Evaluation criteria for funding; other program requirements

Rule 194. (1) Requests for funding scoring the highest on the criteria explained in subrule (2) of this rule are most likely to be awarded funds. (2) The following criteria are used in evaluating the responses to any Michigan housing and community development program NOFA or RFP: (a) To be eligible for funding, an applicant shall first demonstrate that it meets each of the following threshold criteria: (i) The application is consistent with the requirements established in the act, this rule, the NOFA, or the RFP. (ii) If the application involves either a rental housing project or a home ownership project, the application requests funding for a project that sets aside not less than 20% of the rental units or housing units in the project for households earning not more than 60% of the area median income. (iii) The application includes a letter of support from the highest-ranking elected official for each of the jurisdictions served by the proposed project. (iv) The application meets the readiness to proceed requirements established in the NOFA or the RFP. (v) Any outstanding housing and community development fund predevelopment loans for the same proposed development site must be paid in full at the time of loan closing for the current requested funds. (b) Evaluation factors used to evaluate applications, as more fully described in a NOFA or RFP, includes, at a minimum, the following factors:

(i) The extent that the proposal or project represents the leveraging of program funds with additional, non-housing and community development fund sources. (ii) The ability of the applicant or recipient, or both, to administer the funding award effectively and deliver results within program timelines. (iii) The extent that the proposal or project helps meet any 25% earmark provided in the act for rental housing projects that do not qualify under preferences for special population groups, or other preferences contained in the allocation plan. (iv) The extent that the proposal or project helps meet any 30% earmark provided in the act for projects that target extremely low-income households, including developing housing for the homeless, supportive housing, transitional housing, and permanent housing. (v) The extent that the proposal helps meet any statutory requirement that a portion of the fund be expended for individuals with disabilities and individuals living in eligible distressed areas. (3) Other Michigan housing and community development program requirements include the following: (a) All uses of program funds must comply with the applicable income limitations contained in the act, these rules, the annual plan, the applicable NOFA or RFP, and any statements or representations made in any application or other documentation submitted as a part of any application, reporting, or other monitoring related to any award of program funds. (b) A rental housing project assisted by the fund must set aside not less than 20% of the housing units in the project for households earning not more than 60% of the area median income. (c) A home ownership project assisted by the fund must set aside not less than 20% of the housing units in the project for households earning not more than 60% of the area median income. (d) If the housing funded by the program is rental housing, the owner or manager of the housing shall agree in writing not to evict a tenant without just cause, as that phrase is defined in section 44a of 1933 PA 18 (Ex. Sess.), MCL 125.694a. (e) All assistance for housing and real property acquired or supported by program funds must include an agreement, restriction, or real covenant related to the recapture of program funds upon sale, conversion, or disposition of the property if the recapture provisions of these rules are triggered.

History: 2008 AACS; 2009 AACS; 2023 AACS; 2026 MR 11, Eff. June 8, 2026.