67-37.005. Local Housing Assistance Plans (LHAP)

(1) General Requirements:

(a) To be eligible for SHIP funding for a state fiscal year, a county or eligible municipality shall submit and receive approval of its local housing assistance plan and amendments thereto as provided in Rule 67-37.006, F.A.C. Plans must be submitted to the Corporation by May 2, preceding the end of the fiscal year in which the current plan expires. New Plans must be submitted using the LHAP Template 2016-001, effective (5/17), including all required exhibits, which is adopted and incorporated herein by reference https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-08193. A copy of the LHAP Template 2016-001, and required exhibits may be obtained at http://www.floridahousing.org or by contacting the Corporation. In the case of new eligible municipalities, plans must be submitted to the Corporation by May 2, of the state fiscal year, prior to the state fiscal year they seek to become eligible for funding. No SHIP local housing distribution funds shall be distributed in a fiscal year to a county or eligible municipality unless and until an approved LHAP is in place with respect to applicable fiscal year.

(b) The effective period of an LHAP may be up to three state fiscal years. Counties or eligible municipalities that receive LHAP approval for more than one fiscal year shall not be required to resubmit a new plan until May 2 of the year, in which the approved plan expires.

(c) A copy of the local housing assistance plan shall be submitted to the Corporation, via electronic submission. The local housing assistance plan’s certification and resolution, which are part of the LHAP Template 2016-001, shall be submitted and shall bear the original signature of the authorized official which includes: Mayor, Commissioner, County Manager or City Manager or the authorized official’s designee and a certification that the document being submitted is the county’s, eligible municipality’s or interlocal entity’s local housing assistance plan and that all provisions of the plan conform to the requirements of Section 420.9072, F.S., et seq., and Rule Chapter 67-37, F.A.C.

(d) Within two weeks after receipt of final approval of the LHAP from the Corporation, the local government shall provide, via electronic submission, a complete clean copy (no strike through or underline) including all required exhibits to the Corporation.

(e) The Corporation shall be notified by a county or eligible municipality of any recently hired staff or any new entity employed or contracted to administer any portion of the SHIP program having no previous experience with the SHIP program. Those staff or entity shall be required to receive technical assistance and training through the Affordable Housing Catalyst Program.

(f) The funds deposited to the local housing assistance trust fund must be spent within twenty-four months from the end of the applicable State fiscal year. Exceptions to this time frame must be approved by the Corporation SHIP Program Administrator on a case-by-case basis. Exceptions will only be granted for good cause. Examples of good cause are natural disasters, requirements of other State agencies, adverse market conditions, and unavoidable development delays. Adequate explanation of the reasons for the requested extension as well as a timeline for completing the expenditure of funds must be submitted to the Corporation before an extension will be approved, e.g., project status, work plan and completion schedule, commitment of funds, etc. The Corporation may require a local government requesting an expenditure extension to receive technical assistance through the Catalyst program to evaluate the need for an extension.

(g) Each LHAP must include a disaster strategy describing activities to be undertaken in the event of an emergency or disaster that has been declared by executive order. A copy of a sample Disaster Strategy is available on the Corporation’s website at http://www.floridahousing.org or by contacting the Corporation. Local governments may use unencumbered SHIP funds to carry out activities of disaster relief. Recipients of SHIP funds under a local government’s disaster strategy shall be required to verify income using certifications, pay check stubs or other forms of proof. Documentation required for SHIP income qualification may be waived if unavailable. The county or eligible municipality shall make every effort reasonable to insure that the recipients of SHIP funds are income qualified.

(2) A county or eligible municipality is permitted to:

(a) Develop a strategy within its local housing assistance plan that emphasizes the recruitment and retention of Essential Service Personnel pursuant to Section 420.9075(3)(b), F.S.

(b) Use SHIP funds for persons or families whose total annual household income does not exceed one hundred forty percent of the area median income, adjusted for family size; this use of funds does not relieve the local government from meeting the requirements of Section 420.9075(5)(g)2., F.S.

(c) Develop a strategy within its local housing assistance plan that addresses the needs of persons who are deprived of affordable housing due to the closure of a mobile home park or the conversion of affordable rental units to condominiums pursuant to Section 420.9075(3)(c), F.S.

(d) Develop a strategy within its local housing assistance plan for the Preservation of  assisted rental housing.

(3) Notice of Funding Availability.  Each county or eligible municipality shall advertise a notice of funding availability of SHIP funds at least 30 days before the beginning of the application period in a newspaper of general circulation and periodicals serving ethnically and racially diverse populations unless a waiting list of applicants exists that will exhaust all allocated funding.

(a) The advertisement shall:

1. Identify the amount of the distribution projected to be received from the state for the fiscal year,

2. List the beginning and end date of the application period,

3. Provide the name of the local plan contact person and other pertinent information including where applicants may apply for assistance.

(b) The advertisement may also include information that the local governments deem necessary such as:

1. An estimated amount of SHIP local housing distribution per strategy,

2. Income set aside for each strategy along with applicable income limits,

3. A description of the selection criteria for each strategy,

4. The maximum housing value limitation for each strategy.

(4) Each local housing assistance plan shall be submitted on the LHAP template and include:

(a) A description of the local housing strategies and incentive strategies;

(b) A statement that monthly rents or monthly mortgage payments, including taxes and insurance, do not exceed 30 percent of an amount representing the percentage of the area’s median Annual Gross Income for the household as indicated in Section 420.9071(19), (20) or (28), F.S. However, it is not the intent to limit an individual household’s ability to devote more than 30 percent of its income for housing. Housing for which a household devotes more than 30 percent of its income shall be deemed affordable if the first institutional mortgage lender is satisfied that the household can afford mortgage payments in excess of the 30 percent benchmark and in the case of rental housing does not exceed those rental limits adjusted for bedroom size established by the Corporation;

(c) A description of the extent to which a strategy is implemented by combining resources through a partnership in order to leverage the cost of housing;

(d) A description of the support services that will be made available to the residents of the housing; and,

(e) A description of the initiatives that will be used to conduct outreach and to attract applicants for assistance;

(f) A statement that strategies further the housing element, goals, policies, and objectives of the local government’s comprehensive plan;

(g) A policy stating that once a waiting list has been exhausted and funds remain unencumbered, the local government will advertise as instructed in Section 420.9075(4)(b), F.S.;

(h) A statement that the staff or entity that has administrative authority for implementing a local housing assistance plan assisting rental developments shall annually monitor and determine tenant eligibility throughout the 15 year compliance period as described at subsection 67-37.007(15), F.A.C.;

(i) A definition of essential service personnel for the county or eligible municipality. Such definition may include teachers and educators; other school district, community college, and university employees; police and fire personnel; health care personnel; skilled building trades personnel; and other specifically defined job categories as required by Section 420.9075(3)(a), F.S.;

(j) A description of initiatives identifying current and emerging green building and design techniques and explain how these techniques are to be integrated into its housing strategies both for sustainability and to promote greater affordability pursuant to Section 420.9075(3)(d), F.S.;

(k) A complete description of all strategies and activities to be undertaken as described in this section;

(l) A description of the qualification system and selection criteria for applications for awards to eligible sponsors, which includes a description that demonstrates how eligible sponsors that employed personnel from the Welfare Transition Program will be given preference in the selection process;

(m) A description of the criteria for selection of eligible persons;

(n) Maximum Award amounts for each strategy listed in the local housing assistance plan;

(o) A timeline for the expenditure of SHIP local housing distribution funds in sufficient detail to allow for a comparison of such plan with actual expenditures. The information submitted must be presented separately for each State fiscal year;

(p) A detailed line-item budget of proposed Administrative Expenditures. These must be presented on an annual basis for each State fiscal year submitted;

(q) A copy of the ordinance and its amendments, if the original ordinance has been amended from its original submission, as required by Section 420.9072(2)(b), F.S.; and,

(r) A housing delivery goals chart hereby incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the LHAP template for each fiscal year, which includes the following infomration for each strategy:

1. The proposed dollar amount of the local housing distribution to be used for each strategy, stated for each State fiscal year in a multi-year plan,

2. The estimated number of households proposed to be served for each strategy and income category,

3. The maximum amount of funding per unit for each strategy, and the estimated amount of funding for new construction, rehabilitation or non-construction activities. On a multi-year plan, this information must be stated separately for each State fiscal year,

4. The maximum sales price of new and existing units. For community land trust purposes the value of the land is not included in the purchase price.

(5) Each LHAP shall contain a certification form, which is included as an exhibit to LHAP Template 2016-001, which requires the county or eligible municipality to certify to all statements on said form, including that:

(a) There is an established procedure for the tracking and expenditure of program income and Recaptured Funds from loan repayments, reimbursements, foreclosures or other repayments, and interest earnings on the local housing distribution funds;

(b) There is a plan to Encumber the local housing distribution funds deposited into the local housing assistance trust fund for each State fiscal year by June 30 one year following the end of the applicable State fiscal year;

(c) There is a plan for the local housing distribution deposited into the local housing assistance trust fund to be Expended for eligible persons or eligible sponsor within 24 months of the end of the applicable State fiscal year. Expended is defined as:

1. The project is completed as evidenced by documentation of final payment to the contractor and release of all lien waivers,

2. Issuance of the certificate of occupancy by the local building department in the case of a new home or proof of the final building inspection for housing rehabilitation, and occupancy by an eligible person or eligible household,

3. For assistance to tenants of rental housing or foreclosure assistance payments, funds are Expended upon transfer of funds to a tenant, resident, lending insitution, utility provider or landlord; and,

4. In the case of a loan guarantee strategy, the deposits to the local housing assistance trust fund will be considered expended when they are deposited from the local housing assistance trust fund into the guarantee fund.

Rulemaking Authority 420.9072(9) FS. Law Implemented 420.9071, 420.9072(2), 420.9075 FS. History–New 11-26-92, Amended 5-2-93, 2-9-94, 12-28-94, 1-6-98, Formerly 9I-37.005, Amended 12-26-99, 9-22-03,1-30-05, 11-5-06, 2-24-08, 11-22-09, 5-23-17.