§ 42-2803 — Coordination of housing programs for targeted populations; community outreach.

(a) The Department shall establish a one-stop center to:

(1) Assist nonprofit housing developers;

(2) Assist housing developers and commercial developers in housing production for targeted populations; and

(3) Provide to potential housing developers easy and adequate access to information on housing production programs.

(b) There is established, within the Department, the Nehemiah Community Housing Opportunity Program (“Nehemiah Program”), a pilot project to provide grants, loans, and available land to eligible nonprofit organizations in accordance with this section.

(1) Real property shall be transferred from the RLA Revitalization Corporation to qualified nonprofit organizations (“qualified applicants”) pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.

(2) To be eligible, a nonprofit organization shall:

(A) Comply with the guidelines and procedures established by the Nehemiah Program;

(B) Be a neighborhood-based nonprofit organization;

(C) Propose to construct or substantially rehabilitate not less than 50 single family homes located in a targeted area;

(D) Provide for the involvement of local residents in the planning and construction of homes;

(E) Provide for a systematic effort of door-to-door canvassing in the immediate area where the nonprofit organization is located to offer Nehemiah Program houses to residents for homeownership;

(F) Accumulate or establish a plan to accumulate $300,000 in non-District funds through membership fees, donations, or gifts;

(G) Propose construction methods that will reduce the cost per square foot below the average per square foot construction cost in the market area involved;

(H) Demonstrate market demand by utilizing the residents of the neighborhood in which the nonprofit organization is located as homebuyers of Nehemiah Program homes;

(I) Develop a marketing plan that includes a range of affordable prices that includes a 20% set aside for very low-income purchasers; and

(J) Provide technical assistance to the homebuyer in the areas of financial management, legal rights attendant to homeownership, and other aspects of homeownership.

(3) The Department shall grant a qualified applicant the exclusive right to develop land specified in the development plan submitted by the applicant.

(4) A qualified applicant shall be eligible for a $1,000,000 loan, partially funded through loans from the Fund, at a below market rate set by the Department.

(5) Each single family home sold through the Nehemiah Program shall be sold to a person who:

(A) Is a first-time homebuyer or who has not owned a home in the previous 3 years;

(B) Will occupy the home as his or her principal place of residence for at least 5 years; and

(C) Agrees not to sell, convey, lease, or otherwise alienate the home, or place liens or encumbrances on the home, for a 5-year period commencing on the date of property settlement and ending on the 5th anniversary of the settlement date without the written approval of the Mayor. The Mayor, by rule, shall establish appropriate alienation fees to be assessed against a homeowner who alienates a home purchased pursuant to the Nehemiah Program in violation of this paragraph. Alienation fees shall not take priority over mortgage liens.

(6) Qualified purchasers of Nehemiah Program homes shall be eligible for up to $25,000 in grants or loans, depending on the income of the purchaser and purchase price of the home.

(7) Grants shall be repaid to the Fund if the purchaser sells, conveys, leases, or otherwise alienates the home.

(c) The Department shall develop an annual community outreach plan, which shall promote maximum visibility of the Fund and its operations and full participation by District, developers, lenders, and District residents who request assistance under this chapter.

Legislative History

Mar. 16, 1989, D.C. Law 7-202, § 4, 36 DCR 444; Apr. 19, 2002, D.C. Law 14-114, § 501(d), 49 DCR 1468; Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 98, 53 DCR 6794