CHDO

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CHDO Cert & App

The City of Miami Beach is a HUD-designated entitlement city as determined by the decennial census information on population growth lag, over-crowding, age of housing stock, and poverty. As an entitlement community, the City automatically qualifies for an annual allocation of federal funding under the HOME Investment Partnership Program.

Under HOME Program rules, at least 15 percent of a Participating Jurisdiction’s (PJ) annual HOME allocation must be set aside for Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) activities in eligible housing. A Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) is a private nonprofit, community-based, service organization that has, or intends to obtain, staff with the capacity to develop affordable housing for the community it serves.

Any organization applying for the CHDO set-aside must be certified prior to any commitment of funding. CHDO’s must also submit annual certifications to continue receiving future allocations.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Housing

Set-aside funds must be invested in housing that is owned, sponsored, or developed by the CHDO. This means the CHDO serves in at least one of the following roles:

  • Owner. The CHDO holds valid legal title to or has a long-term leasehold interest in the rental property. The CHDO may be an owner with more than one individual, corporations, partnerships, or other legal entities.
  • Sponsor. The CHDO develops or owns a property and agrees to convey ownership to another nonprofit organization.
  • Developer. The CHDO either owns a property and develops a project or has a contractual obligation to a property owner to develop a project.

Eligible Set-Aside Activities

When using set-aside funds in eligible housing, the CHDO may perform one of the following activities:

  • Acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of rental housing,
  • Acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of homebuyer properties, and
  • Direct financial assistance to purchasers of HOME-assisted housing sponsored or developed by a CHDO with HOME funds.

Ineligible Set-Aside Activities

Set aside funds may not be used for tenant-based rental assistance, existing homeowner rehabilitation, or direct homebuyer assistance. PJs may, however, provide non-set-aside funds to CHDOs to carry out these activities.

Key CHDO Qualifying Requirements

To qualify as a CHDO, a nonprofit must demonstrate that meets certain requirements regarding its:

  • Legal and tax-exempt status,
  • Financial management capacity and accountability,
  • Staff capacity to carry out HOME-funded activities,
  • Experience serving the community,
  • Board representation by community members, with at least one-third of its members low-income, and
  • Lack of for-profit or public control

Eligible CHDO Capacity-Building Activities

In addition to its 15 percent set-aside, PJs may use HOME funds to provide special assistance to support and build the capacity of CHDOs. This assistance includes:

  • Project pre-development loans. A PJ may loan CHDOs up to 10 percent of its annual allocation for up-front eligible project expenditures, seed money, or site control. Pre-development loans count toward the CHDO set-aside if the project moves forward; they are forgivable if the project does not move forward.
  • Operating assistance. PJs may provide up to 5 percent of its annual HOME allocation for salaries, wages, employee education and training, rent and utilities, taxes and insurance, and materials. Assistance may not exceed the greater of $50,000 or 50 percent of the CHDO’s total annual operating expenses for that year.
  • Use of HOME project proceeds. At the discretion of the PJ, a CHDO may be authorized to retain some or all of the proceeds generated from development activity to support additional HOME-eligible activities or other low-income housing activities. A PJ must stipulate in its written agreement with the CHDO whether the CHDO may retain project proceeds.
  • Capacity-building assistance. Within the first two years of becoming a PJ, PJs that cannot identify a sufficient number of capable CHDOs may commit a limited amount of HOME funds for capacity-building assistance.