Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 18, September 16, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule establishes the compliance
requirements for the Missouri Housing Trust Fund (MHTF) and grounds upon which
disbursement of MHTF grant funds may be suspended and when MHTF funds may be
recaptured from a grantee.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The secretary of state has
determined that the publication of the entire text of the material which is
incorporated by reference as a portion of this rule would be unduly cumbersome
or expensive. This material as incorporated by reference in this rule shall be
maintained by the agency at its headquarters and shall be made available to the
public for inspection and copying at no more than the actual cost of
reproduction. This note applies only to the reference material. The entire text
of the rule is printed here.
(1) For any grantee receiving Missouri
Housing Trust Fund (MHTF) funds for an eligible use set forth in sections
215.038(6)-(11),
RSMo (as the same may be amended from time-to-time), prior to receiving any
disbursements under a grant agreement for such funds, the grantee shall be
required to execute and record a land use restriction agreement binding the use
and transfer of the property for a period of eighteen (18) years following the
final disbursement of MHTF funds under the grant agreement, or such longer
period as the commission may require. The land use restriction agreement shall
be in such form as the commission may prescribe.
(2) Any grantee receiving MHTF funds for the
payment of rental subsidies as provided for under sections
215.038
(2)-(3), RSMo (as the same may be amended
from time-to-time), shall, where such subsidies are awarded to a specific MHTF
development owned by the grantee and not to a grantee that is an independent
agency providing rental subsidies to qualified applicants, record a land use
restriction agreement binding the use and transfer of the property for the
duration of the grant agreement. The land use restriction agreement shall be in
such form as the commission may prescribe.
(3) For any property benefiting from mortgage
assistance payments provided for under sections
215.038(12) or
215.038(14), RSMo (as the same may be amended
from time-to-time), if such assistance payments are made for six (6) or more
consecutive months, the grantee receiving such assistance or providing
assistance to an eligible person shall record a land use restriction agreement
binding the use and transfer of the property for the greater of one (1) year or
the time period for which such assistance payments are received.
(4) Any individual receiving MHTF funds to
finance repairs to their residence as provided for under section
215.038(15),
RSMo (as the same may be amended from time-to-time) (which grants shall not
exceed the limits set forth in the application proposal guide), shall, prior to
the disbursement of any grant funds, be required to record a regulatory
agreement in such form as the commission may prescribe, which shall restrict
the use and transfer of the property for the period(s) set forth in the
applicable application proposal guide.
(5) Maintaining Adequate Housing Conditions
for Tenants.
(A) All grantees are encouraged
to provide housing of a similar quality and similar in amenities to market rate
housing in the same area where the MHTF development is located.
(B) At a minimum, the MHTF development shall
comply with the housing quality standards established by Title 24,
Code
of Federal Regulations, Part 982, published annually in April, herein
incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule, as published by the
United States Superintendent of Documents, 732 N Capital Street NW, Washington,
DC 20402-0001, phone: toll free (866) 512-1800, DC area (202) 512-1800,
website:
http://bookstore.gpo.gov. This rule does
not incorporate any subsequent amendments or additions.
(C) All MHTF developments must meet local
building codes, ordinances, zoning laws, and federal regulations that may be
applicable.
(D) If the commission
or any of its agents receives any report that a grantee is placing tenants or
clients in physical danger due to substandard living conditions, the commission
staff shall perform an immediate site visit to inspect the conditions
identified in the complaint. If the complaints are confirmed, the commission
and its staff shall take appropriate actions necessary up to and including
recapture of MHTF fund and/or suspension or debarment of the grantee pursuant
to 4 CSR 170-8.
(6) All
aspects of each MHTF development must comply with any and all applicable
federal, state, and/or local regulations and laws, including any such
regulations or laws regarding accessibility of affordable housing units for
disabled persons, and existence or storage of hazardous materials on the
property where the MHTF development is located.
(7) All rental MHTF developments must comply
with all applicable federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination
in housing on the grounds of race, color, creed, age, sex, handicap, familial
status, or national origin.
(8)
Procedures for Monitoring the Compliance of MHTF Developments and/or Agencies
Receiving MHTF Funds.
(A) For every year
during the compliance period indicated in the land use restriction agreement,
any grantee supplying affordable housing units receiving MHTF funding shall
certify to the commission and its staff that all tenants of the MHTF
development, or all clients receiving rental assistance, as the case may be,
are income eligible under the terms of the state housing act and these
regulations.
(B) In order to ensure
that each recipient of MHTF funds complies with the terms of its grant
agreement, the state housing act, and these regulations, and that the
certifications required under the preceding paragraph are true and accurate,
the commission staff shall regularly monitor compliance of grantees using such
policies and procedures as the commission and its staff may deem necessary,
including, but not limited to:
1. Performing
announced and/or unannounced site visits to audit the grantee's tenant/client
files in order to verify the income qualification of the grantee's tenants, as
well as to ensure that the MHTF development is being maintained in accordance
with the rules and requirements set forth by the MHTF grant agreement, the
state housing act, and/or these regulations;
2. Performing announced and/or unannounced
site visits to audit tenant/client files of the grantee in order to verify the
income qualification of the clients being served by the agencies, as well as to
ensure that the agency is generally maintaining compliance with the rules and
requirements set forth by the MHTF grant agreement, the state housing act,
and/or these regulations; and
3.
Performing announced and/or unannounced site visits to construction sites for
MHTF developments receiving MHTF funds in order to ensure that the MHTF
development is being constructed in accordance with the plans and
specifications approved by the commission staff and to ensure that all work for
which disbursements have been made has been satisfactorily performed.
(C) If a commission staff member
performing a review of tenant/client files during any site visit determines
that some of the files reviewed lack the documentation required by the
commission to evidence tenant/client eligibility, the staff member performing
the review and/or the commission and its staff, as the case may be, shall take
the following actions:
1. Recourse for
findings of minor non-compliance.
A. If one
(1) or more, but less than one-half (1/2) of the files reviewed are deemed
non-compliant, this shall be deemed an event of minor non-compliance.
B. In the event there is a finding of minor
non-compliance, the commission staff shall inform the grantee of the findings
and shall document the same in the grantee's file maintained by the trust fund
department.
C. The first time such
non-compliance is documented, the grantee shall receive a warning. For each
subsequent finding of non-compliance, the trust fund department may take any
such action against the grantee that it deems appropriate in its sole
discretion. Such actions may include, but are not limited to, suspension of the
grantee's funding pursuant to
4
CSR 170-7.500(3)(C) and/or recapture
of all or a part of the MHTF funds disbursed to the grantee under its
proposal(s) pursuant to the procedures set forth in
4
CSR 170-7.500(11);
2. Recourse for findings of major
non-compliance.
A. If one-half (1/2) or more
of the files reviewed are deemed non-compliant, this shall be deemed an event
of major non-compliance.
B. In the
event there is a finding of major non-compliance, the commission staff shall
inform the grantee of the findings and shall document the same in the grantee's
file maintained by the trust fund department.
C. In addition to the grantee's
non-compliance being documented in its file maintained by the trust fund
department, the trust fund department may take any such action against the
grantee that it deems appropriate in its sole discretion. Such actions may
include, but are not limited to, suspension of the grantee's funding pursuant
to
4
CSR 170-7.500(3)(C) and/or recapture
of all or a part of the MHTF funds disbursed to the grantee under its
proposal(s) pursuant to the procedures set forth in
4
CSR 170-7.500(11);
3. If the trust fund department
suspends a grantee's funding due to non-compliance violations under
4
CSR 170-7.500(3)(C), such grantee
shall not be entitled to any further advances under its grant agreement until
the grantee has completed all requirements established by the commission staff
to have its funding reinstated. If a grantee has its funding suspended three
(3) times pursuant to the provisions contained in
4
CSR 170-7.500(3)(C), then upon the
third event of non-compliance necessitating a suspension of funds, the
grantee's funding shall be terminated and the grant funds recaptured. The trust
fund department shall determine whether the recapture of funds will apply only
to those grant funds not yet expended, or whether such recapture shall apply to
all funds awarded under the initial grant agreement;
4. Any grantee found out of compliance will
be placed on a compliance list that will be monitored and reviewed by the trust
fund department until such time as the trust fund department determines the
grantee has sufficiently remedied any issues of non-compliance such that it
should be removed from the list. As long as a grantee remains on the compliance
list, its presence on the list will be noted in, and have a potentially adverse
impact on, any subsequent proposals it submits to the trust fund department;
and
5. If the trust fund
department, in its sole discretion, determines that a grantee's compliance
failures are of such a significant nature that they merit the involvement of
and/or action from the commissioners, the trust fund department may report the
grantee's compliance issues to the commissioners at the next scheduled meeting
of the commission, or such earlier time as the trust fund department may deem
appropriate. The commissioners may direct the trust fund department to take any
such action against the non-compliant grantee as they may deem
appropriate.
(D) If a
commission staff member performing an inspection of a construction site
determines that any work performed is of unacceptable quality, disbursements of
grant funds will be suspended until the work is remediated to a level
acceptable to the commission staff. If the grantee fails to remediate the issue
within thirty (30) days of the date notice is provided to the grantee of the
unacceptable condition, or within such longer time period as the commission
staff may allow, all unexpended grant funds shall be subject to
recapture.
(E) If the grantee fails
to comply with the availability requirements for scheduling of site visits,
which requirements shall be set by the commission staff from time-to-time and
shall be stated in the grant agreement, any grant funds awarded under the grant
agreement shall be subject to recapture by the commission.
(9) If at any time during the compliance
period the commission staff determines an MHTF development or MHTF activity is
not in compliance with the applicable provisions of the grant agreement, land
use restriction agreement, state housing act, or these regulations, the
commission staff may revoke the assistance provided and recapture all
undisbursed grant funds. In addition, the commission staff may, where deemed to
be in the best interest of the state, recapture all or a portion of the MHTF
funds already disbursed under the grant agreement.
(10) If a grantee providing home repair
grants to individuals pursuant to a grant agreement for MHTF funds between the
grantee and the commission becomes aware at any time during the compliance
period of a regulatory agreement associated with a home repair grant that the
home owner is out of compliance with the terms of said regulatory agreement,
the agency must immediately notify the trust fund department of the
non-compliance issue. In the event of such non-compliance by the home owner,
the commission shall have the right to require the home owner to return a
pro-rated portion of the home repair funds granted pursuant to the terms of the
regulatory agreement governing the use and sale of the home. If the grantee
fails to notify the trust fund department of the non-compliance issue within a
reasonable amount of time after the non-compliance comes to the attention of
the grantee, in addition to any remedies which may be provided to the
commission against the grantee in the grant agreement executed between the
parties, the commission may hold the grantee liable to the commission for the
amount of funds the commission would have been entitled to recapture under the
regulatory agreement (provided the commission is no longer able to recapture
such funds from the home owner itself). The commission may, in its sole
discretion, when it finds extenuating circumstances for which the otherwise due
and payable pro-rated portion of the funds used for home repair should be
forgiven for an individual home owner, waive its right to recapture of a
pro-rated portion of the home repair grant funds from the homeowner.
(11) Process for the Recapture of MHTF Funds.
(A) Before any recapture of MHTF funds is
ordered, the trust fund manager must document the cause for which the recapture
is recommended by completing and signing a recaptured funds form in the form
prescribed by the trust fund department, as the same may be amended from
time-to-time, and attaching any supporting documentation.
(B) The trust fund department shall then
provide information regarding disbursements made and the amount of funds
remaining available for disbursement to the grantee.
(C) The trust fund manager shall then mail a
notice to the grantee by certified mail, return receipt requested, notifying
the grantee of the commission staff's decision to recapture MHTF funds under
the grant agreement. Such notice shall contain the following information:
1. Notice of the commission staff's decision
to recapture funds under the grantee's grant agreement;
2. A brief explanation of the grounds upon
which such recapture of MHTF funds is based; and
3. Notice of the grantee's rights to contest
the commission staff's decision pursuant to the procedures set forth in
4
CSR 170-7.600, as well as notice of the time frame
within which such rights must be exercised.
*Original authority: 215.030, RSMo 1969, amended 1974,
1982, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1998.
