Arkansas Administrative Code

15 CAR § 71-115. Amendment of rules. This part may be amended from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority in accordance with the requirements of the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, Arkansas Code § 25-15-201 et seq…

15 CAR § 73-101. Purpose. The purpose of this part is to: (1) Provide procedures for governmental and private participants for the allocation of tax-exempt private activity bond volume cap, including special rules for certain multifamily housing bonds; and (2) Repeal and replace …

15 CAR § 73-102. Definitions. As used in this part: (1) “Affected bonds” shall have the meaning ascribed to that term in Arkansas Code § 15-5-601; (2) “Application” means the “Application for Reservation of Volume Cap” described in 15 CAR § 73-105 and a form of which is posted on…

15 CAR § 73-103. Volume cap. (a) The amount of affected bonds that can be issued as tax-exempt private activity bonds in the state each calendar year is limited by the state’s annual volume cap. (b)(1) At the beginning of each year the state receives an allocation of volume cap f…

15 CAR § 73-104. Allocation of volume cap pursuant to Arkansas Code § 15-5-603. (a)(1) The volume cap allocated to the state is allocated to the Arkansas Development Finance Authority pursuant to Arkansas Code § 15-5-603, which allocates seventy percent (70%) of the aggregate ann…

15 CAR § 73-105. Applications for Reservation of Volume Cap. (a) In order to reserve volume cap for an issue of affected bonds, a completed application must be submitted to the President of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority. (b) Applications may be submitted no earlier t…

15 CAR § 73-106. Reservation of volume cap. (a) The President of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority will record and monitor application filings in accordance with Arkansas Code § 15-5-607. (b) At such time as the president determines an application filing to be complete, …

15 CAR § 73-107. Reservation period. (a) Affected bonds, including multifamily housing bonds, must be issued within the reservation period unless the: (1) President of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority has approved in writing an extension for the affected bonds; (2) Rese…

15 CAR § 73-108. Carryforward of volume cap. (a) All carryforwards of volume cap authorized by this section shall be made in accordance with 26 U.S.C. § 146(f), and the issuer designated by the President of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority to make the carryforward shall…

15 CAR § 73-109. Volume cap shortage. (a) The President of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority will determine if a volume cap shortage exists as to any application when the amount of volume cap requested in the application exceeds the amount available in any specific or ge…

15 CAR § 73-110. Special rule for multifamily housing bonds — Multifamily Housing Applications. (a) Applicants for multifamily housing bonds may submit an Application for Reservation of Volume Cap at such time as the applicant’s Multifamily Housing Application has been approved b…

15 CAR § 73-111. Board Housing Review Committee. (a)(1) Applicants for multifamily housing bonds are required to make a formal presentation to the Board Housing Review Committee. (2) A representative of the Staff Housing Review Committee will notify the applicant of the time, pla…

15 CAR § 73-112. Multifamily housing bonds — Board of directors’ approval. (a) The Board of Directors of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority will consider a Multifamily Housing Application no sooner than the next scheduled Board of Directors of the Arkansas Development Fin…

15 CAR § 73-113. Issuance of bonds and allocation of volume cap. (a) This part applies solely to the reservation and allocation of volume cap, and a reservation pursuant to this part shall not constitute a binding commitment of any issuer, including the Arkansas Development Finan…

15 CAR § 73-114. Delegation of functions. The President of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority may delegate, in writing, functions under this part to other officers and employees within the Arkansas Development Finance Authority.

15 CAR § 74-101. Qualified energy conservation bonds. (a) The qualified energy conservation bond (QECB) allocations to Little Rock, the counties in Arkansas, and the state will be pooled together so that projects from all over the state can apply for bond financing using QECBs. (…

15 CAR § 85-101. Development of the plan. (a)(1)(A) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority (the “authority”) is charged with the responsibility of administering federal low-income housing tax credits (“housing credits”) for the State of Arkansas (the “state”). (B) The authori…

15 CAR § 85-102. Multi-family housing application. (a)(1) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority multi-family housing application (MFHA) shall set forth all other requirements, instructions, clarifications, and definitions for the year in which the application for LIHTC is su…

15 CAR § 85-103. Limits on allocation of credits. (a) The Internal Revenue Code requires that the Arkansas Development Finance Authority determine “the [housing credit] dollar amount allocated to the development will not exceed the amount the housing credit agency determines is n…

15 CAR § 85-104. Housing credit allocation standards. (a) Amount. (1) The base amount of annual credit authority is based upon population estimates released each year by the Internal Revenue Service. (2)(A) The maximum amount of housing credits that may be reserved for allocation…

15 CAR § 85-105. Allocation of state housing credits. (a)(1) Arkansas Code § 26-51-1702 provides that a taxpayer owning an interest in a low-income development qualifying for housing credits will be eligible for state housing credits equal to twenty percent (20%) of the allocated…

15 CAR § 85-106. Allocation of affordable neighborhood housing tax credits. (a)(1)(A) The Affordable Neighborhood Housing Tax Credit Act of 1997, codified at Arkansas Code § 15-5-1301 et seq., provides that any business firm engaging in the provision of affordable housing assista…

15 CAR § 85-107. Compliance. (a)(1) Applicants shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including, but not limited to, I.R.C. § 42. (2) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority’s Compliance Monitoring Policies and Procedures Manual for the Low-Income Hou…

15 CAR § 85-108. Miscellaneous matters. (a) Closing requirements. (1) The Board of Directors of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority has delegated to the President of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority the authority to implement closing requirements that are financi…

15 CAR § 85-109. Clarifications. (a)(1) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority is charged with allocating no more housing credits to any given development than is required to make that development economically feasible. (2) This decision shall be made solely at the discretion…

15 CAR § 86-1001. Housing and development software. (a)(1) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority has implemented the mandatory use of its web-based compliance and monitoring software. (2) Entering data online is utilized in place of the written status reports and is statutor…

15 CAR § 86-101. Definitions. As used in this part: (1)(A) “20/50 test” means a requirement whereby twenty percent (20%) or more of the residential rental units are rent restricted and occupied by households with incomes of fifty percent (50%) or less of the area median gross inc…

15 CAR § 86-102. Introduction. (a) This part presents an overview of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority’s policies as they pertain to compliance monitoring for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. (b)(1) The procedures are designed to assist owners and manag…

15 CAR § 86-103. Background. (a)(1)(A) Congress created the LIHTC program under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-514. (B) The LIHTC program, governed by I.R.C. § 42, began in 1987. (2) The tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in tax liability to investors in exch…

15 CAR § 86-104. Credit period and compliance period. (a)(1) Generally, owners must: (A) Place the projects in service within two (2) years of carryover allocation; or (B) Return the credits to the Arkansas Development Finance Authority for reallocation to other projects. (2) Onc…

15 CAR § 86-105. Four tax credit regulation periods. (a)(1) Since the 1986 enactment of the LIHTC, the United States Congress has changed or amended the laws governing the program, yet many changes have not been retroactive. (2) In some cases, the change in regulations brought fo…

15 CAR § 86-106. Additional revenue rulings and legislation. (a)(1) Two (2) important revenue rulings were later issued that were not retroactive. (2) September 9, 1992. Internal Revenue Service Rev. Rul. 92-61, 1992-2 C.B. 7, deals with treatment of staff units as part of the el…

15 CAR § 86-107. Responsibilities of owners. (a)(1) Compliance with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code is the development owner's responsibility. (2) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority’s obligation to monitor the development for compliance does not make the aut…

15 CAR § 86-108. Mandatory compliance training for new projects. (a) The Compliance Department of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority will require a representative from the owner entity and/or the management company to attend mandatory compliance training. (b) The required…

15 CAR § 86-201. Reviews. (a)(1) Fundamental requirements include the following: (A) The project must be residential rental property; (B) The owner must establish and maintain a minimum set-aside of units that will be available to and occupied by low-income tenants; (C) Tenant el…

15 CAR § 86-202. Record keeping. (a) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority requires that each development owner or manager maintains an administrative file/binder for the authority’s LIHTC recordkeeping procedures. (b) Since the information will be reviewed by the authority …

15 CAR § 86-203. Fair housing. (a) During the on-site visit, the Arkansas Development Finance Authority’s staff, in addition to interviewing tenants, will check the following: (1) Posting of Equal Housing Opportunity symbol on all advertising and exterior property signs; (2) Disp…

15 CAR § 86-204. Tenant files. (a)(1) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority requires files to be maintained in a consistent order. (2) The authority’s staff will randomly select and review at least twenty percent (20%) of current tenant files, as required by the Internal Rev…

15 CAR § 86-205. Uniform Physical Conditions Standards and/or Arkansas Development Finance Authority-approved design standards. (a)(1) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority’s staff will: (A) Conduct inspections of the units that are randomly selected for file audit; and (B) …

15 CAR § 86-206. Monitoring fee. (a) The Arkansas Development Finance Authority has implemented a two-tiered plan for collecting monitoring fees. (b)(1) The first plan begins with the 2009 allocations. (2)(A) The authority will assess a one-time monitoring fee of eight percent (8…

15 CAR § 86-301. Minimum set-aside. (a)(1) In order for an owner to claim tax credits, a development must have a minimum number of qualified tax credit units. (2) The owner must select one (1) of two (2) minimum set-asides, which establishes both the: (A) Minimum percentage of ta…

15 CAR § 86-302. Income limits. (a)(1) The Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes the Multifamily Tax Subsidy Projects (MTSP) income limits annually. (2) The Internal Revenue Service requires these income limits, adjusted for family size, to be used when determinin…

15 CAR § 86-303. Maximum gross rents. (a)(1)(A) Units qualifying for tax credits are subject to a rent restriction formula that sets the maximum gross rent that may be charged. (B) The maximum gross rent (including utilities) may not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the imputed inc…

15 CAR § 86-304. Fees. (a)(1) Any charges to low-income tenants for services that are not optional generally must be included in gross rent. (2) A service is optional when: (A) The service is not a condition of occupancy; and (B) There is a reasonable alternative. (3) No separate…

15 CAR § 86-305. Rent subsidies. (a) Gross rent does not include any housing assistance payments made to an owner to subsidize a tenant's rent (i.e., Section 8). (b) Only the actual rent paid by the tenant, including tenant-paid utilities, is counted toward the maximum allowable …

15 CAR § 86-306. Section 8 rental assistance. (a)(1) Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 8 Program, a tenant cannot pay more than thirty percent (30%) of his or her adjusted gross income for rent. (2) For this reason, in 1989 the Internal Revenue Service…

15 CAR § 86-307. United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development overage. (a)(1) In United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Section 515 projects, overage rents may result when thirty percent (30%) of the tenant income minus the utility allowance exceed…

15 CAR § 86-308. Utility allowances. (a)(1) Utilities include the costs for: (A) Heat; (B) Lights; (C) Air conditioning; (D) Water; (E) Sewer; and (F) Trash removal. (2)(A) Generally, telephone, cable television, and internet are not included in utilities. (B)(i) However, if a su…

15 CAR § 86-309. Vacant unit rule. (a)(1) If a low-income unit becomes vacant during the year, the unit remains in compliance with LIHTC regulations and eligible for the tax credit. (2) The unit may be counted in the set-aside requirement and in determining the qualified basis pr…

15 CAR § 86-310. Next available unit rule. (a) If the household income for residents in a qualified unit increases to more than one hundred forty percent (140%) of the current applicable income limit, the unit is considered an over-income unit but may continue to be counted as an…