Nonprofit Owner Program
The Small Rental Property program seeks to make rental housing available to Louisiana residents with disabilities and other special needs in community-based, non-institutional settings, by encouraging the development of units designed to support successful tenancies and successful lives in mainstream housing (see Round 2 Nonprofit Set-Aside Supplemental Handbook for details).
Special Needs & Supportive HousingAward Bonus
Units designated for either Special Needs or Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) must be affordable to tenants at the 50% of Area Median Income (AMI) rent tier. Nonprofit owners receive an additional 15 % bonus over and above the incentive award for offering the unit at the 50% of AMI rent tier. This option is available in both the General Pool and 20-year set aside priority groups.
Nonprofit 20-Year Affordable Rents (Set-aside) Limited to 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations Applying through the Nonprofit Set-aside
A set-aside for nonprofit organizations offering units with long-term affordability of 20-years is available to organizations that meet Rental program eligibility requirements and agree to keep the rental units in the Rental program at affordable rates for at least 20 years.
Nonprofit organizations in the set-aside are not required to have owned the rental property prior to the storms, but those that did receive a preference for funding. As in the general program, all rental properties must have suffered damages from Hurricane Katrina or Rita, be located in an eligible parish, and contain one to four units.
Nonprofit property owners applying in the nonprofit set-aside will receive awards that will be forgiven at the end of 20 years from the date of permanent financing.
Nonprofit property owners both in the general pool and the set-aside are encouraged to include Special Needs or Supportive Housing units in their rental properties. Only nonprofit organizations that designate a unit for special needs or permanent supportive housing are eligible for an award bonus equal to 15 percent of the base award for that unit.
Special Needs Scoring Bonus
The Rental program seeks to make rental housing units available to Louisiana residents with Special Needs by encouraging the development of units intended to help tenants advance other life goals including economic self-sufficiency. By designating units for Special Needs, the nonprofit organization agrees to: accept tenant referrals from the Department of Social Services Rapid Re-housing program; the Permanent Supportive Housing Interim Rental Assistance program; and tenants who live in FEMA group housing whose income is up to 50% of the AMI.
Nonprofit organizations that commit to serving these tenants receive additional scoring points. Likewise, owners competing in the nonprofit set-aside receive priority scoring points over other nonprofit applicants if they elect to provide Permanent Supportive Housing.
New Program Developments
A property owned by a nonprofit organization that applied for assistance in the set-aside can undergo a change in ownership before closing and still be eligible as long as the new entity is an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered to do business in the State of Louisiana.