Rental housing production

The Secretary shall make available a model program under which repayable advances may be made to public and private project sponsors in constructing, acquiring, or substantially rehabilitating projects to be used as affordable rental housing, including limited equity cooperatives and mutual housing. An advance under this model program shall not exceed 50 percent of the total costs associated with the construction, acquisition, or substantial rehabilitation of the project, as determined by the participating jurisdiction. Under the model program, advances shall be repaid with interest calculated at a rate of not more than 3 percent per year, as determined by the participating jurisdiction to be appropriate. Interest shall begin to accrue 1 year after the completion of the construction, acquisition, or substantial rehabilitation of the project and shall be payable in annual installments. Interest and any accrued interest shall be payable only from the surplus cash flow of the project, after a minimum return on equity determined by the participating jurisdiction to be appropriate. As used in the previous sentence, the term “surplus cash flow” means the cash flow of the project after the payment of all amounts due under the first mortgage, operating expenses, and required replacement reserves, as determined by the participating jurisdiction. Under the model program, for any year in which the sum of the surplus cash flow of a project and the return on equity exceeds all interest payments due under subparagraph (A), 50 percent of the excess surplus cash flow shall be paid to the participating jurisdiction’s HOME Investment Trust Fund as additional interest. The principal amount of an advance under the model program, and any interest remaining unpaid pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be repayable when the housing no longer qualifies as affordable housing in accordance with section 12749(b) of this title. The Secretary shall establish guidelines for the selection of projects by participating jurisdictions for assistance under the model program. Such guidelines shall be designed to select projects in areas and for markets demonstrating the greatest need for the production of affordable rental housing. The selection guidelines may include— The Secretary shall publish guidelines for the model program under this section not later than 180 days after November 28, 1990.