[StBernard] State's Small Rental Program Awards Nearly $375 Million

[Westley Annis]

State's Small Rental Property Program Awards Nearly $375 Million to Restore Affordable Rental Properties

BATON ROUGE, La. (October 11, 2007)- The Louisiana Division of Administration's Office of Community Development (OCD) and the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) announced today nearly $375 million will be awarded to help restore nearly 10,000 rental units in South Louisiana's 13 most severely impacted parishes. 

"The restoration of affordable workforce housing is a key part of Louisiana's long term recovery," said Walter Leger, Chair of the LRA's Housing Task Force. "As more and more residents are returning to rebuild, it's critically important that we continue to bring rental units online to meet the demand, and the investments we are announcing today will help to do just that." 

Through Round 2 of The Road Home Small Rental Property Program (SRPP) small Louisiana-based property owners are receiving conditional awards to restore 5032 storm damaged properties. The first Round 2 letters were sent to Owner-Occupant applicants during the week of September 16-22, 2007 and the bulk of the awards were mailed out to the "general pool" of small owners during the week of September 30-October 6.

The new awards will help to restore approximately 9,500 units. Of those, 8,261 units will rent at affordable rates for low- to moderate income level working families. The other units will be occupied by owner-occupants in small rental properties and market rate tenants in those properties where the owner opted to provide a mixed income building. Conditional Award amounts averaged $75,000 per property and $45,000 per assisted rental unit.

Funding for the program is allocated by parish based on the amount of rental housing damage ea! ch Parish received from the hurricanes of 2005. Within each parish, applications were scored and ranked against each other based on their responses to a series of questions regarding their property and the amenities they committed to offering their tenants when the units are completed and ready to come on line. The highest scoring priority was given to owner occupants of small rental properties. These resident owners, who will live side by side with their tenants, are an essential element of the area's recovery and they have always been the Rental program's number one priority. Properties that were owned by other small owners (those who owned a total of 20 units or fewer) were next in line, ranking ahead of properties that were owned by larger firms (those who owned between 21 and 100 units). Similarly, property owners who owned a storm damaged property were ranked ahead of those who purchased a damaged property after the storm. 

The chart shows the number and am! ount of awards that were issued by parish in Round 2.

Number of Conditional Awards

Number of Affordable Rental Units

Total Units

Total Amount
of Awards

Calcasieu

171

220

237

$8,974,900

Cameron

5

14

14

$586,000

Iberia

2

2

2

$79,000

Jefferson

339

556

742

$23,809,250

Orleans

3,756

6,350

7,300

$288,286,525

Plaquemines

24

31

40

$1,737,800

St. Bernard

541

855

914

$40,123,900

St. Tammany

142

170

185

$9,406,925

Tangipahoa

7

8

8

$175,000

Terrebonne

10

12

14

$441,800

Vermilion

9

12

12

$293,000

Washington

26

31

36

$1,011,900

Total

5,032

8,261

9,504

$374,926,000



Conditional Awards are the first step in the process of getting funding to eligible owners. All awardees will receive a packet of information about bringing their properties back online and the requirements of the program. Applicants will be asked to affirm the statements they made in their original application and provide supporting documentation in those instances where it is necessary. 

Once applicants have returned their packages and a federally mandated environmental review has been performed, they will receive a firm funding commitment from the State. Owners are encouraged to use their Conditional Award to obtain construction financing from conventional lenders if they need it to bring their property back on line. Others may be able to complete any outstanding work on their own. The Conditional Awards offered by the Rental program will be converted to cash payments when the property owner delivers a finished property that meets the State's building code and includes the amenities he committed to provide. This "reimbursement" structure ensures that funds will only be spent on properties that meet the Federal spending guidelines and provides assurance that the State meets HUD requirements.

The Rental program received more than 12,000 applications at the close of Round 2. Round 2 applications that were complete but not funded due to an insufficient score will receive a letter informing them that they are being placed on a waiting list to receive awards. Applications that were either incomplete or contained contradictory information will also be sent letters and be given an opportunity to complete or correct their applications. Once the application is completed or corrected, these applications will be scored and placed on the waiting list as well. If Conditional Awards from Round 2 are recaptured and/or additional funding becomes available, applicants will be selected from the waiting list based on their scores. This approach ensures that all available funds will be allocated to Louisiana owners as rapidly as possible and provides the State an opportunity to reach out to those applicants who took the time to fill out an application but were not! able to receive funding as a part of the Round 2 awards announced above. Applicants who failed to meet the program's basic requirements - such as being a Louisiana resident - will receive a denial letter.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana.

The Road Home program is designed to help Louisiana residents affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita get back into their homes. Working together, Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the Office of Community Development and the Louisiana Legislature created The Small Rental Property program. The program, designed for one- to four-unit rental properties, provides incentives to owners offering affordable work force rental housing for returning residents. 

For more information on The Small Rental Property program or to request an application, visit www.road2LA.org/rental <http://keelson.eatel.net/websites/la.gov/action.cfm?md=communication&task=addClick&msg_ID=4510&ID=dciVeni8nnn%20&redirect=http://www.road2LA.org/rental>  or call 1.888.ROAD.2.LA (1.888.762.3252). TTY callers use 711 relay or 1.800.846.5277. 
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