(a) Compliance. Except as provided in this article, the owner shall provide reserved units and conduct eligibility determinations in accordance with the handbook, 24 CFR Part 5, "General HUD Program Requirements; Waivers," and the department's program manual. Where the program manual provides specific exceptions to the handbook or to 24 CFR Part 5, the program manual controls with respect to the mixed income housing development bonus program.
(b) Exceptions. The following mandatory items in the handbook do not apply to the mixed-income housing program:
(1) inquiries regarding or documentation of the immigration status of an applicant or eligible household;
(2) use of HUD forms, unless specifically required in this division;
(3) compliance with HUD requirements that are specific to a HUD program and are not generally-applicable; and
(4) use of the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system.
(c) Determination of family size. An owner shall use the broad definition of family as defined in 24 CFR §5.403, "Definitions," and may not engage in any discriminatory housing practices as defined in Section 20A-4 of this chapter.
(d) Rent and income limits. The department will annually publish rent and income limits to be used in determining an applicant's eligibility to lease a reserved dwelling unit or a household's eligibility to renew the lease on a reserved dwelling unit. The department shall use the income limits published annually by HUD for the Dallas, TX HUD Metro Fair Market Rent Area, adjusted for family size, as the basis for the department's income limits and use the nine percent housing tax credit limits published annually by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs as the rent limits.
(e) Income bands.
(1) An owner shall ensure that reserved dwelling units are only leased to and occupied by eligible households in accordance with the development bonus restrictive covenant.
(2) Eligible households making less than the minimum AMFI for a particular income band, including voucher holders, may be counted for that income band provided that they are charged an affordable rent.
(f) Affordable rents.
(1) An owner shall ensure that an affordable rent is charged to eligible households occupying reserved dwelling units and shall re-certify eligibility and rent annually.
(2) An owner shall provide a minimum of 30 days written notice to the eligible household before a rent change. The notice must include a summary of how the change was calculated.
(3) The affordable rent must include all monthly charges or fees that are mandatory for all tenants but does not need to include charges or fees for optional amenities. The owner may not impose expenses or fees that are applicable only to reserved dwelling units.
(g) Annual certification of eligibility. An owner shall conduct an annual certification of household income and composition for each eligible household in accordance with the program manual.
(1) An owner shall not conduct a certification on less than an annual basis unless requested to do so by an eligible household. An owner shall conduct the interim certification in the same manner as conducting an annual certification. An owner may charge a reasonable fee to cover the administrative costs associated with conducting an interim certification.
(2) If an owner fails to complete the annual certification within 120 days of the lease anniversary date, the reserved dwelling unit will be considered out of compliance and the mixed-income restrictive covenant term will be extended for the period of non-compliance. The non-compliance can be cured by completing the annual certification or designating another unit as a reserved dwelling unit and leasing it to an eligible household.
(h) Additional requirements and prohibitions.
(1) The reserved dwelling unit for which an applicant is applying to lease, or for which an eligible household leases, must be the applicant's or eligible household's only residence.
(2) An owner may not allow an eligible household to sublease or otherwise accept compensation for allowing a person or persons who are not documented members of the eligible household, pursuant to the owner's lease agreement with the eligible household, to occupy a reserved dwelling unit, regardless of the terms or length of the occupancy.
(3) Any financial assistance that a student receives under the Higher Education Act of 1965, from private sources, or from an institution of higher education that is in excess of the amounts received for tuition shall be included in annual income, except if the student will live with his or her parents and his or her parents are voucher holders.
(4) The department shall conduct regular inspections and monitoring in accordance with the published program manual.