Governor Larry Hogan has signed the 2017 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and the Multifamily Rental Financing Program Guide (the “Guide”). The new QAP and Guide are effective as of March 19, 2018 and will govern all applications received on or after this date. The 2017 QAP may be accessed at the Department’s website at http://bit.ly/QAP2017

The new QAP and Guide reflect changes made in response to the comments received from a large number of stakeholders. We thank all of you for your participation throughout the process.

2018 Competition for LIHTCs and Rental Housing Funds: Round Deadline

Applications for the 2018 Competitive Funding Round are due by Friday, May 18, 2018 at 5:00 PM. Applications must be delivered to the mailroom on the ground floor of 7800 Harkins Road, Lanham, Maryland 20706. The 2018 Competitive Funding Round will be governed by the 2017 QAP and Guide both of which are dated March 19, 2018 and available on the DHCD website.

Pre-Round Information Session

DHCD will hold a Pre-Round Information Session on April 4, 2018 from 10 am – 12 pm in the DHCD Main Conference Room at 7800 Harkins Road, Lanham, Maryland 20706. At this session, DHCD will discuss resources available for the Round, explain changes to the QAP and Guide or process, and provide an opportunity for questions and answers. Parking is available in the BLUE section on the second level of the REMY parking garage. All visitors must enter and exit via the REMY & retail main entrance directly off Harkins Road.

The Tax Credit raise-up to be used in scoring the Leveraging Category (Section 4.5.1) will be $0.90 cents.

Updated Application Submission Kit

A new Application Submission Kit to reflect the new 2017 QAP and Guide is being posted to the DHCD website at http://bit.ly/DHCDMultifamLibrary.   This application package must be used for requests for financing for all competitive and noncompetitive funding sources, including Rental Housing Program Funds (RHPF), Multifamily Bond Program (MBP), Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (4% and 9%), Rental Housing Works (RHW), and the Partnership Rental Housing Program (PRHP).

Note: All applications for DHCD multifamily financing, whether through a competitive funding round or through non-competitive funding programs, must be submitted in hard copy and also using the on-line version of the CDA Form 202 accessible via the DHCD Portal at www.dhcd.maryland.gov. To receive an account username and password for accessing the DHCD Portal, please email your request to dhcd.rentalhousing@maryland.gov.   Please note that a hard copy of the entire Application Submission Kit, including a hard copy of the CDA Form 202 must be submitted.

Updated Fee Schedule

The Department released a new Fee Schedule for our multifamily rental financing programs. A copy of the Fee Schedule is posted to the website at: http://bit.ly/MFProgramFees

2018 Updated Construction Cost Limits

Per Section 4.5.3 of the Guide, Construction or Rehabilitation Costs, the applicable Maximum Construction Costs per Square Foot have changed since the Fall 2016 round and they are as follows:

 

Maximum Construction Cost per Gross Square Foot (March 2018)
Type of Building

 

 New Construction Rehabilitation

 
Cottage, Single Family, Semi-detached Dwellings, and Townhomes $175 $180
Garden Apartments $147 $112
Non-elevator Stacked Units and Elevator Buildings with 4 stories or less $160 $131
Elevator Buildings of 5 or more stories $175 $136