1. (a) There is established the affordable rental housing development program under the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation.
2. (b) The purpose of this program shall be to preserve affordable rental housing units.
3. (c) For the purposes of this section, activities eligible for assistance from the affordable rental housing development program shall include rehabilitation, acquisition, or preservation of multifamily rental housing units for persons and families with incomes at or below eighty per cent of the median family income, as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

4. (d) The corporation shall identify properties whose contracts with either the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or the United States Department of Agriculture are set to expire on or before January 1, 2012, and the corporation shall contact the project owners to initiate negotiations to renew or preserve the existing subsidy contracts; provided that:

   1. (1) Nonprofit organizations shall be given priority to take over expiring subsidy contracts; and
   2. (2) Nonprofit organizations shall be given priority over for-profit organizations, if federal government funds are needed for the acquisition or rehabilitation of a project.

[L 2011, c 193, §2]