1. (a) General Submission Requirements. The pre-application process allows Applicants interested in pursuing an Application to assess potential competition across the 13 state service regions, subregions and set-asides. Based on an understanding of the potential competition they can make a more informed decision about whether they wish to proceed to prepare and submit an Application. A complete pre-application is a pre-application that meets all of the Department's criteria, as outlined in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

   1. (1) The pre-application must be submitted using the URL provided by the Department, as outlined in the Multifamily Programs Procedures Manual, along with the required pre-application fee as described in §11.901 of this chapter (relating to Fee Schedule), not later than the pre-application Final Delivery Date as identified in §11.2(a) of this chapter (relating to Competitive HTC Deadlines Program Calendar). If the pre-application and corresponding fee is not submitted on or before this deadline the Applicant will be deemed to have not made a pre-application.
   2. (2) Only one pre-application may be submitted by an Applicant for each Development Site and for each Site Control document.
   3. (3) Department review at this stage is limited, and not all issues of eligibility and threshold are reviewed or addressed at pre-application. Acceptance by staff of a pre-application does not ensure that an Applicant satisfies all Application eligibility, threshold or documentation requirements. While the pre-application is more limited in scope than the Application, pre-applications are subject to the same limitations, restrictions, or causes for disqualification or termination as Applications, and pre-applications will thus be subject to the same consequences for violation, including but not limited to loss of points and termination of the pre-application.
   4. (4) The pre-application becomes part of the full Application if the full Application claims pre-application points.
   5. (5) Regardless of whether a Full Application is submitted, a pre-application may not be withdrawn after the Full Application Delivery Date described in 10 TAC §11.2(a) relating to Competitive HTC Deadlines Program Calendar.

2. (b) Pre-Application Threshold Criteria. Pursuant to Tex. Gov't Code §2306.6704(c) pre-applications will be terminated unless they meet the threshold criteria described in subsection (a) of this section and paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection:

   1. (1) Submission of the Competitive HTC pre-application in the form prescribed by the Department which identifies at a minimum:

      1. (A) Site Control meeting the requirements of §11.204(10) of this title (relating to Required Documentation for Application Submission). For purposes of meeting this specific requirement related to pre-application threshold criteria, proof of consideration and any documentation required for identity of interest transactions is not required at the time of pre-application submission but will be required at the time of full application submission;
      2. (B) Funding request;
      3. (C) Target Population;
      4. (D) Requested set-asides (At-Risk, USDA, Nonprofit, and/or Rural);
      5. (E) Total Number of Units proposed;
      6. (F) Census tract number in which the Development Site is located, and a map of that census tract with an outline of the proposed Development Site;
      7. (G) Expected score for each of the scoring items identified in the pre-application materials;
      8. (H) Proposed name of ownership entity; and

      9. (I) Disclosure of the following Neighborhood Risk Factors under §11.101(a)(3).:

         1. (i) The Development Site is located in a census tract (or for any adjacent census tract with a boundary less than 500 feet from the proposed Development Site that is not separated from the Development Site by a natural barrier such as a river or lake, or an intervening restricted area, such as a military installation) in an Urban Area and the rate of Part I violent crime is greater than 18 per 1,000 persons (annually) as reported on neighborhoodscout.com; and
         2. (ii) The Development Site is located within the attendance zone of an elementary school, a middle school or a high school that has a 2019 TEA Accountability Rating of D and a 2018 Improvement Required Rating or a 2019 TEA Accountability Rating of F and a 2018 Met Standard Rating by the Texas Education Agency.

   2. (2) Evidence in the form of a certification provided in the pre-application, that all of the notifications required under this paragraph have been made and that a reasonable search for applicable entities has been conducted. (§2306.6704)

      1. (A) The Applicant must list in the pre-application all Neighborhood Organizations on record with the county or state whose boundaries include the entire proposed Development Site as of the beginning of the Application Acceptance Period.

      2. (B) Notification Recipients. No later than the date the pre-application is submitted, notification must be sent to all of the entities prescribed in clauses (i) - (viii) of this subparagraph. Developments located in an ETJ of a municipality are required to notify both municipal and county officials. The notifications may be sent by e-mail, fax or mail with registered return receipt or similar tracking mechanism in the format included in the Public Notification Template provided in the Uniform 2020 Multifamily Application Template or in an alternative format that meets the applicable requirements and achieves the intended purpose. The Applicant is required to retain proof of delivery in the event the Department requests proof of notification. Acceptable evidence of such delivery is demonstrated by signed receipt for mail or courier delivery and confirmation of delivery for fax and e-mail. Officials to be notified are those officials in office at the time the pre-application is submitted. Between the time of pre-application (if made) and full Application, the boundaries of an official's jurisdictions may change. If there is a change in jurisdiction between pre-application and the Full Application Delivery Date, additional notifications must be made at full Application to any entity that has not been previously notified by the Applicant. Meetings and discussions do not constitute notification. Only a timely and compliant written notification to the correct entity constitutes notification.

         1. (i) Neighborhood Organizations on record with the state or county as of the beginning of the Application Acceptance Period whose boundaries include the entire proposed Development Site;
         2. (ii) Superintendent of the school district in which the Development Site is located;
         3. (iii) Presiding officer of the board of trustees of the school district in which the Development Site is located;
         4. (iv) Mayor of the municipality (if the Development Site is within a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction);
         5. (v) All elected members of the Governing Body of the municipality (if the Development Site is within a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction);
         6. (vi) Presiding officer of the Governing Body of the county in which the Development Site is located;
         7. (vii) All elected members of the Governing Body of the county in which the Development Site is located; and
         8. (viii) State Senator and State Representative of the districts whose boundaries include the proposed Development Site.

      3. (C) Contents of Notification.

         1. (i) The notification must include, at a minimum, all of the information described in subclauses (I) - (VIII) of this clause.

            1. (I) The Applicant's name, address, an individual contact name and phone number;
            2. (II) The Development name, address, city, and county;
            3. (III) A statement informing the entity or individual being notified that the Applicant is submitting a request for Housing Tax Credits with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs;
            4. (IV) Whether the Development proposes New Construction, Reconstruction, Adaptive Reuse, or Rehabilitation;
            5. (V) The physical type of Development being proposed (e.g. single family homes, duplex, apartments, high-rise, etc.);
            6. (VI) The approximate total number of Units and approximate total number of Low-Income Units;
            7. (VII) The residential density of the Development, i.e., the number of Units per acre; and
            8. (VIII) Information on how and when an interested party or Neighborhood Organization can provide input to the Department.
         2. (ii) The notification may not contain any false or misleading statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the notification may not create the impression that the proposed Development will serve a population exclusively or as a preference unless such targeting or preference is documented in the Application and is in full compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, including state and federal fair housing laws; and
         3. (iii) Notifications or any other communications may not contain any statement that violates Department rules, statute, code, or federal requirements.
3. (c) Pre-Application Results. Only pre-applications which have satisfied all of the pre-application requirements, including those in §11.9(e)(3) of this chapter, will be eligible for pre-application points. The order and scores of those Developments released on the pre-application Submission Log do not represent a Commitment on the part of the Department or the Board to allocate tax credits to any Development and the Department bears no liability for decisions made by Applicants based on the results of the pre-application Submission Log. Inclusion of a pre-application on the pre-application Submission Log does not ensure that an Applicant will receive points for a pre-application.

Source Note:The provisions of this §11.8 adopted to be effective December 29, 2019, 44 TexReg 7889.