Colorado § 24-32-705.7 - Application process for all affordable housing programs administered by the division of housing - rules - definitions.

§ 24-32-705.7. Application process for all affordable housing programs administered by the division of housing - rules - definitions.

(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Affordable housing" has the same meaning as set forth in section 24-32-705.5 (6).

(b) "Affordable housing program" means:

(I) Money loaned from the housing investment trust fund created in section 24-32-717 (1)(a);

(II) Any program that uses money from the housing development grant fund created in section 24-32-721 (1);

(III) The affordable housing guided toolkit and local officials guide program created in section 24-32-721.7 (1)(a);

(IV) The local investments in transformational affordable housing grant program created in section 24-32-729 (2)(a);

(V) The transformational affordable housing revolving loan fund program created in section 24-32-731 (2)(a); and

(VI) Any other program administered or implemented by the division that is related to affordable housing development.

(c) "Board" means the state housing board created in section 24-32-706 (1).

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all affordable housing programs administered or implemented by the division that require an application process are subject to the provisions of this section.

(3) (a) The division shall receive applications for affordable housing programs not less than once per quarter where a quarter is every three months beginning in July. The division shall publish the application schedule for the second half of state fiscal year 2024-25 no later than November 1, 2024, and shall publish the application schedule for each subsequent state fiscal year no later than May 1 of the preceding state fiscal year and shall update the schedule no later than sixty days before the start of the next quarter. If for any affordable housing program the division will not be accepting applications for an upcoming quarter, the division shall post notice of this on its website and include an explanation of why applications for the affordable housing program will not be accepted, which may include there being insufficient revenue to provide funding for the affordable housing program. Not later than ten calendar days from the date that a quarterly application period closes, the division shall complete the reviewing of all applications submitted in the application period for completeness and issue any requests for additional information, forms, or questions to the applicants, as necessary.

(b) (I) Within forty-five calendar days after a complete application is received by the division, and no more than forty-five calendar days after the seventeenth calendar day following the date an application is submitted, the division shall complete any additional review of an application that may be required after its initial review required by subsection (3)(a) of this section and either send all applications it deems complete to the board for final decision or make a final decision on applications it deems complete, as applicable. If the division is unable to send an application to the board within forty-five days, the division shall notify the applicant of the delay with an explanation for the delay and the date that the division will send the application to the board.

(II) The board shall meet and make a final decision on completed applications submitted to it from the division at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board.

(c) (I) If the final decision on an application is approval of the application by the board or the division, as applicable, the division shall notify the approved applicant in writing in accordance with subsection (3)(c)(II) of this section and within thirty calendar days provide the approved applicant with a preliminary draft of any required contracts for loans or grants awarded pursuant to an affordable housing program, if applicable. The division has ninety days from the date of receiving a substantially complete post-award due diligence package from the approved applicant, or if no post-award due diligence is required then ninety days from the date of the end of the thirty-day period, to finalize any terms and conditions of approved loans or grants pursuant to an affordable housing program and execute any required contracts, but the ninety day period pauses for the period of time an approved applicant receives a preliminary draft from the division of any required contract for the affordable housing program until the division receives the executed contract from the approved applicant. The division shall provide executed contracts to an approved applicant within ten calendar days of finalizing the contract.

(II) Letters of approval required by subsection (3)(c)(I) of this section must include information concerning:

(A) The timeline for issuance of money as approved by the division or the board pursuant to the affordable housing program;

(B) Any terms for the loan or grant period; and

(C) Any conditions that the approved applicant must meet or provide prior to the execution of contracts for the loan or grant pursuant to the affordable housing program, including closing or curing any outstanding awards under other affordable housing programs.

(d) (I) Any changes to the terms of an approved loan or grant pursuant to an affordable housing program by the division must be made to an approved applicant within ten calendar days of the date the division issues a letter of approval required pursuant to subsection (3)(c)(I) of this section.

(II) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3)(d)(I) of this section, an approved applicant may request changes to the terms of an approved loan or grant at any time before the contract is finalized and the division shall review and respond to any requests for changes made after approval of the loan or grant but before the contract is finalized within thirty days. A request for changes by an approved applicant may extend any applicable time period set forth in subsection (3)(c)(I) by not more than thirty days.

(4) The division may promulgate rules for the implementation of this section in accordance with article 4 of this title 24.

Source: L. 2024: Entire section added, (HB 24-1308), ch. 295, p. 2011, § 4, effective August 7.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 24-1308, see section 1 of chapter 295, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.