Section 11.8 - Pre-Application Requirements (Competitive HTC Only)(a) General Submission Requirements. The pre-application process allows Applicants interested in pursuing an Application to assess potential competition across the 13 state service regions, subregions, and set-asides. Based on an understanding of the potential competition they can make a more informed decision about whether they wish to proceed to prepare and submit an Application. A complete pre-application is a pre-application that meets all of the Department's criteria, as outlined in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.(1) The pre-application must be submitted using the URL provided by the Department, as outlined in the Multifamily Programs Procedures Manual, along with the required pre-application fee as described in § 11.901 of this chapter (relating to Fee Schedule), not later than the pre-application Final Delivery Date as identified in § 11.2(a) of this chapter (relating to Competitive HTC Deadlines). If the pre-application and corresponding fee is not submitted on or before this deadline the Applicant will be deemed to have not made a pre-application.(2) Only one pre-application may be submitted by an Applicant for each Development Site and for each Site Control document.(3) Department review at this stage is limited, and not all issues of eligibility and threshold are reviewed or addressed at pre-application. Acceptance by staff of a pre-application does not ensure that an Applicant satisfies all Application eligibility, threshold or documentation requirements. While the pre-application is more limited in scope than the Application, pre-applications are subject to the same limitations, restrictions, or causes for disqualification or termination as Applications, and pre-applications will thus be subject to the same consequences for violation, including but not limited to loss of points and termination of the pre-application.(4) The pre-application becomes part of the full Application if the full Application claims pre-application points.(5) Regardless of whether a Full Application is submitted, a pre-application may not be withdrawn after the Full Application Delivery Date described in § 11.2(a) of this chapter.(b) Pre-Application Threshold Criteria. Pursuant to Tex. Gov't Code § 2306.6704(c) pre-applications will be terminated unless they meet the threshold criteria described in subsection (a) of this section and paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection:(1) Submission of the Competitive HTC pre-application in the form prescribed by the Department which identifies or contains at a minimum:(A) Site Control meeting the requirements of § 11.204(9) of this title (relating to Required Documentation for Application Submission). For purposes of meeting this specific requirement related to pre-application threshold criteria, proof of consideration and any documentation required for identity of interest transactions is not required at the time of pre-application submission but will be required at the time of full application submission;(D) Requested set-asides (At-Risk, USDA, Nonprofit, or Rural);(E) Total Number of Units proposed;(F) Census tract number or numbers in which the Development Site is located, and a map of the census tract(s) with an outline of the proposed Development Site;(G) Expected score for each of the scoring items identified in the pre-application materials;(H) Proposed name of ownership entity;(I) If points are to be claimed related to Underserved Area and/or Proximity to Jobs, documentation supporting those point elections;(J) The name and coordinates of the nearest park, grocery store, and library meeting the criteria established in 10 TAC § 11.7(2) as well as the name and coordinates of the elementary school of attendance;(K) For Applications funded through the USDA Set-Aside; year of initial construction as evidenced by the initial USDA loan documentation;(L) If a high-quality Pre-Kindergarten is to be provided under §11.6(3)(C)(v), the election must be made at pre-application and may not change at full Application; and(M) The name and address of the nearest Housing Tax Credit assisted Development that serves the same Target Population and was awarded 15 or fewer years ago following the calculation established in 10 TAC § 11.7(3) according to the Department's property inventory tab of the Site Demographic Characteristics Report.(2) Evidence in the form of a certification provided in the pre-application, that all of the notifications required under this paragraph have been made. (§2306.6704). (A) The Applicant must list in the pre-application all Neighborhood Organizations on record with the county or state 30 days prior to the beginning of the Application Acceptance Period whose boundaries include the entire proposed Development, where a reasonable search for applicable entities has been conducted.(B) Notification Recipients. Developments located in an ETJ of a municipality are required to notify both municipal and county officials. The notifications may be sent by e-mail, fax or mail with registered return receipt or similar tracking mechanism in the format included in the Public Notification Template provided in the Uniform Multifamily Application Template or in an alternative format that meets the applicable requirements and achieves the intended purpose. The Applicant is required to retain proof of delivery in the event the Department requests proof of notification. Acceptable evidence of such delivery is demonstrated by signed receipt for mail or courier delivery and confirmation of delivery for fax and e-mail. Officials to be notified are those officials in office at the time the pre-application is submitted; however, a mailed notification that is addressed to the entity or officeholder rather than a specific person is acceptable so long as it is mailed to the correct address and otherwise meets all requirements. Between the time of pre-application (if made) and full Application, the boundaries of an official's jurisdictions may change. If there is a change in jurisdiction between pre-application and the Full Application Delivery Date that results in the Development being located in a new jurisdiction, additional notifications must be made at full Application to any entity that has not been previously notified by the Applicant. Meetings and discussions do not constitute notification. Only a timely and compliant written notification to the correct entity constitutes notification. No later than the date the pre-application is submitted, notification must be sent to all of the entities prescribed in clauses (i) - (viii) of this subparagraph: (i) Neighborhood Organizations on record with the state or county 30 days prior to the beginning of the Application Acceptance Period whose boundaries include the entire proposed Development Site;(ii) Superintendent of the school district in which the Development Site is located;(iii) Presiding officer of the board of trustees of the school district in which the Development Site is located;(iv) Mayor of the municipality (if the Development Site is within a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction);(v) All elected members of the Governing Body of the municipality (if the Development Site is within a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction);(vi) Presiding officer of the Governing Body of the county in which the Development Site is located;(vii) All elected members of the Governing Body of the county in which the Development Site is located; and(viii) State Senator and State Representative of the districts whose boundaries include the proposed Development Site.(C) Contents of Notification.(i) The notification must include, at a minimum, all of the information described in subclauses (I) - (IX) of this clause:(I) The Applicant's name, address, an individual contact name and phone number;(II) The Development name, address, city, and county;(III) A statement informing the entity or individual being notified that the Applicant is submitting a request for Housing Tax Credits with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs;(IV) Whether the Development proposes New Construction, Reconstruction, Adaptive Reuse, or Rehabilitation;(V) The physical type of Development being proposed (e.g. single family homes, duplex, apartments, high-rise, etc.);(VI) The approximate total number of Units and approximate total number of Low-Income Units;(VII) The residential density of the Development, i.e., the number of Units per acre;(VIII) Information on how and when an interested party or Neighborhood Organization can provide input to the Department; and(IX) Information on any proposed property tax exemption.(ii) The notification may not contain any false or misleading statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the notification may not create the impression that the proposed Development will serve a population exclusively or as a preference unless such targeting or preference is documented in the Application and is in full compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, including state and federal fair housing laws.(iii) Notifications or any other communications may not contain any statement that violates Department rules, statute, code, or federal requirements.(c) Pre-Application Results. Only pre-applications which have satisfied all of the pre-application requirements, including those in § 11.9(e)(3) of this chapter (relating to Criteria promoting the efficient use of limited resources and applicant accountability), will be eligible for pre-application points. The order and scores of those Developments released on the pre-application Submission Log do not represent a Commitment on the part of the Department or the Board to allocate tax credits to any Development and the Department bears no liability for decisions made by Applicants based on the results of the pre-application Submission Log. Inclusion of a pre-application on the pre-application Submission Log does not ensure that an Applicant will receive points for a pre-application.(d) Applicants that may be requesting a Multifamily Direct Loan from the Department may submit a Request for Preliminary Determination on or before February 13, 2023. The results of evaluation of the Request may be used as evidence of review of the Development and the Principals for purposes of scoring under § 11.9(e)(1)(F) of this chapter. Submission of a Request for Preliminary Determination does not obligate the Applicant to request Multifamily Direct Loan funds with their full Application.10 Tex. Admin. Code § 11.8
The provisions of this §11.8 adopted to be effective December 24, 2013, 38 TexReg 9308; amended by Texas Register, Volume 39, Number 51, December 19, 2014, TexReg 9935, eff. 12/22/2014; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 01, January 1, 2016, TexReg 199, eff. 1/6/2016; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 52, December 23, 2016, TexReg 10219, eff. 12/29/2016; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 42, Number 52, December 29, 2017, TexReg 7627, eff. 1/3/2018; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 43, Number 51, December 21, 2018, TexReg 8342, eff. 12/30/2018; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 44, Number 51, December 20, 2019, TexReg 7906, eff. 12/29/2019; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 45, Number 52, December 25, 2020, TexReg 9431, eff. 12/27/2020; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 46, Number 51, December 17, 2021, TexReg 8608, eff. 12/23/2021; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 47, Number 51, December 23, 2022, TexReg 8532, eff. 12/26/2022; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 48, Number 51, December 22, 2023, TexReg 7899, eff. 12/31/2023