1. (a) Under 24 C.F.R. § 93.2, a recipient is defined as an organization, agency, or other entity (including a public housing agency, a for-profit entity, or a nonprofit entity) that receives national Housing Trust Fund (HTF) assistance from a grantee as an owner or developer to carry out an HTF-assisted project.

2. (b)

   1. (1) In order to qualify as a recipient of HTF funds under 24 C.F.R. § 93.2, the entity must meet four (4) requirements.

   2. (2) These requirements state that a recipient must:

      1. (A) Make acceptable assurances to the grantee that it will comply with the requirements of the HTF program during the entire period that begins upon selection of the recipient to receive HTF funds, and ending upon the conclusion of all HTF-funded activities;
      2. (B) Demonstrate the ability and financial capacity to undertake, comply, and manage the eligible activity;
      3. (C) Demonstrate its familiarity with the requirements of other federal, state, or local housing programs that may be used in conjunction with HTF funds to ensure compliance with all applicable requirements and regulations of such programs; and
      4. (D) Have demonstrated experience and capacity to conduct an eligible HTF activity as evidenced by its ability to:

3. (i) Own or construct, and manage and operate an affordable multifamily rental housing development;

   1. (ii) Design or construct, and market affordable housing for homeownership; or

      1. (iii) Provide forms of assistance, such as down payments, closing costs, or interest rate buy downs for purchasers.

         1. (c) When selecting eligible recipients, the Arkansas Development Finance Authority will measure these requirements per:
   2. (1) Methods listed in the scoring matrix; and

   3. (2) Documents submitted with the application (http://adfa.arkansas.gov/lihtc-application).

      1. (d) No HTF application will be processed for any applicant or related entity that is not in good standing with the:
   4. (1) Arkansas Development Finance Authority and any other state housing finance authority;
   5. (2) Arkansas Economic Development Commission;
   6. (3) United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; and/or
   7. (4) United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

4. (e) An applicant can be denied consideration of the HTF funds under Arkansas’s HTF program if the applicant or its related parties have a history of:

   1. (1) Payment delinquencies;
   2. (2) Bankruptcy;
   3. (3) Foreclosure; or
   4. (4) Activities determined to be unsound or unlawful.
5. (f) Arkansas Development Finance Authority will distribute HTF funds by directly selecting applications submitted from eligible recipients and will not use subgrantees.
6. (g) The development team is the applicant, consultant, contractor, architect, accountant, property manager, and attorney who will work to facilitate the construction of new rental housing (single family, assisted living units, or multi-family units) solely for ELI veterans and their families.

7. (h) Under Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a “veteran” is defined as a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.

   1. (i) An “eligible applicant” consists of:
   2. (1) The development team; and
   3. (2) A nonprofit that specializes in support services for veterans.

8. (j)

   1. (1) 24 C.F.R. § 93.350 requires that the recipient put affirmative marketing in place to attract eligible persons (here, ELI veterans and their families) “without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status, or disability”.
   2. (2) Arkansas Development Finance Authority will ensure the recipient’s compliance with this regulation by requiring that each application package to the Arkansas Development Finance Authority include the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Form 935.2A, which outlines the development teams’ affirmative fair housing marketing plan and their staff’s fair housing training accomplishments (http://adfa.arkansas.gov/Websites/adfa/images/HOME_Program/Documents/Af firmative_Fair_Housing_Marketing_Plan_-_Single_Family.pdf).

9. (k) The development team’s property manager will ensure compliance with 24 C.F.R. § 93.303(d)(3), which requires that the nondiscrimination provisions of 24 C.F.R. § 93.350 (listed above) be followed.

   1. (l)
   2. (1) Arkansas Development Finance Authority will award HTF funds as forgivable grants to recipients whose proposed developments are approved for funding.
   3. (2) The HTF grant will remain a forgivable grant, as long as the development remains in compliance with HTF and Arkansas Development Finance Authority requirements for the entire affordability period of thirty (30) years.

Codification Notes: "ELI" means extremely low-income.