CHDO Certification Requirements & Application
The Home Investment Partnership (HOME) Program is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant program administered by the City of San Antonio, as a participating jurisdiction (PJ). Per HUD HOME regulations defined at 24 CFR 92.2 and implemented at 92.300 and 92.500, PJs are required to set-aside 15 percent of their HOME allocation for Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). These CHDO funds can be obtained by qualified/certified non-profit organizations that act as an owner, developer, or sponsor of a HOME-eligible project. A CHDO may serve in one of these roles or in a combination of roles, such as being owner and developer.
HUD recently released the “2013 HOME Final Rule” which contains many new provisions and changes that will have a substantive and broad-based impact on how participating jurisdictions administer HOME activities. The 2013 Rule also codifies existing policy guidance that has been previously issued by HUD and addresses a number of technical and non-substantive “housekeeping” items within the HOME regulation.
One of the major changes in HUD’s HOME regulations substantially alters CHDO certification requirements. In the past the City would certify a non-profit as a CHDO annually, regardless of whether or not the organization would be receiving CHDO set aside funds or engaging in a CHDO activity.
The new Final Rule requires that each time the City commits HOME funds, it must re-certify a nonprofit’s qualifications to be a CHDO and its capacity to own, sponsor, or develop housing [§92.300(a)].
In other words, each time the city commits funds to a specific CHDO project, the City must certify that the nonprofit:
- Meets CHDO definition (including the staff capacity requirement)
- Has capacity to fulfill specific role (owner or developer/sponsor) it will assume for the project
Since the City cannot certify an organization’s capacity to fulfill a specific role without knowledge of precisely what that role is, it is impossible to certify an organization as a CHDO without a specific CHDO project as we have previously done.
24 CFR 92.300 Set-aside for community housing development organizations (CHDOs).
(a) Within 24 months after the date that HUD notifies the participating jurisdiction of HUD's execution of the HOME Investment Partnerships Agreement, the participating jurisdiction must reserve not less than 15 percent of the HOME allocation for investment only in housing to be owned, developed or sponsored by community housing development organizations. For a State, the HOME allocation includes funds reallocated under §92.451(c)(2)(i) and, for a unit of general local government, includes funds transferred from a State under §92.102(b). The participating jurisdiction must certify the organization as meeting the definition of “community housing development organization” and must document that the organization has capacity to own, develop, or sponsor housing each time it commits funds to the organization. For purposes of this paragraph:
(1) Funds are reserved when a participating jurisdiction enters into a written agreement with the community housing development organization (or project owner as described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section) committing the funds to a specific local project in accordance with paragraph (2) of the definition of “commitment” in §92.2.
With this in mind, GMA has a policy for providing CHDO qualification letters for purposes other than to undertake a CHDO set-aside project.
The City may, at its sole discretion, provide a letter to non-profit organizations stating that they meet the general requirements of a CHDO. These may be issued upon request of the non-profit organization for taxation purposes, inclusion in TDHCA applications, or other specific instances where qualification of the non-profit as a CHDO is required for non-HOME related activities.
If your organization requires a CHDO Qualification letter, contact the GMA Contracts Manager and request an application.
To apply for CHDO Certification, complete the application below and email to communitydevelopment@sanantonio.gov
CHDO Certification Application (PDF)