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Request for Proposals for PBV from RCHA                            April 2020

 

Randolph County Housing Authority (RCHA) requests proposals from landlords and developers for the Project-Based Voucher (PBV) Program. The PBV program is designed to conform to the Project-Based Voucher Program Final Rule published on October 13, 2005 at 24 CFR Part 983.

PBV applications are being accepted for up to thirty (30) Vouchers for existing and new construction projects in Randolph and Lewis counties, West Virginia that contain the following:

1.) The PBV designated units must serve households at or below 50% of the area median income;

2.) Must show evidence of site control;

3.) Developer must demonstrate that project construction will commence within twelve (12) months and occupancy will commence within twenty-four (24) months from date of preliminary award of PBV’s;

Proposals must be received by RCHA no later than 5:00pm Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Late applications will not be accepted.

There are up to thirty (30) Project-Based Vouchers available under this RFP for low-income families in  Randolph and Lewis Counties. RCHA seeks to meet the goal of de-concentrating poverty and expanding housing opportunities with the award of these Project-Based Vouchers.

DESCRIPTION OF PBV PROGRAM

Through the PBV program, RCHA will enter into a housing assistance payment (HAP) contract with the selected property owner for designated rental units for a term of up to fifteen years subject to funding availability. Housing assistance subsidies will be provided while eligible families occupy the rental housing units and the units meet other program standards. RCHA will maintain the waiting list and refer program participants to the project owner in order to fill vacant units. RCHA’s subsidy standards will determine the appropriate unit size for the family size and composition.

Under the PBV regulations, Project-Based Vouchers can be attached to RCHA-owned units, including units owned by RCHA subsidiaries; however, all proposals submitted for units where RCHA has an “identity interest” must be approved by HUD, or an independent entity selected by HUD.

Certain types of housing units and/or developments are not eligible for PBV assistance including:

• Shared housing;
• Units on the grounds of a penal, reformatory, medical, mental, or similar public or private institution;
• Nursing homes or facilities providing continuous psychiatric, medical, nursing service, board and care, or intermediate care.
• Units that are owned or controlled by an educational institution or its affiliate and designed for occupancy by the students of the institution;
• Manufactured homes;
• Transitional housing;
• Owner-occupied housing units; and
• Units occupied by an ineligible family at the time of proposal submission or prior to execution of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract.

The number of PBV assisted units in the project cannot generally exceed the greater of 25 units or 25 percent (25%) of the total number of dwelling units in the project, except as provided by regulation 24 CFR 983.56.

Sites selected for PBV assistance must be:

• Consistent with the goal of de-concentrating poverty and expanding housing and economic opportunities, consistent with RCHA’s PHA Plan and Administrative Plan. Specific factors are discussed at 24 CFR 983.57;
• In full compliance with the applicable laws regarding nondiscrimination and accessibility requirements;
• Meet Housing Quality Standards (HQS) site standards; and
• Must meet HUD regulations for site and neighborhood standards.

Activities under the PBV program are subject to HUD environmental regulations and may be subject to review under the National Environmental Policy Act by local authorities.

For properties with nine or more proposed PBV units, the owner, the owner’s contractors and subcontractors must pay Davis-Bacon wage rates to laborers and mechanics.

RCHA will enter into a Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract with the owner selected and approved for PBV assistance. RCHA will make housing assistance payments to the owner in accordance with the HAP contract for those contract units leased and occupied by eligible families during the HAP contract term subject to funding availability.

The owner is responsible for screening applicants to occupy the owner’s unit based on their tenancy histories.

During the course of the tenant’s lease, the owner may not terminate the lease without good cause. “Good cause” does not include a business or economic reason or desire to use the unit for an individual, family or non-residential rental purpose. Upon expiration of the lease the owner may renew the lease; refuse to renew the lease for good cause; or refuse to renew the lease without good cause.

The amount of the rent to owner is determined in accordance with HUD regulations. The rent to owner including utility allowances must not exceed the lowest of:

• An amount determined by RCHA, not to exceed 110 percent of the applicable fair market rent (FMR) for the unit bedroom size including any applicable tenant-paid utility allowance;
• The reasonable rent; or
• The rent requested by the owner.

Current Fair Market Rents for determining rents in Randolph and Lewis Counties in West Virginia, can be found here: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2020_code/select_Geography.odn

The total rent to the owner for PBV assisted units consists of the tenant rent (the portion of the

rent to owner paid by the family) and the rental assistance paid by RCHA in accordance with the

contract with the owner. RCHA determines the tenant rent in accordance with HUD requirements.

APPLICATION REVIEW PANEL

RCHA’s Executive Director will appoint a PBV Selection Panel to review, evaluate, rank and select the applications according to the criteria described herein. This panel will, at a minimum, consist of the Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer and Housing Choice Voucher Director. In the event that RCHA-owned units are recommended for project-basing, applications and the recommendation of the panel will be forwarded to the HUD Field Office for review.

APPLICATION REVIEW

RCHA will review all applications. Before selecting applications for scoring, RCHA will determine that each application is responsive to and in compliance with RCHA’s written selection criteria and procedures, and in conformity with HUD program regulations and requirements, including the following items:

• Units designated for PBV must serve households at or below 50% of area median income.
• Evidence of site control.
• Developer must demonstrate that project construction or rehabilitation will commence within fifteen (15) months and occupancy will commence within thirty (30) months from date of preliminary award of PBV’s.
• Each project must contain a minimum of 3 units.
• Each proposal must include a request for at least 3 vouchers.
• Certification that the owner and other project principals are not on the U.S. General Services Administration list of parties excluded from Federal procurement and non-procurement programs.
• Proposed initial gross rents must not exceed 110% of the applicable Fair Market Rent including any applicable allowance for tenant-paid utilities for the size of the unit.
• Property must meet eligibility requirements under §983.7 (Eligible and ineligible Properties and RCHA-owned units), §983.11 (Other Federal requirements), and §983.6 (Site and Neighborhood Standards).
• No construction has begun, as evidenced by RCHA inspection
• Generally not more than 25 units or 25 percent (25%) of the total number of dwelling units in the project are eligible for PBV assistance per 24 CFR 983.56.

If a project does not meet the requirements indicated above, it will be designated non-responsive.

A notice mailed to the applicant will identify the disqualifying factor. Proposals that meet the requirements will be evaluated and ranked by the RCHA panel. A RCHA ranking list will be prepared according to the points awarded to each proposal. RCHA may, at its discretion, select none, one or more of the proposals submitted.

RCHA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any informality in the RFP process, or to terminate the RFP process at any time, if deemed by the RCHA to be in its best interests. RCHA reserves the right to reject and not consider any proposal that does not meet the requirements of this RFP, including but not necessarily limited to incomplete proposals and/or proposals offering alternate or non-requested services. RCHA reserves the right to award fewer than the number of units requested, if the requester agrees to accept a lower number of PBV units. RCHA shall have no obligation to compensate an applicant for costs incurred in responding to this RFP.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

1. Before executing an Agreement with any selected owner, RCHA will:
2. Establish rents in accordance with §983.12. For any RCHA-owned unit, an independent entity will determine a recommendation for initial rents which then will be submitted to the HUD field office for final approval.
3. Obtain subsidy-layering contract rent reviews from HUD, if applicable.
4. Submit a certification to the HUD field office stating that the unit or units were selected in accordance with RCHA’s approved unit selection policy.

RANKING AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Preference will be given to proposals for existing projects and rehab projects which meet the following criteria:

• Rental housing that is at risk of losing federal subsidy that make it affordable to low-income residents;
• Rental housing that is preferenced for people experiencing homelessness or domestic violence.

Preference will be given to proposals for new construction which meet the following criteria:

• Rental housing that is designed for senior and disabled populations;
• Rental units with supportive services for special needs populations.

Scoring Criteria:

RCHA’s Evaluation Panel will review and rank each proposal based on the following criteria:

For Existing Units:

1. Experience as an owner in the tenant-based voucher program and owner compliance with the owner’s obligations under the tenant-based program;
2. Extent to which the project furthers the PHA goal of deconcentrating poverty and expanding housing and economic opportunities;
3. If applicable, extent to which services for special populations are provided on site or in the immediate area for occupants of the property; and
4. Extent to which units are occupied by families that are eligible to participate in the PBV program.

 

For New Construction or Substandial Rehab Projects:

1. Owner Experience and capability to build and operate affordable rental housing;
2. The extent to which project furthers the goal of deconcentrating poverty and expanding housing and economic opportunities;
3. The financial viability of the proposal –including a proforma demonstrating the status of realistic and available sources and explanations of how operating expenses were determined;
4. If applicable, the extent to which services for special populations are provided on site or in the immediate area for occupants of the property;
5. Projects with less than 25 percent of the units assisted will be rated higher than projects with 25 percent or more of the units assisted. In the case of projects for occupancy by the elderly, persons with disabilities or families needing other services, the PHA will rate partially assisted projects on the percent of units assisted. Projects with the lowest percent of assisted units will receive higher scores.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applications will be reviewed and ranked and will be subject to the selection criteria described above. The following procedures will be followed by RCHA in accepting and screening owner applications submitted for the PBV Program.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE

Owner applications will be accepted at the RCHA office located at:

2280 Randolph Avenue

Elkins, WV  26241

Attn: Karen Jacobson

Applications and supporting documentation will be accepted until 5:00 PM, Tuesday May 5th, 2020.

APPLICATION FORMAT

One original and one copy of owner applications must be submitted in the format designated by RCHA. Where possible, copies should be submitted as two-sided copies in order to conserve paper.

NON-RESPONSIVE OR NON-COMPLIANT APPLICATIONS

If RCHA determines that an application is non-responsive or non-compliant with this RFP, written selection criteria and procedures, or HUD program regulations, the application will be returned to the applicant with its deficiencies described. RCHA will give the applicant five (5) calendar days to correct all deficiencies. The application will be considered for the program if the missing information is submitted within this time period.

RCHA reserves the right to cancel this RFP for any reason or to reject applications at any time for misinformation, errors, or omissions of any kind, regardless of the stage in the process that has been achieved.

APPLICATION CONTENT

Applications submitted must have the following:

1) Cover letter signed and submitted by the principal party authorized to contract on the organization’s behalf. The cover letter should state the number of PBV units requested; the total number of units in the project or development along with number of buildings and the type of resident population.

2) A cover sheet that outlines the following:

• Name of sponsor organization
• Mailing address
• Telephone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses
• Principal contact person
• Executive Officer
• DBE/MBE/WBE designation if applicable
• Number of years in business

3) Copy of most recent single audit, audited 990’s or financial statements of the sponsor organization

4) Project application. Applications for PBV assistance must provide information on the following topics:

• Owner name
• Project name
• Number of buildings
• Number and size of units
• Location of units
• Other forms of assistance received
• Requested contract term
• Handicapped accessibility features
• Owner experience with affordable rental housing
• Unit and neighborhood amenities
• Intended resident population
• Tenant selection criteria and plan
• Proposed Rents
• Affordability restrictions
• Need for PBV assistance
• Management and operations plan
• Service providers, if applicable
• Evidence of site control
• Financial Proforma
• Development Schedule, if new construction or rehab