The City of Austin Housing & Planning Department (HPD) is soliciting public comment for its annual review of potential changes and upgrades to its Rental Housing Development Assistance (RHDA) Program Guidelines for 2021.

For more than a decade, the Rental Housing Development Program (RHDA) and the Austin Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) have supported expanding the supply of affordable rental housing for low-income households, as well as permanent supportive housing for persons experiencing homelessness or special needs. RHDA financing comes from a variety of local and federal sources to support both for-profit and non-profit affordable housing projects, primarily through loans.

The existing RHDA Program Guidelines outline the framework within which the RHDA Program operates and the criteria for developers seeking City funding. Each year, the City reviews the guidelines to address any necessary revisions or improvements to be made prior to the next application deadline.

Proposed RHDA Program Guidelines Changes for 2021 have been drafted and are available for public review and comment. The document includes substantive changes, as well as additional edits to clarify language, improve readability, or eliminate verbiage.  Feedback will be collected and submitted to HPD for review. Your feedback will help staff finalize recommendations to the AHFC Board.

The proposed RHDA Program Guidelines document is available for download in redline format in the Document Library section of the SpeakUp Austin page. Deadline for comment is January 15^th, 2021.

Once approved, the new guidelines will be applied to all applications after January 1, 2021. Topics with substantive revisions include:

• General Housekeeping
• Pre-Requisites for Applications
• Loan Typologies (Acquisition, Pre-Development, Construction)
• Loan Terms
• Continuum of Care units
• Lease Addendum
• Tenant Selection and Fair Chance Housing

Comments can be made through the SpeakUp Austin webpage, or by email to HPD@austintexas.gov  before January 15^th, 2021.  If you have questions, please contact Housing and Planning Department at 512-974-3100.