[§201H-125]  Rental assistance program. (a)  Prior to the execution of a rental assistance contract and annuallythereafter, the owner shall submit a proposed rental schedule to thecorporation for approval.  The schedule shall list every rental unit in theproject and shall designate which units are to be maintained for eligibletenants.

(b)  The corporation shall establish proceduresfor evaluating the rental schedules submitted pursuant to this section, and mayconsider the following:

(1)  The size of and number of bedrooms in the unitscomprising the eligible project;

(2)  The location of the project and its type (whetherhigh‑rise, mid-rise, or low-rise);

(3)  The percentage of units being maintained foreligible tenants; and

(4)  The rentals prevalent in the open market forcomparable units.

(c)  Annually, following the approval of therental schedule submitted pursuant to subsection (a), the corporation shalldetermine the amount of rental assistance payments payable to the owner for theforthcoming year; provided that the amount shall not exceed the maximum annualrental assistance payment amount determined in accordance with section201H-124.  The amount determined pursuant to this subsection shall take intoaccount the estimated amount to be derived by the owner from rentals to becharged for the forthcoming year and the limited rate of return on equitypermitted in accordance with section 201H-124(d)(6).

(d)  The corporation shall establish standardsand requirements for:

(1)  The awarding of rental assistance contracts andthe allocation of annual rental assistance payments;

(2)  The form of lease to be utilized by the owner inrenting units in an eligible project;

(3)  The marketing and tenant selection and admissionprocesses to be employed by the owner with respect to an eligible project; and

(4)  The maintenance and operation of eligibleprojects.

(e)  The corporation shall establish proceduresfor:

(1)  The annual review of rental schedules foreligible projects;

(2)  The periodic review of the income of tenantsrenting units in eligible projects; and

(3)  The periodic inspection of eligible projects tomonitor the owners' compliance with the terms and conditions of their rentalassistance contracts.

(f)  When an eligible project is not owned bythe corporation, the corporation shall be entitled to share in the appreciationin value of units maintained for eligible tenants within an eligible projectrealized at the time of refinancing or prepayment of the eligible projectloan.  The corporation's share shall be calculated by multiplying theappreciation in value of units maintained for eligible tenants realized uponrefinancing or prepayment by the ratio of the owner's equity to the discountedvalue of the aggregate rental assistance payments.  The discount rate shall beestablished by rules adopted by the corporation.

The corporation shall exempt projects owned bya county from the shared appreciation requirement set forth in this subsectionif all of the following requirements are met:

(1)  The funds derived by the county as a result ofappreciation in value of the units are used for housing projects wherein:

(A)  At least sixty per cent of the project isaffordable to families earning one hundred per cent or below of the applicablearea median income; and

(B)  At least half of the foregoing sixty percent is affordable to families earning eighty per cent or below of theapplicable area median income; and

(2)  The project from which the appreciation in valueis derived remains as affordable as it was prior to the refinancing orprepayment of the eligible project loan. [L 2006, c 180, pt of §4]