The Washington State Housing Finance Commission recently issued a memorandum summarizing proposed revisions to its low-income housing tax credit program policies for 2010. The proposed changes are the result of individual and group stakeholder discussions and public comments received by the Commission over the past year. Substantial changes to the proposed 2010 policies include:

  • Eliminate the 20% set-aside for HOPE VI projects;
  • Expand the 130% basis boost to allow all projects applying for credit in the 2010 and 2011 competitive tax credit to be eligible;
  • Increase the current maximum allowed credit per unit limit by 10% for the upcoming 2010 and 2011 program years;
  • Allow farmworker projects to compete only outside the Rural Housing set-aside, thereby allowing rural non-farmworker projects to compete;
  • Incorporate a new point category for applicants who have completed the full examination Washington State Quality Award (WSQA) program (up to 3 points); and
  • Limit the Developers Fee for projects competing in the Rural Housing set-aside to 10%, regardless of whether the project receives a credit allocation from the set-aside.

The Commission will hold a public hearing on Thursday, September 24 at its offices in Seattle, WA to receive comments and feedback on the proposed changes. Read More…