As used in this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
I. "Authority" shall mean the New Hampshire housing finance authority.
II. "Board" shall mean the housing finance board.
III. "Bonds" shall mean bonds of the authority issued under this chapter, including refunding bonds.
IV. "Clerk" shall mean the clerk of the municipality or the officer charged with the duties customarily imposed on such clerk.
V. "Development costs" shall mean the total of all costs incurred in connection with housing, which are approved by the authority as reasonable and necessary, which costs shall include, but not be limited to the following: the value of land and any buildings or improvements on the land, including payments for options, deposits or contracts to purchase properties on the proposed housing site or payments for the purchase of such properties; cost of site preparation, demolition, landscaping, development and off-site improvements; fees for architectural, engineering, legal, accounting and other services paid or payable in connection with the planning, execution and financing of such housing; cost of necessary studies, surveys, plans and permits; cost of insurance, interest, financing, tax assessments and other operating and carrying costs during construction; cost of construction, rehabilitation, reconstruction, fixtures, furnishings, equipment, machinery and apparatus related to such housing; organizational expenses, relocation expenses, reasonable expenses in connection with initial occupancy of such housing, a reasonable builder's and developer's profit and risk fee in addition to job overhead; an allowance established by the authority for working capital, contingency reserves and reserves for any anticipated operating deficits during the early years of occupancy; and the cost of such other items as the authority shall determine to be reasonable and necessary for the development of such housing. Such development costs shall be recognized whether paid in cash or in a form other than cash.
VI. "Economic cost" shall mean cost of operating housing, including debt service, finance charges, management fee, heat, utility, maintenance, replacement reserve, on-site management and janitorial costs and other operating expenses approved by the authority, and, with respect to any rental housing, the maximum annual equity distribution on a cumulative basis permitted by the authority with respect to such housing.
VII. "Elderly" shall mean a person who qualifies to live in housing for older persons, as defined in RSA 354-A:15.
VIII. "Eligible low income persons and families" shall mean those eligible persons and families whose annual income is less than the amount necessary to enable them to obtain and maintain decent, safe and sanitary housing without the expenditure of more than 30 percent of such income for basic shelter cost, including the additional cost, if any, of heat, hot water, and other utilities, except telephone.
IX. "Eligible mortgagor" shall mean any individual, joint venture, partnership, limited partnership, trust, firm, association, corporation, cooperative, condominium association, governmental agency, or other legal entity, or any combination thereof approved by the authority as qualified to own, construct, acquire, rehabilitate, operate, manage or maintain housing whether organized for profit, limited profit or nonprofit purposes, in each case subject to the rules of the authority and the provisions of this chapter.
X. "Eligible persons and families" shall mean a person or persons, and families of 2 or more persons, irrespective of race, creed, national origin, sex, or gender identity, determined by the authority to require assistance under this chapter on account of insufficient personal or family income taking into consideration, without limitation, such factors as follows: (a) the amount of the total income of such persons and families available for housing needs; (b) the size of the family; (c) the cost and condition of housing facilities available; (d) the ability of such persons and families to compete successfully in the normal private housing market and to pay the amounts at which private enterprise is providing decent, safe and sanitary housing; and (e) if appropriate, standards established for various federal programs determining eligibility based on income of such persons and families.
XI. "Federally assisted mortgage" shall mean a mortgage loan for housing, assisted, insured or guaranteed by the United States or a governmental agency or instrumentality of the United States, and shall include a commitment by the United States or a governmental agency or instrumentality of the United States to assist, insure, guarantee or purchase such a mortgage.
XII. "Federal government" shall mean the United States of America, or any agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America.
XIII. "Governing body" shall mean in a city that governing body which is designed as such by the charter of the particular city; in a town, the board of selectmen.
XIV. "Governmental agency" shall mean the United States, the state, any municipality within the state, or any agency, authority, board, commission, department, division, public corporation, public agency or authority, political subdivision or other public instrumentality thereof.
XV. "Housing" shall mean one or more new or existing dwelling units in the state financed pursuant to this chapter, including homes for persons with disabilities, mobile homes, prefabricated homes, any buildings, land, improvements, equipment, facilities or other real or personal properties which are deemed by the authority to be necessary, convenient, ancillary or desirable in connection with such dwelling units, and including, but not limited to, streets, sewers, utilities, parks, site preparation, off-site facilities, landscaping and other nonhousing facilities such as administrative, community, transportation, health, recreational, educational, commercial, retail, welfare and public facilities.
XVI. "Housing project" shall mean any work or undertaking:
(a) To demolish, clear or remove buildings from any slum area; such work or undertaking may embrace the adoption of such area to public purposes, including parks or other recreational or community purposes; or
(b) To provide decent, safe and sanitary urban or rural multi-family housing for persons of low income; such work or undertaking may include buildings, land, equipment, facilities and other real or personal property for necessary, convenient or desirable appurtenances, streets, sewers, water service, parks, site preparation, gardening, administrative, community, health, recreational, welfare or other purposes; or
(c) To accomplish a combination of the foregoing. The term "housing project" also may be applied to the planning of multi-family housing and improvements, the acquisition of property, the demolition of existing structures, the construction, reconstruction, alteration and repair of the improvements and all other work in connection with them.
XVII. "Lending institution" shall mean any bank or trust company; Federal National Mortgage Association approved mortgage banker; savings bank; credit union; national banking association; insurance company; financial institution or governmental agency which customarily provides service or otherwise aids in the financing of mortgages located in the state.
XVIII. "Local authority" shall mean a housing authority constituted under the provisions of RSA 203.
XIX. "Mayor" shall mean the mayor of the city or the officer of the city charged with the duties customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head of the city. "Mayor" shall also mean the selectmen in the case of towns.
XX. "Mortgage" shall mean a mortgage deed, deed of trust, or other instrument which shall constitute or create a security interest in tangible personal property constituting housing, or a lien on real property or on a leasehold under a lease having a remaining term, at any time such mortgage is acquired, which does not expire for at least that number of years beyond the maturity date of the obligation secured by such mortgage as is established by the authority as necessary to protect its interest as mortgagee.
XXI. "Mortgage loan" shall mean an interest-bearing obligation secured by a mortgage.
XXII. "Multi-family housing" shall mean housing consisting of 5 or more units.
XXIII. "Municipality" shall mean any city or town in this state.
XXIV. "Obligations" shall mean collectively any bonds, notes, bond anticipation notes, debentures, interim certificates or other evidence of financial indebtedness issued by the authority pursuant to this chapter.
XXV. "Real property" shall mean all land, including appurtenances, improvements and fixtures on the land, and property of any nature appurtenant to the land, or used in connection with the land, and every estate, interest and rights, legal or equitable in the land, including terms of years and liens by way of attachment, judgment, mortgage or otherwise and the indebtedness secured by such liens.
XXVI. "Slum" shall mean any area where dwellings predominate which, by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, lack of ventilation, light or sanitary facilities, or any combination of these factors, are detrimental to safety, health or morals.