Scoring changes have been made to the Maryland 2017 Draft QAP to accommodate for a recent settlement of two fair housing complaints. As part of the agreement, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development will finance with Low Income Housing Tax Credits at least 1,500 units of family housing in communities of opportunity within the Baltimore region. At least 1,050 units must be new construction and up to 450 may be acquisition/rehabilitation. This unit production goal only includes closings after July 1, 2017.
As such, scoring within the QAP has been modified to promote new construction within the specified communities. Specific changes towards this end can be found in Sections 4.4.1, 4.5.1, and 4.4.6 and includes removal of the preservation section and addition of a new construction section. The department assumes reaching this funding goal will take several funding rounds.
