Attending a compliance training at least once every two years is an AHP requirement. Pre-recorded webinars for rental and owner-occupied projects are available for reference. Rental projects may also be subject to periodic long-term monitoring of a project's income and affordability restrictions during the 15-year retention period, unless they received Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).
Four-Year Time Limit
Projects awarded AHP subsidies must be completed within four years of the date of the award.
Rental projects are defined as complete if AHP subsidy is fully disbursed and documentation of construction completion has been issued.
Owner-occupied projects are defined as complete if AHP subsidy is fully disbursed, construction is complete, and all homebuyer mortgage loans are closed.
The Bank sends all incomplete projects a Semi-Annual Survey (SAS) twice a year to determine whether they will be complete within the four-year time limit.
Initial Monitoring
The Bank requests IM documentation from the project sponsor within two years of project completion. IM documentation is used to verify compliance with the program regulations and project scoring commitments.
Long Term Monitoring (rental projects): The retention period for rental projects awarded an AHP subsidy is 15 years from project completion. The Bank conducts off-site long-term monitoring (LTM) on rental projects that have not received LIHTC per a risk-based sampling plan. As part of the monitoring, the Bank requests income qualification documents (please refer to the AHP Household Income Qualification Workbook) and current rent documents for a sample of households.
Annual Certification
For all non-LIHTC rental projects that have completed IM, project owners are required to certify every year during the 15-year AHP retention period that household incomes and rents are in compliance with the commitments made in the approved AHP application or any approved modification, along with information on the ongoing financial viability of the project, including whether the project is current on its property taxes and loan payments, its vacancy rate, and whether it is in compliance with its commitments to other funding sources. The Bank requests certifications online from project owners.
Tenant Income Qualification Guidelines
The Bank requires that each AHP-assisted unit be income-qualified according to AHP Income Qualification Guidelines and proper third-party income documentation be provided.
Projects that receive LIHTC financing will not generally be required to submit documentation, but information may be requested in certain circumstances.
Projects without LIHTC or HUD 202/811 funding should use the Bank’s Household Income Qualification Workbook.
Award Modifications
Any changes to an awarded project that could affect the project’s score must be approved in writing by the Bank. Project sponsors and members must complete the award modification form and an updated financial workbook if requesting modifications to the original terms approved in the AHP award.
Changes that do not affect the project's score, (i.e. minor fluctuations in targeting, changes in the type of empowerment service offered) do not require a modification.
AHP Loan Documents/Retention Mechanism
The AHP Regulation requires that both owner-occupied and rental projects be subject to a deed restriction or other legally enforceable retention mechanism contemplating the requirements of the program. The Bank requires the use of its AHP template Promissory Note and Rider to the Deed of Trust.
If these templates are not used or are substantially modified, an opinion letter on behalf of the member must be submitted along with the non-template retention documents.
Notice and Repayment
The member must notify the Bank if any of the following occur prior to the end of the AHP retention period:
The member is unable to deliver the AHP subsidy to the project sponsor or homebuyers within 30 days of receipt from the Bank.
There is a sale, transfer, assignment of title or deed, refinancing, foreclosure, or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure of the AHP project or any project units.
There is a change in the AHP project’s scoring elements or need for subsidy from the approved application or any approved modification.
Repayment of the subsidy may be required if either of the following occur during the five-year retention period:
Sale, transfer, or assignment of an AHP assisted unit to a household that is not low- or moderate-income (household income above 80% of area median income), or
Refinance of an AHP assisted unit where the unit does not remain subject to a retention agreement (e.g. AHP promissory note and rider to deed of trust)
The Owner-Occupied Unit Notice and Repayment Workbook provides guidance and repayment calculation, if required.