Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 4, § 5231 - Ranking

After all Applications for Qualified Residential Rental Projects are evaluated pursuant to Section 5230, the Applications shall be ranked and may be awarded an Allocation as follows, except that a project shall not receive a bond allocation if it had requested and is not scheduled to receive an award of State Tax Credits:

(a) Applications for Rural Projects will be ranked amongst themselves, and separately from Applications for all other Qualified Residential Rental Projects. Applications for Rural Projects awarded the greatest number of points after factoring in the tiebreaker pursuant to Section 5231(g), as applicable, shall be awarded an Allocation from the Rural Pool. Applications for Rural Projects not receiving an Allocation will not be eligible for consideration for an Allocation under subdivisions (b), (c) or (e) of this section.

(b) Applications for Preservation Projects will be ranked amongst themselves, and separately from Applications for all other Qualified Residential Rental Projects. Applications for Preservation Projects awarded the greatest number of points after factoring in the tiebreaker pursuant to 5231(g) as applicable shall be awarded an Allocation from the Preservation Project Pool. Applications for Preservation Projects not receiving an Allocation pursuant to this subdivision will not be eligible for consideration for an Allocation under subdivision (a), (c) or (e) of this section.

(c) Applications for Other Rehabilitation Projects will be ranked amongst themselves, and separately from Applications for all other Qualified Residential Rental Projects. Applications for Other Rehabilitation Projects awarded the greatest number of points after factoring in the tiebreaker pursuant to Section 5231(g), as applicable, shall be awarded an Allocation from the Other Rehabilitation Pool. Applications for Other Rehabilitation Projects not receiving an Allocation pursuant to this subdivision will not be eligible for consideration for an Allocation under subdivisions (a), (b) or (e) of this section.

(d) Applications for BIPOC Projects.

(1) For any QRRP allocation round, all Applicants intending to qualify as a BIPOC Project to compete in the BIPOC pool shall pre-qualify as a BIPOC Project under this subdivision. Pre-qualification means the Executive Director determined the Applicant is a BIPOC Project under Section 5170.

(A) At least 15 business days prior to the QRRP Application due date for an allocation round in which an Applicant intends to compete as a BIPOC Project, the Applicant shall submit a prequalification request to the Executive Director using the prequalification request form available on the CDLAC website.

(B) The Executive Director shall issue a decision in response to any requests received under subdivision (d)(1)(A) within 10 business days no later than five (5) business days prior to a QRRP allocation round application due date. The Executive Director may request clarification or additional documentation from the Applicant about the prequalification request that may extend the Executive Director's time for response.

(C) A pre-qualification approval letter is required to be included in any application submitted for a QRRP allocation round where the applicant intends to compete in the BIPOC pool.

(D) The Executive Director's decision under subdivision (d)(1)(B) is not appealable to the Committee. Nothing herein limits an Applicant's right to an appeal under Sections 5036 or the Committee's authority to disqualify an application under Section 5146.

(E) Applicants with pre-qualification requests not granted by the Executive Director shall not compete in the BIPOC pool but shall be eligible to compete for an Allocation under subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (e) of this section.

(2) Applications for BIPOC Projects will be ranked amongst themselves, and separately from Applications for all other Qualified Residential Rental Projects. Applications for BIPOC Projects awarded the greatest number of points after factoring in the tiebreaker pursuant to Section 5231(g), as applicable, shall be awarded an Allocation from the BIPOC Pool. Applications for BIPOC Projects not receiving an Allocation pursuant to this subdivision shall be eligible for consideration for an Allocation under subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (e) of this section.

(e) Applications for Qualified Residential Rental Projects that are New Construction Projects, exclusive of Rural Projects, will then be ranked together. Applications receiving the greatest number of points after factoring in the tiebreaker pursuant to Section 5231(g), as applicable, shall be awarded an Allocation from the New Construction Pool in the following manner.

(1) Set Aside application selection. Beginning with the top ranked application from the Homeless Set Aside, subject to the conditions in Section 5231(e)(1)(B), followed by the Extremely Low/Very Low Income Set Aside, and the Mixed Income Set Aside, the highest scoring applications in each Set Aside shall be awarded an Allocation pursuant to the procedures in Section 5231(f). A project that meets the criteria of both the Homeless Set Aside and the Extremely Low/Very Low Income Set Aside shall be eligible for an allocation from either Set Aside. If the Homeless Set Aside is undersubscribed in a competitive round the remaining funds will transfer to the Extremely/Very Low Income Set Aside. All New Construction Projects, exclusive of Rural Projects, that do not receive an allocation from a Set Aside shall be eligible for an allocation from their respective geographic region pursuant to subdivision (e)(2).

(2) Geographic region application selection. Bonds available in the New Construction Pool that are not reserved to a Set Aside shall be allocated to the highest ranking applications according to the geographic allocation described in Section 5022. Projects receiving an allocation in the Rural, Preservation, Other Rehabilitation, or BIPOC Pools or in the Homeless, Extremely Low/Very Low Income, and Mixed Income Set Asides shall not be counted towards the geographic apportionments.

(3) In the final allocation round of the year, any bonds remaining in any QRRP pool, Set Aside, or geographic region shall be allocated to the highest-ranking Project or Projects. Those amounts shall not be added to the respective QRRP pool, Set Aside, or geographic region in the following year, and any allocations pursuant to this paragraph shall not be subtracted from the geographic allocations in the following year.

(f) If the last project allocation in a Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region requires more than the bonds remaining in that Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region, those overages shall be subtracted from that Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region in determining the amount available in the Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region for the subsequent allocation round. The last project to be allocated in a Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region shall not receive an Allocation unless at least 80%, or 100% in the final round of the year, of the requested Allocation for that project is remaining in that Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region for that round. When the first or next highest-ranking project does not meet the 80% or 100% rule above, that project, as well as any subsequent projects in rank order that also do not meet the 80% or 100% rule, may be skipped over to the next highest-ranking project that meets the 80% or 100% rule. However, a project shall not be funded by this skipping process unless it has a point score within one point of the first project skipped and has a final tiebreaker score equal to at least 75% of the first skipped project's final tiebreaker score. If bonds within a Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region remain unallocated at the end of an allocation round, they shall be added to the subsequent round amounts in the same Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region. In the final allocation round of the year, the allocations within a Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region shall not exceed the amount of bonds available in the Pool, Set Aside, or geographic region.

(g) If two or more Applications are awarded the same total number of points, those Applications shall be ranked according to the highest amount of public benefit per dollar of cost-adjusted Bond and State Credit Allocation requested.

(1) A project's public benefit is the sum of all of the following:

(A) The project's unit production benefit, which is the product of the bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units multiplied by $50,000. To calculate a project's bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units, the Committee shall first multiply the number of tax credit units of each bedroom count by the adjustment factor for units of that bedroom count. A project's bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units shall be the sum of each of these products. The adjustment factors shall be .9 for a studio unit, 1 for a 1-bedroom unit, 1.25 for a 2-bedroom unit, 1.5 for a 3-bedroom unit (up to no more than 30% of the total units, then those additional units shall be counted as 2-bedroom units), and 1.75 for a 4-bedroom or larger unit (up to no more than 10% of the total units, then those additional units shall be counted as 2-bedroom units).

(B) The project's rent savings benefit, which is as follows:

(i) For all projects not covered in subparagraph (ii), the product of the sum across all tax credit units of each unit's difference between the monthly fair market rent established by HUD for the county in which the project is located and the area median income monthly gross rent limit for that unit at the targeted rent level for the appropriate bedroom size, all calculated according to the methodology for tax credit rents, multiplied by 180. If this calculation results in a negative number for any particular unit, then the rent savings benefit for that unit shall not be lower than zero. Units with federal project-based rental assistance or a similar local rental assistance program approved by the Executive Director shall be assigned targeted rent levels of 30% AMI regardless of their actual income targeting. If the average affordability of tax credit units, exclusive of units with rental assistance, is less than 40% AMI, then the calculation shall assume a targeted rent level of 40% AMI for each tax credit unit that does not have rental assistance.

(ii) For Preservation Projects whose actual rents are less than the CTCAC rent limits, the sum of the following:

(a) for tax credit units without federal project-based rental assistance or a similar local rental assistance program approved by the Executive Director, the product of the sum across all such units of each unit's difference between the monthly fair market rent established by HUD for the county in which the project is located and the average rent charged for each unit over the last three years, as documented with rent rolls or property audits, multiplied by 180; and

(b) for tax credit units with federal project-based rental assistance or a similar local rental assistance program approved by the Executive Director, the product of the sum across all such units of each unit's difference between the monthly fair market rent established by HUD for the county in which the project is located and the targeted rent level at 30% AMI regardless of their actual income targeting.

(C) The project's population benefit, which is comprised of an ELI benefit and a special populations benefit.

1. The ELI benefit is the product of the number of tax credit units targeted at 30% of AMI or below, limited to no more than 50% of tax credit units, multiplied by $20,000.

2. The special populations benefit is the product of the number of tax credit units restricted to persons with Special Needs, as defined in Section 10325(g)(3) of the CTCAC regulations, or veterans, limited to no more than 50% of tax credit units, multiplied by $10,000.

(D) The project's location benefit, which is comprised of a Resource Area benefit, a Community Revitalization Area benefit, and a transit/walkability benefit. If a project is eligible for both a Resource Area benefit and a Community Revitalization Area benefit, the applicant shall select only one of these benefits. The Resource Area benefit and Community Revitalization Area benefit shall not be additive.

1. The Resource Area benefit is one of the following:

(i) The product of the bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units in a Large Family or Permanent Supportive Housing Project located in a Highest Resource Area as specified on the CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Area Map multiplied by $30,000.

(ii) The product of the bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units in a Large Family or Permanent Supportive Housing Project located in a High Resource Area as specified on the CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Area Map multiplied by $20,000.

(iii) The product of the bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units in a Large Family or Permanent Supportive Housing Project located in a Moderate Resource Area as specified on the CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Area Map multiplied by $10,000. An applicant may choose to utilize the census tract or census block group resource designation from the CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Maps in effect when the initial site control was obtained up to seven calendar years prior to the application.

(iv) The product of the bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units in a new construction or acquisition/rehabilitation project located in neighborhoods identified as experiencing neighborhood change as specified on the HCD Neighborhood Change Map multiplied by $30,000.

(v) A project is ineligible for this benefit if it receives a Community Revitalization Area benefit.

2. The Community Revitalization Area benefit is the product of the bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units that are located in a Community Revitalization Area and are a component in the Area's Community Revitalization Plan multiplied by $20,000.

(i) A project is ineligible for this benefit if it receives a Resource Area benefit.

3. The transit/walkability benefit is the sum of the following:

(i) The product of the bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units within the project, multiplied by the number of transit site amenity points the project receives pursuant to Section 5230(m), multiplied by $4,000;

(ii) The product of the bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units within the project, multiplied by the number of non-transit site amenity point categories for which the project is eligible for the maximum points pursuant to Section 5230(m) (see CTCAC regulation Section 10325(c)(4)(A)2. through 9.), multiplied by $4,000; and

(iii) The product of the bedroom-adjusted number of tax credit units included with a project that has received an award from HCD's Transit Oriented Development Program or Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, or that is located within ¼ mile of a transit stop with service at least every 30 minutes during peak hours (or at least two departures during each peak period for a commuter rail station or ferry terminal) or within ½ mile of a transit stop with service at least every 15 minutes (or at least four departures during each peak period for a commuter rail station or ferry terminal) multiplied by $25,000. For purposes of this subdivision, a "transit stop" is a bus rapid transit station, light rail station, commuter rail station, ferry terminal, bus station, or public bus stop, and "peak hours" are from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

(2) The cost-adjusted Bond and State Credit Allocation shall be calculated by reducing the unadjusted Bond and State Credit Allocation request by the following, as applicable:

(A) 15% for projects that are paid for in whole or in part out of public funds and are subject to a legal requirement for the payment of state or federal prevailing wages on the entire project.

(B) Either 10% for projects in which at least 95% of the construction is Type I, as defined in Title 24, Section 602.2 of the California Building Code; or 5% for projects in which at least 95% of the construction is Type III, as defined in Title 24, Section 602.3 of the California Building Code, or a combination of Type I and Type III.

(C) 25% of the statewide basis delta for the county in which the project is located. At least 10 days prior to the first application deadline of each calendar year, the Committee shall publish the statewide basis delta for each county, which shall represent the percentage difference between the two-bedroom 4% tax credit threshold basis limit for the county and the median two-bedroom 4% tax credit threshold basis limit for any county in the state, as those limits are determined by CTCAC pursuant to Section 10302(rr) of the CTCAC regulations.

(D) For Preservation or Other Rehabilitation projects requiring seismic upgrading of existing residential structures, and/or requiring on-site environmental remediation, including cleanup of lead or asbestos, and sporic growth, the lesser of 15% or the percentage of the bond request related to such costs, to the extent that the project architect or seismic engineer certifies in the application to the costs associated with such work.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 4, § 5231

Note: Authority cited: Section 8869.94, Government Code. Reference: Sections 8869.84(c), 8869.85(a) and 8869.85(b), Government Code.

Note: Authority cited: Section 8869.94, Government Code. Reference: Sections 8869.84(c), 8869.85(a) and 8869.85(b), Government Code.

1. New section filed 7-29-2010 as an emergency; operative 7-29-2010 (Register 2010, No. 31). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 1-25-2011 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
2. New section refiled 1-6-2011 as an emergency; operative 1-6-2011 (Register 2011, No. 1). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 4-6-2011 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
3. New section refiled 4-1-2011 as an emergency; operative 4-6-2011 (Register 2011, No. 13). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 7-5-2011 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
4. Certificate of Compliance as to 4-1-2011 order transmitted to OAL 6-2-2011 and filed 7-1-2011 (Register 2011, No. 26).
5. Amendment filed 2-1-2021 as an emergency pursuant to Governmental Code section 8869.94; operative 2-1-2021. Emergency expiration extended 60 days (Executive Order N-40-20) plus an additional 60 days (Executive Order N-71-20) (Register 2021, No. 6). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 11-30-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
6. Amendment refiled 2-25-2021 as an emergency pursuant to Government Code section 8869.94, including further amendment of subsection (e); operative 2/25/2021 (Register 2021, No. 9). Emergency expiration extended 60 days (Executive Order N-40-20) plus an additional 60 days (Executive Order N-71-20). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 9-24-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
7. Amendment of subsections (f) and (g)(1) and amendment of Note filed 5-10-2021 as an emergency; operative 5/10/2021 (Register 2021, No. 20). Emergency expiration extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 plus an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20. A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 3-8-2022 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
8. Refiling of 2-25-2021 emergency order 9-23-2021; operative 9/25/2021 (Register 2021, No. 39). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 12-24-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
9. Refiling of 2-1-2021 order, including amendment of first paragraph, on 12-3-2021 as an emergency; operative 12/3/2021 (Register 2021, No. 49). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 3-3-2022 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
10. Certificate of Compliance as to 5-10-2021. 9-23-2021, and 12-3-2021 orders, including amendment of subsections (e), (e)(1)(A) and (g)(3), transmitted to OAL 4-11-2022 and filed 5-23-2022; amendments operative 5/23/2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 21).
11. Amendment filed 8-1-2022 as an emergency; operative 8/1/2022 (Register 2022, No. 31). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 1-30-2023 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
12. Amendment refiled 2-9-2023 as an emergency; operative 2/9/2023 (Register 2023, No. 6). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 5-10-2023 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
13. Certificate of Compliance as to 2-9-2023 order, including further amendment of section, transmitted to OAL 4-18-2023 and filed 5-31-2023; amendments effective 5/31/2023 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2023, No. 22).
14. Amendment of subsection (e)(3) filed 8-11-2023 as an emergency; operative 8/11/2023 (Register 2023, No. 32). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 2-7-2024 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
15. Amendment of subsection (e)(3) refiled 2-28-2024 as an emergency; operative 2/28/2024 pursuant to Government Code section 11346.1(d) (Register 2024, No. 9). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 5-28-2024 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
16. Although the 2-28-2024 emergency order was scheduled to expire by operation of law on 5-28-2024, amendment of subsection (e)(3) replacing 2-28-2024 emergency order filed 9-26-2024; operative upon adoption by the California Tax Credit Allocation committee on 8/6/2024 pursuant to Government Code section 8869.94(c). Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Government Code section 11343.8.
17. Amendment of subsections (a), (c)-(e)(1)(A), repealer of subsection (e)(4) and amendment of subsection (g)(2)(A) filed 9-26-2024; operative upon adoption by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee on 8/6/2024 pursuant to Government Code section 8869.94(c). Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Government Code section 11343.8 (Register 2024, No. 39).
18. New subsections (d)-(d)(1)(E), (g)(1)(B)(ii), (g)(1)(D)1.(iv)-(v) and (g)(2)(D), redesignation of former subsection (d) as (d)(2), removal of designator (A) from subsection (e)(1)(A), repealer of subsections (e)(1)(B) and (g)(1)(D)2.(ii) and amendment of subsections (g)(1)(B)-(g)(1)(B)(i), (g)(1)(D), (g)(1)(D)2 and (g)(1)(D)3.(ii) filed 2-4-2025; operative upon adoption by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee on 12/11/2024 pursuant to Government Code section 8869.94(c). Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Government Code section 11343.8 (Register 2025, No. 6).