585.309—Project-related restrictions applicable to Youthbuild residential rental housing.
Where the award of a Youthbuild implementation grant includes the eligible activities of acquisition, architectural and engineering fees, construction, rehabilitation, operating costs or replacement reserves for residential rental units, and where the costs for these activities are to be funded, in whole or in part, from the Youthbuild grant award, the recipient shall be required to comply with the following Youthbuild project-related restrictions for a period of not less than 10 years:
(a) Occupancy by low- and very low-income families.
(1)
For the 10 year period of the residential rental Youthbuild project, the recipient or rightful owner will be required to maintain at least a 90 percent level of occupancy for individuals and families with incomes less than 60 percent of the area median income, adjusted for family size—“the 90 percent category.” The recipient or rightful owner must offer each available rental unit to the 60 percent of area median income group for an advertising period of not less than 90 days upon each vacancy occurrence throughout the 10 year period. Community- wide advertisements for tenants of this income group must be conducted.
(2)
In order to maintain the financial stability of the project and to provide flexibility in averting long-term vacancies in the 90 percent category, the rightful owner is permitted, under certain circumstances described below, to execute temporary two year leases with individuals and families with incomes between 60 and 80 percent of the area median income. This temporary deviation is permitted when no qualifying tenant (with an income of 60 percent or less of median) leases the unit upon the end of the 90 day advertising period. The owner may then advertise the unit to individuals and families with incomes less than 80 percent of the area median income, adjusted for family size, for another advertisement period of 90 days. Temporary leases for tenants whose incomes are between 60 and 80 percent of the area median income (exclusive of the 10 percent allowance) shall be limited to two years. Temporary tenants are not covered by Youthbuild tenant protections regarding termination of tenancy (paragraph (b)(2) of this section), tenant selection plan (paragraph (b)(4) of this section) and tenant participation plan (paragraph (d) of this section).
(3)
The remaining 10 percent of the units must be made available to and occupied by low-income families—“the 10 percent category.” The income test must be conducted for both the 90 percent and 10 percent categories only at time of entry for each unit available for occupancy.
(b) Tenant protections.
Upon submission of the implementation grant application, the applicant or rightful owner of the residential rental units covered under this paragraph shall certify to the following tenant protections:
(1) Lease.
As part of the Youthbuild implementation grant application, the applicant or rightful owner of the property shall provide a model lease containing terms and conditions acceptable to HUD. The model lease shall become an addendum to the executed grant agreement and shall remain in force for a period of 10 years. The lease between a tenant and the owner of residential rental housing shall be for a period of not less than one year, unless otherwise mutually agreed to by the tenant and the owner, and shall contain such terms and conditions as HUD determines to be appropriate. Any change to a lease must be approved by HUD.
(2) Termination of tenancy.
Upon submission of the implementation grant application, the applicant or other rightful owner of the property must certify that the following restrictions will be applied to all lease terminations initiated by the owner. The restrictions must state that an owner shall not terminate the tenancy or refuse to renew the lease of a tenant occupying a Youthbuild residential rental housing unit except for serious or repeated violations of the terms and conditions of the lease, or for violation of applicable Federal, State, or local laws, or for other good cause. Any termination or refusal to renew the lease must be preceded by not less than 30 days by the owner's service upon the tenant of a written notice specifying the grounds for the action. With regard to leases for tenants in units controlled by public housing authorities, 24 CFR part 966 shall take precedence over this provision.
(3) Maintenance and replacements.
Upon submission of the implementation grant application, the applicant or rightful owner of Youthbuild residential rental housing must certify that the premises will be maintained in compliance with all applicable housing quality standards and local code requirements for the 10 year period. HUD's section 8 housing quality standards apply when no other public assistance is involved other than the Youthbuild grant. In other cases, the applicable HUD or other Federal, State or local program guidelines shall apply.
(4) Tenant selection.
The applicant or rightful owner of Youthbuild residential rental housing must develop and adopt a tenant selection plan containing selection policies and criteria that are consistent with HUD requirements. The tenant selection plan shall remain in force for the 10 year period. Upon submission of the implementation grant application, the applicant or owner of the property must certify that the plan complies with the following HUD requirements:
(i)
The plan is consistent with the purpose of providing housing for homeless and very low-income families and individuals;
(ii)
The plan is reasonably related to program eligibility and the applicant's or owner's ability to perform the obligations of the lease;
(iii)
The plan gives reasonable consideration to the housing needs of families that would qualify for a preference under section 6(c)(4)(A) of the United States Housing Act of 1937;
(iv)
The plan provides for the selection of tenants from a written waiting list in the chronological order of their application, to the extent practicable, and for the prompt notification in writing of any rejected applicant of the grounds for any rejection; and
(v)
The plan acknowledges that a family holding tenant-based assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 will not be refused tenancy because of the status of the prospective tenant as a holder of such assistance.
(c) Limitation on rental payments.
Upon submission of the implementation grant application, the applicant or other rightful owner of Youthbuild residential rental housing project involved in a Youthbuild program shall certify that tenants in each rental unit shall be not required to pay rent in excess of the amount provided under section 3(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
(d) Tenant participation plan.
The Youthbuild program shall require a tenant participation plan applicable to the rightful owner of Youthbuild residential rental housing, provided such owner is a nonprofit public or private organization. Upon submission of the implementation grant application, the nonprofit owner shall certify that the tenant participation plan is the plan to be adopted and followed for tenant participation in management decisions for the 10 year period.
(e) Limitations on profit.
Youthbuild residential rental housing projects meeting the requirements of this section shall be restricted from producing profit in excess of the limitations set out in sections 455(c)(1) and (2) of NAHA.
(f) Restrictions on conveyance.
Conveyance restrictions apply to Youthbuild residential rental housing project(s) meeting the requirements of this section. Ownership of the property may not be conveyed unless the instrument of conveyance requires a subsequent owner to comply with the same restrictions imposed upon the original owner for the balance of the 10 year period.
(g) Ten year restriction.
The restrictions listed in paragraphs (a) through (f) of this section shall remain in force for a period of not less than 10 years after construction completion and issuance of an occupancy permit for all Youthbuild residential rental housing projects receiving Youthbuild assistance.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2506-0142)