SECTION 11.207. Waiver of Rules

An Applicant may request a waiver from the Board in writing at or prior to the submission of the pre-application (if applicable) or the Application or subsequent to an award. Waiver requests on Competitive HTC Applications will not be accepted between submission of the Application and any award for the Application. Staff may identify and initiate a waiver request to remedy an error in the QAP or other Multifamily rules, provide necessary relief in response to a natural disaster, or address facets of an Application or Development that have not been contemplated. The Applicant must submit plans for mitigation or alternative solutions with the waiver request. Any such request for waiver submitted by an Applicant must be specific to an actual proposed Development and must be submitted to the Department in the format required in the Multifamily Programs Procedures Manual. Any waiver, if granted, shall apply solely to the Application and shall not constitute a general modification or waiver of the rule involved. All waiver requests must meet the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection.

(1) A waiver request made at or prior to pre-application or Application must establish that the need for the waiver is not within the control of the Applicant or is due to an overwhelming need. A recommendation for a waiver may be subject to the Applicant's provision of alternative design elements or amenities of a similar nature or that serve a similar purpose. Waiver requests for items that were elected to meet scoring criteria or where the Applicant was provided a menu of options to meet the requirement will not be considered to satisfy this paragraph, unless the Applicant demonstrates that all potential options have been exhausted.

(2) The waiver request must establish how, by granting the waiver, it better serves the policies and purposes articulated in Tex. Gov't Code §§2306.001, 2306.002, 2306.359, and 2306.6701, (which are general in nature and apply to the role of the Department and its programs, including the Housing Tax Credit program) than not granting the waiver.

(3) The Board may not grant a waiver to provide directly or implicitly any Forward Commitments, unless due to extenuating and unforeseen circumstances as determined by the Board. The Board may not waive any requirement contained in statute. The Board may grant a waiver that is in response to a natural, federally declared disaster that occurs after the adoption of the Qualified Allocation Plan to the extent authorized by a governor declared disaster proclamation suspending statutory or regulatory requirements.

Source Note: The provisions of this §11.207 adopted to be effective December 31, 2023, 48 TexReg 7887