansas 15-5-1709(b) (3) of the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund Act of 2009, the following evaluation criteria, without limitation, shall be used to determine recipients of funding from the AHTF:
Rents for eligible tenants will be considered to be affordable if the rent does not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the household's income at eighty percent (80%), sixty percent (60%), fifty percent (50%), and thirty percent (30%) of the HUD area median income, adjusted for family size, for the area where the AHTF-assisted activity is located or is to be located.
All AHTF recipients will be required to and are responsible for reporting information related to the uses of AHTF resources to ADFA in a timely manner to facilitate ADFA's reporting requirements. Specific reporting requirements will be delineated in the AHTF agreement executed between ADFA and the recipient.
* All activities funded by AHTF resources will be periodically monitored for compliance. During project implementation, ADFA inspectors will inspect any work completed using AHTF funds. The timing of such inspections will be addressed in a pre-implementation conference, but ADFA reserves the right to inspect any activity completed with AHTF funds at any time. This right extends to AHTF Advisory Committee members, State Officials, and any other authorized entity with oversight responsibilities of the AHTF. After the affordable housing activity is completed and placed-in-service and for the full applicable affordability period, ADFA Compliance Monitoring staff will periodically perform on-site property inspections, review of documentation, and monitor adherence to all applicable AHTF and ADFA requirements.
* The purpose of the compliance monitoring inspections will be to determine and ultimately ensure compliance with all applicable program regulations and requirements contained in these policies and the regulations of any applicable ADFA program used in the AHTF activity. In the event non-compliance occurs,
ADFA staff will work with the project owner to re-establish compliance. Should the non-compliance continue or the AHTF activity is incapable of being brought into compliance, ADFA may use any and all lawful means at its disposal to recapture the AHTF funds and re-allocate them to other eligible AHTF activities.
* Failure to adhere to ALL applicable requirements as contained in AHTF Program Regulations and the AHTF agreement will be considered a default of the AHTF agreement and may be addressed by ADFA using any and all available remedies, as provided by law. The intent of any remedies implemented is to establish or re-establish program and agreement compliance. If full compliance by the recipient is not possible, ADFA may take any and all lawful actions necessary to ensure compliance with all applicable requirements up to and including recapture of all AHTF funds.
The ADFA Board of Directors reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion subject to applicable law, to allocate AHTF resources and to refrain from making AHTF allocations based upon available funding, quality of applications received, and other criteria. The ADFA Board of Directors may, at its discretion, implement changes to the AHTF Program Regulations at any time to ensure compliance with state and federal law, grant waivers or exceptions to AHTF requirements, and exhibit flexibility in their interpretation of AHTF Program Regulations and ADFA Policies and Procedures associated with AHTF resources to fully and more efficiently utilize the AHTF resources for their intended purposes. In accordance with Arkansas 15-5-1707(b)(1), the HTF Advisory Committee will collaborate with the staff of ADFA to draft regulations, compliance responsibilities, incentives, and funding priorities for the AHTF and the programs funded by the AHTF, which regulations and policies will be referred by the Advisory Committee to ADFA for its review and approval.
109.00.14 Ark. Code R. 001