PRESERVING EXISTING HOUSING INVESTMENT EXCERPT FROM DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1997 [Public Law 104-204; 110 Stat. 2883; 12 U.S.C. 4101 note] PRESERVING EXISTING HOUSING INVESTMENT *** [12 U.S.C. 4101 note] Provided further, That of the total amount provided under this head, $350,000,000 shall be available for use in conjunction with properties that are eligible for assistance under the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990 (LIHPRHA) or the Emergency Low Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987 (ELIHPA), of which $75,000,000 shall be available for obligation until March 1, 1997 for projects (1) that are subject to a repayment or settlement agreement that was executed between the owner and the Secretary prior to September 1, 1995; (2) whose submissions were delayed as a result of their location in areas that were designated as a Federal disaster area in a Presidential Disaster Declaration; or (3) whose processing was, in fact or in practical effect, suspended, deferred, or interrupted for a period of twelve months or more because of differing interpretations, by the Secretary and an owner or by the Secretary and a State or local rent regulatory agency, concerning the timing of filing eligibility or the effect of a presumptively applicable State or local rent control law or regulation on the determination of preservation value under section 213 of LIHPRHA, as amended, if the owner of such project filed notice of intent to extend the low-income affordability restrictions of the housing, or transfer to a qualified purchaser who would extend such restricor before November 1, 1993; and of which, up to $100,000,000 may be used for rental assistance to prevent displacement of families residing in projects whose owners prepay their mortgages; and the balance of which shall be available from the effective date of this Act1 for sales to preferred priority purchasers: Provided further, That with the exception of projects described in clauses (1), (2), or (3) of the preceding proviso, the Secretary shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law, suspend further processing of preservation applications which have not heretofore received approval of a plan of action: Provided further, That $150,000,000 of amounts recaptured from interest reduction payment contracts for section 236 projects whose owners prepay their mortgages during fiscal year 1997 shall be rescinded: Provided further, That an owner of eligible low-income housing may prepay the mortgage or request voluntary termination of a mortgage insurance contract, so long as said owner agrees not to raise rents for sixty 1October 1, 1996. days after such prepayment: Provided further, That such developments have been determined to have preservation equity at least equal to the lesser of $5,000 per unit or $500,000 per project or the equivalent of eight times the most recently published monthly fair market rent for the area in which the project is located as the appropriate unit size for all of the units in the eligible project: Provided further, That the Secretary may modify the regulatory agreement to permit owners and priority purchasers to retain rental income in excess of the basic rental charge in projects assisted under section 236 of the National Housing Act, for the purpose of preserving the low- and moderate-income character of the housing: Provided further, That eligible low-income housing shall include properties meeting the requirements of this paragraph with mortgages that are held by a State agency as a result of a sale by the Secretary without insurance, which immediately before the sale would have been eligible low-income housing under LIHPRHA: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, each low-income family, and moderate-income family who is elderly or disabled or is residing in a low-vacancy area, residing in the housing on the date of prepayment or voluntary termination, and whose rent, as a result of a rent increase occurring no later than one year after the date of the prepayment, exceeds 30 percent of adjusted income, shall be offered tenant-based assistance in accordance with section 8 or any successor program, under which the family shall pay no less for rent than it paid on such date: Provided further, That any family receiving tenant-based assistance under the preceding proviso may elect (1) to remain in the unit of the housing and if the rent exceeds the fair market rent or payment standard, as applicable, the rent shall be deemed to be the applicable standard, so long as the administering public housing agency finds that the rent is reasonable in comparison with rents charged for comparable unassisted housing units in the market or (2) to move from the housing and the rent will be subject to the fair market rent of1 the payment standard, as applicable, under existing program rules and procedures: Provided further, That the tenant-based assistance made available under the preceding two provisos are in lieu of benefits provided in subsections 223(b), (c), and (d) of the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990: Provided further, That any sales shall be funded using the capital grant available under section 220(d)(3)(A) of LIHPRHA: Provided further, That any extensions shall be funded using a non-interestbearing capital (direct) loan by the Secretary not in excess of the amount of the cost of rehabilitation approved in the plan of action. plus 65 percent of the property's preservation equity and under such other terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe: Provided further, That any capital grant shall be limited to seven times, and any capital loan limited to six times, the annual fair market rent for the project, as determined using the fair market rent for fiscal year 1997 for the area in which the project is located, using the appropriate apartment sizes and mix in the eligible project, except where, upon the request of a priority purchaser, the 1 So in law. Probably should be "or". Secretary determines that a greater amount is necessary and appropriate to preserve low-income housing: Provided further, That section 241(f) of the National Housing Act is repealed and insurance under such section shall not be offered as an incentive under LIHPRHA and ELIHPA: Provided further, That up to $10,000,000 of the amount of $350,000,000 made available by a preceding proviso in this paragraph may be used at the discretion of the Secretary to reimburse owners of eligible properties for which plans of action were submitted prior to the effective date of this Act1, but were not executed for lack of available funds, with such reimbursement available only for documented costs directly applicable to the preparation of the plan of action as determined by the Secretary, and shall be made available on terms and conditions to be established by the Secretary: Provided further, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a priority purchaser may utilize assistance under the HOME Investment Partnerships Act or the Low Income Housing Tax Credit: Provided further, That projects with approved plans of action which exceed the limitations on eligibility for funding imposed by this Act may submit revised plans of action which conform to these limitations by March 1, 1997, and retain the priority for funding otherwise applicable from the original date of approval of their plan of action, subject to securing any additional necessary funding commitments by August 1, 1997. ASSISTANCE FOR SELF-HELP HOUSING PROVIDERS EXCERPT FROM HOUSING OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM EXTENSION ACT OF 1996 [Public Law 104-120; 110 Stat. 841; 42 U.S.C. 12805 note] SEC. 11. [42 U.S.C. 12805 note] ASSISTANCE FOR SELF-HELP HOUSING PROVIDERS. (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.-The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may, to the extent amounts are available to carry out this section and the requirements of this section are met, make grants for use in accordance with this section to national and regional organizations and consortia that have experience in providing or facilitating self-help housing homeownership opportunities. (b) GOALS AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—In making grants under this section, the Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that (1) assistance provided under this section is used to facilitate and encourage innovative homeownership opportunities through the provision of self-help housing, under which the homeowner contributes a significant amount of sweat equity toward the construction of the new dwelling; (2) assistance provided under this section for land acquisition and infrastructure development results in the development of not less than 4,000 new dwellings; (3) the dwellings constructed in connection with assistance provided under this section are quality dwellings that comply with local building and safety codes and standards and are available at prices below the prevailing market prices; (4) the provision of assistance under this section establishes and fosters a partnership between the Federal Government and organizations and consortia, resulting in efficient development of affordable housing with minimal governmental intervention, limited governmental regulation, and significant involvement by private entities; (5) activities to develop housing assisted pursuant to this section involve community participation in which volunteers assist in the construction of dwellings; and (6) dwellings are developed in connection with assistance under this section on a geographically diverse basis, which includes areas having high housing costs, rural areas, and areas underserved by other homeownership opportunities that are populated by low-income families unable to otherwise afford housing. If, at any time, the Secretary determines that the goals under this subsection cannot be met by providing assistance in accordance with the terms of this section, the Secretary shall immediately no tify the applicable Committees in writing of such determination and any proposed changes for such goals or this section. (c) NATIONAL COMPETITION.-The Secretary shall select organizations and consortia referred to in subsection (a) to receive grants through a national competitive process, which the Secretary shall establish. (d) USE. (1) PURPOSE.-Amounts from grants made under this section, including any recaptured amounts, shall be used only for eligible expenses in connection with developing new decent, safe, and sanitary nonluxury dwellings in the United States for families and persons who otherwise would be unable to afford to purchase a dwelling. (2) ELIGIBLE EXPENSES.-For purposes of paragraph (1), the term "eligible expenses" means costs only for the following activities: (A) LAND ACQUISITION.-Acquiring land (including financing and closing costs), which may include reimbursing an organization, consortium, or affiliate, upon approval of any required environmental review, for nongrant amounts of the organization, consortium, or affiliate advanced before such review to acquire land. (B) INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT.-Installing, extending, constructing, rehabilitating, or otherwise improving utilities and other infrastructure. Such term does not include any costs for the rehabilitation, improvement, or construction of dwellings. (e) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT FUND.— (1) IN GENERAL.-Any amounts from any grant made under this section shall be deposited by the grantee organization or consortium in a fund that is established by such organization or consortium for such amounts, administered by such organization or consortium, and available for use only for the purposes under subsection (d). Any interest, fees, or other earnings of the fund shall be deposited in the fund and shall be considered grant amounts for purposes of this section. (2) ASSISTANCE TO AFFILIATES.-Any organization or consortia that receives a grant under this section may use amounts in the fund established for such organization or consortia pursuant to paragraph (1) for the purposes under subsection (d) by providing assistance from the fund to local affiliates of such organization or consortia. (f) REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSISTANCE.-The Secretary may make a grant to an organization or consortium under subsection (a) only pursuant to (1) an expression of interest by such organization or consortia to the Secretary for a grant for such purposes; (2) a determination by the Secretary that the organization or consortia has the capability and has obtained financial commitments (or has the capacity to obtain financial commitments) necessary to (A) develop not less than 30 dwellings in connection with the grant amounts; and |