The Office of Planning, Preservation and Development (PP&D) establishes and administers policies for the development of affordable multifamily housing for the benefit of the public.Any request for an exception to program requirements must be submitted in advance of the relevant program application deadline and will be considered only for those items specifically noted on this form.
Exceptions will not be considered for competitive criteria.Exceptions to Visitability requirements are now contained in the “Visitability Reconsideration” section of the Design & Construction Features Agreement in the Affordable Housing Funding Application (AHFA) and do not need to be resubmitted herein.
Instructions:
- Send a separate form and email for each individual Exception Request
- Send this form and all supporting documentation by email to:
- Name the file and title the email as follows: ProjectName – ExceptionType.pdf
- The total size of all attachments may not exceed 20MB (you may send zip files if needed)
Date
Project Name
Developer
Architect/Architectural Firm
Complete Project Address
Contact Name
Contact Email Address
Contact Physical Address
Contact Phone Number
Construction Type (Check All) / ☐New Construction ☐Rehabilitation ☐Historic ☐Adaptive Reuse
Population Served (Check All) / ☐Family ☐Senior ☐PSH ☐Workforce
Preserved or New Affordability / ☐New ☐Preserved, if checked, subsidy source:
Section 1: Program Exceptions
Programmatic exceptions are due prior to submitting your application by the deadline listed in the QAP. For each category below be as specific as possible and describe what actions you will take to best further the intent of the requirement. Provide supporting documentation as necessary to justify your request.
Check / Guideline Section / Page / Exception☐ / QAP, Zoning / 23 / Extreme unforeseeable event
☐ / QAP, Competitive Application Limit / 25 / Lack experience: No PIS
☐ / QAP, Competitive Application Limit / 25 / Have experience: Capacity Building Partnership
☐ / QAP, Resyndication / 30 / Prior 9% award before use period expires
☐ / QAP, HDAP Limits / 34 / Prior HDAP award, seeking another award
☐ / QAP, Uncured 8823 / 106 / Uncured 8823 not management company’s fault
☐ / QAP, Market Rate Integration Points / 46, 60, 74 / UW market rents to 100% for Very-High Opportunity sites
☐ / UW Guide, Development Budget / HDAP Programmatic Exception for cash settlements.
☐ / HDAP Guidelines, Audited Financial / 17 / Exception to permit bundled past financials
Justification
Programmatic Exception Guidance
For each of these exceptions, please refer to the QAP, Frequently Asked Questions, Public Comment Summary, or training slides.
Zoning
Developers shall plan for reasonably foreseeable contingencies and hindrances to obtaining zoning. Local zoning meeting cancellations due to inclement weather may not be considered as an extreme, unforeseeable event.
Competitive Applications Limits
Competitive application limits may be exceeded in two scenarios: (1) for inexperienced partners and (2) for experienced partners.OHFA retains full discretion in evaluating these exceptions; applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with OHFA and submit these requests early in the development process. OHFA reserves the right to establish benchmarks which must be met under these exceptions. Acceptable documentation may include references and contact information from other Housing Finance Agencies regarding Housing Credit Projects completed in other states.
Inexperienced partners who have received one HTC award but not yet placed that project into service may seek an exception to the competitive application limits if they obtain an experienced development partner.
Experienced partners may obtain an exception to the competitive application limits if they partner with an entity who would not be able to submit an application on their own (either because they are in the PIS waiting period described above, or because they all any sufficient experience). OHFA’s intent is to expand the pool of qualified housing developers eligible to participating in Ohio’s funding programs. Justification must include the following:
- The experienced developer’s history with all OHFA products;
- The inexperienced partner’s past development activities;
- The inexperienced partner’s plans for future development activities;
- The roles of each partner in the development process; and
- How communication with OHFA and other funders will be managed.
Resyndication
Developers must provide a narrative detailing why an allocation of competitive credits is necessary to adequately address the needs of the project, and why an allocation on non-competitive credits would not be adequate.If the need is related to current physical condition of the property, supporting documentation must be provided.This documentation can include photographs, existing floor plans, or other 3rd party documentation evidencing need. A Physical Capital Needs Assessment alone will not meet this requirement.PP&D will consult with OHFA’s Office of Program Compliance regarding inspection history.
Prior HDAP Award
Developers must provide a narrative detailing why the project cannot be successful without an additional award of HDAP funding.Simply having a gap in the financing or a large scope of work is not sufficient justification.
HDAP Cash Out
Exceptions may be granted if the applicant recently purchased the property with the expectation of seeking OHFA resources to conduct rehabilitation; OHFA will consider any improvements made to the property between the time the property was purchased and the submission of the application,if adequate documentation is provided to support the cost of those improvements.Acquisition costs may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Section 2: Design Exceptions
Design exceptions are due prior to submitting your application by the deadline listed in the QAP. For each category below be as specific as possibleand describe what actions you will take to best further the intent of the requirement.See the Underwriting & Implementation Guide for further requirements and details. Provide supporting documentation as necessary to justify your request.
Check / Section / Page / Exception☐ / Introduction & Scope / 2 / Historic development, general exception
☐ / Introduction & Scope / 2 / Items with 75+ ELU remaining, green required
☐ / Durable Materials / 4 / Exception to durable material requirements
☐ / Common Area Restrictions / 7 / Common area exceeding 10% of gross SQFT
☐ / Main Entry / 7 / No roof or awning over entry
☐ / Minimum Residential Unit Sizes / 8 / Smaller unit size requested
☐ / Bedroom Requirements / 8 / Smaller bedroom size requested
☐ / Bathrooms / 8 / Alter prescribed number of bathrooms
☐ / Kitchen & Appliances / 9 / Change to kitchen or appliance requirements
☐ / Floor Coverings / 9 / Change floor covering requirements
☐ / Accessibility / 10 / Rehab where compliance is technical infeasible
Justification
Section 3: Underwriting Exceptions
Underwriting exceptions are due with the first application. For each category below be as specific as possibleand describe what actions you will take to best further the intent of the requirement. Provide supporting documentation as necessary to justify your request.
Check / UW Guide Section / Subsection / Exception☐ / Development Budget / Acquisition and Land Costs / HUD/RD assumed debt exception to land valuation
☐ / Development Budget / Acquisition and Land Costs / Appraisal exception to use as-is restricted valuation
☐ / Development Budget / Construction Interest / Construction interest exception for long construction
☐ / Development Budget / Construction Contingencies / Construction contingency for other funders
☐ / Development Budget / Reserves / Minimum replacement reserve for other funders
☐ / Income & Expense / Income/Expense Escalation / HUD/RD/PHA escalations with break-even op subsidy
☐ / Income & Expense / Expenses / Service coordination expense for other funders.
☐ / Income & Expense / Debt Coverage Ratio / First year stabilized DCR for sustained upward trends
☐ / Income & Expense / Debt Coverage Ratio / DCR exceptions for RD properties with little hard debt
☐ / Income & Expense / Vacancy / 5% vacancy rate assumption w. project based subsidy
Justification
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