| (i) for Tax-Exempt Bond Developments, the issuance
date of the Certificate of Reservation issued by the TBRB; or in instances
where there is a Traditional Carryforward Designation associated with
an Application the Department will utilize the date the complete HTC
Application associated with the Traditional Carryforward Designation
is submitted to the Department;
(ii) for all other Developments, the date the Application
is considered received by the Department; and
(iii) notwithstanding the foregoing, after July 31
of the current program year, a Tax-Exempt Bond Development with a
Certificate of Reservation from the TBRB will take precedence over
any Housing Tax Credit Application from the current Application Round
on the waiting list.
(B) General Review Priority. Order of reviews of Applications
under various multifamily programs will be established based on Department
staff's consideration of any statutory timeframes associated with
a program or Application in relation to the volume of Applications
being processed.
(6) Deficiency Process. The purpose of the deficiency
process is to allow an Applicant to provide clarification, explanation,
or non-material missing information to resolve inconsistencies in
the original Application or to assist staff in an efficient and effective
review of the Application. The deficiency process does not require
staff to request information from the Applicant in order to complete
the Application. Applicants are encouraged to utilize manuals or other
materials produced by staff, as additional guidance in conjunction
with the rules to provide appropriate support for each item substantiating
a claim or representation, such as claims for points, qualification
for set-asides, or meeting of threshold and eligibility requirements.
Because the review of an Application occurs in several phases, deficiency
notices may be issued during any of these phases. Staff will send
the deficiency notice via an e-mail to the Applicant and one other
contact party if identified in the Application. It is the Applicant's
responsibility to ensure that e-mails sent from TDHCA staff to the
Applicant or contact are not electronically blocked or redirected
by a security feature as they will be considered to be received once
they are sent. The time period for responding to a deficiency notice
commences on the first business day following the deficiency notice
date. Deficiency notices may be sent to an Applicant prior to or after
the end of the Application Acceptance Period and may also be sent
in response to reviews on post-award submissions. Responses are required
to be submitted electronically as a PDF or multiple PDF files and
must be uploaded to the Application's ServU http file. Emailed responses
will not be accepted. A review of the response provided by the Applicant
may reveal that issues initially identified as an Administrative Deficiency
are actually determined to be beyond the scope of an Administrative
Deficiency process, meaning they are Material Deficiencies not susceptible
to being resolved. Department staff may in good faith provide an Applicant
confirmation that an Administrative Deficiency response has been received
or that such response is satisfactory. Communications from staff that
the response was satisfactory do not establish any entitlement to
points, eligibility status, or to any presumption of having fulfilled
any requirements. Final determinations regarding the sufficiency of
documentation submitted to cure a Deficiency as well as the distinction
between material and non-material missing information are reserved
for the Department staff and Board.
(A) It is critical that the use of the deficiency process
not unduly slow the review process, and since the process is intended
to clarify or explain matters or obtain at the Department's request
missing information, there is an expectation that a party responding
to an Administrative Deficiency will be able to respond immediately.
It is the responsibility of a person who receives a deficiency to
address the matter in a timely manner so that staff has the ability
to review the response by the close of business on the date by which
resolution must be complete and the deficiency fully resolved. Merely
submitting materials prior to that time places the responsibility
on the responding party that if the materials do not fully resolve
the matter there may be adverse consequences such as point deductions,
suspension, or termination. Extensions relating to Administrative
Deficiency deadlines may only be extended up to five days if documentation
needed to resolve the item is needed from a Third Party, the documentation
involves Third Party signatures needed on certifications in the Application,
or an extension is requested as a reasonable accommodation. A Deficiency
response may not contain documentation that did not exist prior to
submission of the pre-application or Full Application, as applicable.
(B) Deficiencies for Competitive HTC Applications.
Unless an extension has been timely requested and granted prior to
the deadline, if a deficiency is not fully resolved to the satisfaction
of the Department by 5:00 p.m. on the fifth business day following
the date of the deficiency notice, then five (5) points shall be deducted
from the selection criteria score for each additional day the deficiency
remains unresolved. Points deducted for failure to timely respond
to a deficiency will not impact the Pre-Application score. If deficiencies
are not resolved by 5:00 p.m. on the seventh business day following
the date of the deficiency notice, then the Application shall be terminated,
subject to the Applicant's right to appeal. An Applicant may not change
or supplement any part of an Application in any manner after the filing
deadline or while the Application is under consideration for an award,
and may not add any set-asides, increase the requested credit amount,
revise the Unit mix (both income levels and Bedroom mixes), or adjust
their self-score except in response to a direct request from the Department
to do so as a result of an Administrative Deficiency. (§2306.6708(b); §2306.6708)
Applicants may not use the Deficiency Process to increase a scoring
item's points or to change any aspect of the proposed Development,
financing structure, or other element of the Application. To the extent
that the review of deficiency documentation or the imposing of point
reductions for late responses alters the score assigned to the Application,
such score will be reflected in the updated application log published
on the Department's website or a Scoring Notice may be issued.
(C) Deficiencies for Tax-Exempt Bond Developments.
Unless an extension has been requested prior to the deadline, deficiencies
must be resolved to the satisfaction of the Department by 5:00 p.m.
on the fifth business day following the date of the deficiency notice.
Applications with unresolved deficiencies after 5:00 p.m. on the fifth
business day following the date of the deficiency notice will be suspended
from further processing and the Applicant will be provided with notice
to that effect. If, on the fifth business day following the date of
the suspension notice, there are deficiencies that remain unresolved,
the Application will be terminated and the Applicant will be provided
notice to that effect. If an Applicant appeals a staff termination
to the Board, Board decisions on terminations are final and an Applicant
will not be allowed to re-apply under the same Certificate of Reservation
due to the limited timeframe allowed under the existing Reservation.
(D) Deficiencies for Direct Loan-only Applications.
Deficiencies must be resolved to the satisfaction of the Department
by 5:00 p.m. on the fifth business day following the date of the deficiency
notice. Applications with unresolved deficiencies after 5:00 p.m.
on the fifth business day following the date of the deficiency notice
will be suspended from further processing and the Applicant will be
provided with notice to that effect. If, on the fifth business day
following the date of the suspension notice, there are deficiencies
that remain unresolved, the Application may be terminated and the
Applicant will be provided notice to that effect. For purposes of
priority under the Direct Loan set-asides, if the outstanding item(s)
are resolved during the suspension period, the date by which the final
deficient item is submitted shall be the new Application Acceptance
Date pursuant to §13.5(c) of this title (relating to Multifamily
Direct Loan Rule). Applicants should be prepared for additional time
needed for completion of staff reviews as described in paragraph (2)(B)
of this section. Should an Applicant still desire to move forward
with the Development after Termination, a completely new Application
must be submitted, along with a new Application Fee, as applicable,
pursuant to rule. All of the deficiencies noted in the original deficiency
notice must be incorporated into the re-submitted Application, which
will have a new Application Acceptance Date.
(7) Limited Reviews. If, after the submission of the
Application, an Applicant identifies an error in the Application that
could likely be the subject of a Deficiency, the Applicant may request
a limited review of the specific and limited issues in need of clarification
or correction. The issue may not relate to the score of an Application.
This limited review may only cover the specific issue and not the
entire Application. If the limited review results in the identification
of an issue Cont'd... |
