Residential workforce housing rental restrictions

A. Timing of completion. Residential workforce housing units shall be made available for occupancy either prior to or concurrently with market rate units at the same ratio required of the development. Certificates of occupancy shall not be issued and/or final inspections shall not be passed for the market rate units unless certificates of occupancy are issued and/or final inspections are passed for the residential workforce housing units concurrently or sooner. B. Deed restrictions. 1. The rental residential workforce housing unit shall be subject to the requirements of this chapter for thirty years, commencing on the date of initial occupancy. 2. For the thirty-year deed-restricted period, the following shall apply: a. The owner must notify the department upon a decision to sell the rental development and the County shall have the first option to purchase the rental development from the owner; said option shall be available to the County for a period of one hundred and twenty days from receipt of written notice from the owner and shall not apply to sales by reason of foreclosure. b. Any new owner must comply with the deed restrictions. c. Owner or owner's representative shall submit proof of compliance with income guidelines for rentals quarterly. 3. Within ninety days of the expiration of the thirty-year deed-restricted period, the owner shall offer the County the right to purchase the property at market value as determined by the owner. 4. The deed restriction shall set forth the number of units in the development that shall be designated as residential workforce housing units along with the relative income group of those units. The deed restriction may, but shall not be required to, identify specific units as residential workforce housing units. C. Rental rates. The monthly rental rates set forth in the lease shall be based on HUD income limits subject to approval by the department or as otherwise provided in this chapter. D. Failure to rent within income groups. In the event owner or owner's representative does not maintain the required distribution of rentals among the appropriate income groups or rents outside of the appropriate income groups, owner or owner's representative shall pay to County, for deposit into the affordable housing fund, the difference between the actual rent paid and the rent for the appropriate income group as required under the deed restriction. E. Annual recertification. Owner or owner's representative shall complete an annual recertification of tenants that are occupying the residential workforce housing units to verify that the tenants meet income guidelines. F. Graduated income tenants. For those tenants who have graduated to a higher income group during the term of the lease but still remain within an appropriate income group, if owner or owner's representative elects to continue to lease to tenant, the monthly rental rate shall be the rate for the income group which tenant is within. For those tenants who during the term of the lease have graduated to an income level that is in excess of the income groups for rental units, if owner or owner's representative elects to continue to lease to tenant, the annual rental rate shall be equivalent to thirty percent of tenant's gross income. Owner or owner's representative shall be responsible for paying County in accordance with section D, above. Owner or owner's representative shall make its reasonable best efforts to maintain the proper distribution of rentals across the "very low income" and "low income," "below-moderate income," and "moderate income" groups. ( Ord. No. 4780, § 2, 2017 ; Ord. No. 4177, § 9, 2014; Ord. 3418 § 1 (part), 2006)