© Housing Assistance Council, 1995

Permission is granted ONLY to nonprofit community-based organizations to reproduce and/or adapt this document, and only for their own use.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
   1. What is the Housing Preservation Grant Program?
   2. About this Handbook
2. RHS RURAL HOUSING PROGRAMS
   1. Using RHS Rural Housing Programs
   2. RHS Service Area
   3. RHS Organization
   4. Locating RHS District Offices
   5. Ordering Instructions
3. THE HOUSING PRESERVATION GRANT PROGRAM
   1. Program Overview
   2. Eligibility for HPG Assistance
   3. Ownership Agreements Between Rental Property Owners or Cooperatives and Grantees
   4. Notification of Competition
   5. Applying for Funds
   6. Matching Funds
   7. Eligible Housing Preservation Assistance
   8. Administrative Cost Determination
   9. Financing Mechanisms
   10. Weighted Selection Criteria
   11. Policy Items
   12. HAC Recommendations
   13. The Final Application
   14. Appeals
   15. Operating Procedures and Reporting Requirements
4. COMPLETING THE PREAPPLICATION
   1. Cover Letter
   2. Standard Form 424.1 Application for Federal Assistance (Nonconstruction)
   3. Statement of Activities
   4. Experience and Capacity
   5. Legal Existence
   6. Financial Statements
   7. Narrative on Area to Be Served
   8. Component to Alleviate Overcrowding
   9. Applicant's Other Activities
   10. Other Information Related to the Selection Criteria
   11. Environmental Assessment
   12. Historic Preservation
   13. Public Participation
   14. Equal Opportunity Agreement and the Assurance Agreement
   15. An Important Reminder
5. THE SAMPLE PREAPPLICATION
   1. Introduction
   2. Contents
   3. The Sample
6. APPENDICES
   1. Rural Development State Offices
   2. Income Limits
   3. RD Instruction 1944-N, Exhibit D - Project Selection Criteria Outline Rating (see page 82)*
   4. RD Instruction 1944-N, Exhibit A - Housing Preservation Grant Agreement (see page 47)*
   5. RD Instruction 1944-N, Exhibit C - Administrative Instructions for RHS Field Offices (HPG) (see page 63)*
   6. RD Instruction 1944-N, Exhibit E-2 - Quarterly (and Final) Performance Report (Example and Explanation)*
   7. Standard Form - 269, Financial Status Report
   8. RD Instruction 1944-N, Exhibit F-1 - Guide for Completing Form RD 1940-20 (Request for Environmental Information) (see page 86)*
   9. RD Instruction 1944-N, Exhibit F-2 - Guide: Grantee's Process for Identifying Properties Requiring RHS Environmental Assessments (see page 89)*
   10. RD Instruction 1940-L, Exhibit A, Attachment 3 - HPG Allocations (This attachment is not yet available online. Please contact your local RD office.)
   11. Outline of Contents, 7 CFR Part 3015 - Uniform Federal Assistance Regulations
   12. Outline of Contents, 7 CFR Part 3016 - Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Government
   13. Reprint; RD Instruction 1944.663 - Ownership Agreement Between HPG Grantee and Rental Property Owner or Co-Op (see page 16)*
   14. Reprint; RD Instruction 1924.4(i) (see page 2)*
   15. RD Instruction 1944.664 - Housing Preservation and Replacement Housing Assistance (see page 18)*
   16. RD AN No. 3528 (1944-N) - Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) Program Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 Preapplications, April 4, 2000

IMPORTANT REFERENCES

• RD Instructions 2000-F and 1944-N* (Available at RHS and Rural Development Offices)
• RD Environmental Regulations: A Guide for Rural Housing Applicants; Housing Assistance Council (Available from HAC for $5.50 prepaid)
• Rural Development State Office Resource Guides

*This document can be read using Adobe Acrobat. If you do not have Acrobat, you may download the program for free by clicking on the icon below and following the instructions on Adobe's web site.

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal and by funding under several annual contracts and one cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, most recently H-5925 CA. The substance and findings of this work are dedicated to the public. The Housing Assistance Council is solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication and such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Division or the United States Government.

The Housing Assistance Council, a national nonprofit organization established in 1971, provides technical housing services, seed money loans from a revolving fund, housing program and policy assistance, research and demonstration projects, and training and information services.

Special Acknowledgement: The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is grateful for the assistance of Thomas Gerlitz and John Pentecost and subsequently Sue Harris and James MacMaster of the Rural Housing Service (RHS) National Office. They were responsible for developing regulations for the Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program, and their review and suggestions were essential in making this guide useful.

Although the assistance provided by the aforementioned persons was helpful and important, readers are advised that all content is the responsibility of the Housing Assistance Council and does not bear any endorsement by the RHS officials as to content or accuracy on representation of RHS policy. Nor does it imply that preapplications similar to the sample in this guide will win any competition in any state.

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