§ 1944.663 - Ownership agreement between HPG grantee and rental property owner or co-op.

§ 1944.663 Ownership agreement between HPG grantee and rental property owner or co-op.

HPG assistance may be provided by a grantee with respect to rental properties or co-ops only if the following conditions are met by the rental property owner(s) or by the co-op during a minimum 5 year restrictive period beginning on the date agreed upon in the agreement between the grantee and the rental property owner (or co-op). The HPG grantee is responsible for preparing, executing, and monitoring for compliance, the ownership agreement with the owner(s) of the rental property or the co-op. The rental property owner(s) or the co-ops are required to enter into an ownership agreement with the grantee to assure compliance with the requirements of this section.

(a) Ownership agreement. At a minimum, the ownership agreement must include the following clauses:

(1) The owner(s) agrees to make the units repaired or rehabilitated available for occupancy to very low- or low-income persons for a period of not less than 5 years, such restrictive period beginning on the date agreed upon in the agreement between the grantee and the rental property owner(s) or co-op.

(2) The owner(s) agrees to pass on to the tenants any reduction in the debt service payments resulting from the HPG assistance provided by the HPG grantee to the owner(s).

(3) The owner(s) of rental properties agrees not to convert the units to condominium ownership. In the case of co-ops, the owner(s) agrees not to convert the dwelling(s) to condominium ownership or any form of cooperative ownership not eligible under this section. This paragraph (a)(3) is subject to the restrictive period noted in paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(4) The owner(s) agrees not to refuse to rent a unit to any person solely because the person is receiving or is eligible to receive assistance under any Federal, State, or local housing assistance program.

(5) The owner(s) agrees that the units repaired or rehabilitated will be occupied or available for occupancy by persons of very low- or low-income.

(6) The owner(s) agrees to enter into and abide by written leases with the tenants and that such leases shall provide that the tenants may be evicted only for good cause.

(7) The owner(s) agrees that, in the event the owner(s) or the owner's successors in interest fail to carry out the requirements of this section during the applicable period, they shall make a payment to Rural Development in an amount that equals the total amount of assistance provided by the grantee plus interest thereon (without compounding) for each year and any fraction thereof that the assistance was outstanding. The interest rate shall be that as determined by Rural Development at the time of infraction taking into account the average yield on outstanding marketable long-term obligations of the United States during the month preceding the date on which the assistance was initially made available.

(8) The owner(s) agrees that, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the HPG assistance provided to the owner(s) shall constitute a debt which is payable in the case of any failure of this section and shall be secured by a security instrument provided by the owner(s) or co-op to the grantee, that provides for Rural Development to take such action upon incapacity or dissolution of the grantee.

(9) The owner(s) agrees and certifies that the assistance is being made available in conformity with Public Law 88-352, the “Civil Rights Act of 1964,” and Public Law 90-284, the “Civil Rights Act of 1968.”

(b) Responsibilities of the grantee. The grantee is responsible for insuring through verification and monitoring that the areas listed below are in compliance:

(1) That HPG funds used for loans, grants, or interest reduction payments providing repair or rehabilitation assistance to owners of rental properties or co-ops are not in excess of 75 percent of the total cost of all repairs and rehabilitation activities eligible for HPG assistance.

(2) That the owner(s) is not repairing and/or rehabilitating any unit unless it meets the requirements of § 1944.662 (b)(3) of this subpart.

(3) That rental property units being repaired and/or rehabilitated and occupied by owners or members of the owner's immediate family meet all other requirements of this subpart.

(4) That, for multi-units not considered eligible as a result of paragraph (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section, the grantee and owner(s) shall agree on a method, if any is needed, of determining the prorata share of repairs and rehabilitation activities to the dwelling, based on a percentage of the ineligible units to the total dwelling.