§11383 Eligible activities

Summary

Grants must pay for projects that help homeless people and families. They can build new housing, buy or fix buildings (not just emergency shelters), lease places, or give rental help (tenant-, project-, or sponsor-based). Project-based or sponsor-based rental contracts can start with a 15-year term. The first 5 years of payments must come from funds authorized under this chapter, and the later years count as renewals under section 11386c. Grants can also pay operating costs, offer supportive services, and provide rehousing help like housing search, landlord outreach, credit repair, security or utility deposits, moving help, or a final month’s rent. Grants may support a community homeless data system, pay certain administrative costs, and let collaborative applicants or unified funding agencies use up to 3 percent of local funds for required planning work (in addition to the other 3 percent for unified funding agencies). Each project sponsor may use up to 10 percent of its grant for admin. In rural areas, projects can pay short-term motel or shelter stays, fix housing units, and pay for staff training and retention. Projects that build or buy/rehab housing must run for at least 15 years for the purpose promised in the grant. Other projects must run for the grant period. The Secretary may set minimum grant terms up to 5 years for new permanent housing. If a long-term housing project stops providing housing before 10 years, the grantee must repay 100 percent of the help. If it stops between 10 and 15 years, the grantee must repay 20 percent of the help for each year of the 15-year period it failed to provide housing. Sales or other transfers of property before 15 years may have conditions to prevent unfair gain, unless the sale benefits very low-income people, all sale money is used for transitional or permanent housing that meets the rules, federal or equivalent assistance ends while the project still meets standards and keeps required low-income rents, or there are no homeless people in the area (then the project may serve people at risk). Reasonable staff training costs are allowed. Projects serving homeless people with disabilities may also serve people who met the project rules before moving to other housing. Permanent housing rental help must be run by a State, local government, nonprofit, or public housing agency.