RHPP

Rental Housing Production and Preservation

Funds may be used to help developers or other housing organizations acquire, rehabilitate, or construct affordable rental housing.

These rental units must be occupied by income eligible tenants and carry rent and occupancy restrictions for varying lengths of time, depending upon the amount of funds invested per unit.

Developers,

While the Rental Housing Production/Preservation Program is anticipating a higher than normal interest in the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund Bond Gap Financing, we are trying to establish a process to make sure anyone that is interested in these funds, has plenty of time to apply and receive a letter of support, if applicable, in time for OHFA’s 9%, OLIHTC, or Bond Gap Financing Round. 

The Rental Housing Production/Preservation Program will implement, in 2026, multiple application rounds, that will coincide with OHFA's application rounds and also provide opportunities for developers who are not seeking tax credits. The dates when applications will be accepted are still to be determined with each Notice of Funding Availability.

Thank you and please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Rental Finance Team

 rentalfinance@columbus.gov

Program Guidelines

Please click here for the Rental Housing Program Guidelines

For additional information, please contact:

Email: rentalfinance@columbus.gov

The Rental Housing Production and Preservation Program (RHPP) provides financial assistance to affordable multi-family housing projects that serve low and extremely low income households. The RHPP assistance is a vital component in ensuring successful projects that otherwise could not go forward or serve the extremely low-income population.

Geographic Location and Eligible Properties

Projects must be within the City of Columbus corporate limits. Priority will be given to rehabilitation of existing low-income housing located within the City of Columbus Empowerment Zone, new construction near employment centers, Section 8 preservation, and any property containing one or more residential units where at least 51% of the rentable floor space of the project is used for residential rental purposes. In the case of mixed-use structures, there must be a plan as well as financing in place for the commercial portion of the property. *The property must be decent, safe and sanitary at the time of occupancy.

Eligible Activities and Types of Projects

Rehabilitation: The property must require a minimum of $5,000 per unit of rehabilitation work.

New Construction and Conversion: Construction of new units and/or conversion of building to residential rental housing.

Expiring Section 8 Projects: Restructuring of projects with expiring project-based Section 8.

Acquisition: For the purpose of developing multi-family or single family rental housing.

Types of Projects: Single family rental units; multi-family rental units (2 or more units); Supportive Housing for people with special needs; and single room occupancy (SRO) units .

Eligible Applicants

An investor-owner is defined as a Sole Proprietor; a For-profit and Not-for-profit developer; Partnerships.

Beneficiaries

Rental housing projects must serve and be affordable to households earning 65% or less of the area median income (AMI) as defined by HUD. All rental units funded under the program must, at a minimum, meet HUD HOME Investment Partnership Program funding standards for rents and tenant income. More stringent affordability requirements may be applied to projects based on intentions set forth in the applications for funding or needs identified in the Consolidated Plan

HUD Income Guidelines for Columbus MSA found at:
2025 HUD Income Guidelines for Columbus MSA

NOTE: Total yearly household income includes the income of all adults 18 years of age and older living in the home; Family size includes all persons living in the home.

Financing Guidelines

Loans (Home Investment Partnership Program)

The amount and terms of the loan will be structured based on the minimum required to make the housing affordable. The City may invest up to 50% of the project cost after a 5% equity contribution, up to a maximum of current maximum per/unit subsidy limits  established by HUD.

The interest rate is negotiable. The equity required is a minimum of 5% of the total project cost. All projects must achieve a Debt Coverage Ratio of 1.1 in the stabilized year. The assignment and assumption of the loan will be addressed on a case-by-case basis depending on the project requirements.

Grants (Affordable Housing Bond funds)

Grants in the form of forgivable loans may be available for projects serving the homeless, special needs populations or lowest-income households (households earning 30% or less of the AMI). These grants will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Funds may be available from another funding source to cover the cost of identified lead-based paint hazards .

Restrictive Covenant

The owner must execute a restrictive covenant for any HOME or HOME-match project, to ensure a minimum period of affordability as outlined below:

Bond Grant Investment

New Construction                                                  20 Years

Rehabilitation                                                          15 Years

If there is a FHA insured loan on the property, the period of affordability will be the term of the FHA loan or the period defined above, whichever is longer.

Eligible Project Costs include Acquisition; New Construction; Rehabilitation that addresses the following issues - Correction of all building code violations/incipient code violations; making energy efficient improvements; making general property improvements. The City may elect to target funds to specific project costs.

Soft Costs include but are not limited to the following: Loan origination fees; credit reports; title reports and updates; recordation fees; preparation and filing legal documents; appraisals; attorney's fees; loan processing fees; architectural fees; engineering fees; preparation of work write-ups/cost estimates; audits; affirmative marketing and fair housing; construction management; environmental testing and/or site cleanup (not related to lead based paint testing).

The final 10% of the rehabilitation and construction payments will be available only after the final inspection is completed and Certificates of Occupancy are issued.

Costs not Reimbursed

Legal organizational or syndication expenses associated with the development of low-income housing tax credit projects; the creation of the organization itself; construction contingency fund - 5% to 10% of hard construction/rehab costs; developer's fees defined as compensation for profit and/or risk - maximum allowable developer's fees total 10% of total project costs; costs incurred prior to the agreement between the City and the applicant.

Additional Obligation for Funds

These processes will be necessary based on the type of funding received:

Relocation

If the applicant has acquired the real property within the last year or plan to purchase property as part of the project and/or there are tenants in the property, certain obligations must be met to ensure Federal Compliance. Contact the Acquisition and Relocation Compliance Services office, for guidelines and requirements.

Environmental Review

HUD’s regulations at 24 CFR 58.22 prohibit grant recipients and their partners from committing or spending HUD or non-HUD funds on any activity that could have an adverse environmental impact or limit the choice of reasonable alternatives prior to completion of an environmental review once a project has become “federal.” This prohibition on “choice-limiting actions” prohibits physical activity, including acquisition, rehabilitation, and construction, as well as contracting for or committing to any of these actions. The environmental review should therefore begin in the project planning’s earliest phase to maximize opportunities to improve projects’ environmental design.

Historic Review

Clearance from the City of Columbus, Historic Review Preservation Officer must be obtained. The rehabilitation must comply with Section 106 standards by the Secretary of the Interior.

Federal Prevailing Wage requirements will apply to projects in which the following number of units are funded: CDBG funded projects - eight or more units; HOME funded projects - twelve or more units.

Lead Based Paint Hazards

Work on properties that were built prior to 1978 must comply with Title X rules and regulations, as well as applicable state lead paint laws. The cost and scope of rehabilitation work determines what inspections and interventions will be required.

Code Inspection/Occupancy Permit

All projects must have building permits, pass a building code inspection and receive a final Certificate of Occupancy prior to final draw.

Community Consultation

Applicants are required to submit their applications to the appropriate Area Commission or Civic Neighborhood Association for disclosure and review prior to submission to the Department of Development. For assistance identifying the appropriate organization and For your Neighborhood Liaison contact information and area map, click here.  There may be several civic or neighborhood associations to meet with. Be advised that the Area Commission process can take 2-3 months.

City Reservation of Rights

The City of Columbus reserves the right to waive the provisions of these guidelines within the limits of the Federal HOME, CDBG, City and State regulations in order to advance its mission and the goals of the Consolidated Plan. Such waiver shall not be construed as a general set-aside of the provisions and is at the sole discretion of the Director of the Department of Development.

Section 3 packet(PDF, 240KB)