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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing Authority of the City of Fresno - First Amendment to Agreement - 12.21.23FIRST AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT THIS FIRST AMENDMENT TO GRANT AGREEMENT (Amendment) made and entered into effective the 21 st day of December 2023, between the CITY OF FRESNO, a California municipal corporation (the CITY), and HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF FRESNO, a body corporate and politic (GRANTEE). RECITALS WHEREAS, the CITY and the GRANTEE entered into an agreement on January 1, 2023 (Agreement), to administer the Voucher Incentive Program (Project); and WHEREAS, the CITY and the GRANTEE desire to modify the specific components of the budget in the Agreement, without changing the overall compensation of the Agreement, because the Project is demonstrating greater resources in some Project component areas and lesser resources in other Project component areas; and WHEREAS, the Agreement allows for an increase or decrease in the scope of services by written agreement. AGREEMENT NOW, THEREFORE, the parties agree: 1. Exhibit "A" of the Agreement is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the attached "Revised Exhibit A." 2. In the event of any conflict between the body of this Amendment and any exhibit or attachment hereto, the terms and conditions of the body of this Amendment shall control and take precedence over the terms and conditions expressed within the exhibit or attachment. Furthermore, any terms or conditions contained within any exhibit or attachment hereto which purport to modify the allocation of risk between the Parties, provided for within the body of this Amendment, shall be null and void. 3. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Agreement entered into by the CITY and the GRANTEE on January 1, 2023, remains in full force and effect. [Signatures follow on the next page.] IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Amendment at Fresno, California, the day and year first above written. City of Fresno, A municipal corporation Housing Authority of the City of Fresno, a body corporate and politic By: S Gear a nne A. White, Tyrone Rod rick Williams City pager, City of Fresno Chief Executive Officer APPROVED AS TO FORM: ANDREW JANZ City Attorney Brent Richardson Deputy City Attorney ATTEST: TODD STERMER, CMC City Clerk Date Addresses: City: City of Fresno Attention: Philip Skei, Assistant Director, Planning & Development Department 2600 Fresno Street Fresno, CA 93721 Telephone No: (559) 621-8012 Grantee: Housing Authority of the City of Fresno Attention: Executive Office 1331 Fulton Street Fresno, CA 93721 Telephone No: 559) 443-8400 Page 1 of 7 REVISED EXHIBIT A Scope of Work, Budget and Metrics VIP COMPONENT SIGNING INCENTIVES: ($350,000) ! DETAIL A previous pilot program at Fresno Housing demonstrated that signing incentives are an effective tool. A signing incentive is a one-time payment that Fresno Housing will make to a partnering landlord who has rented a unit to a voucher household. Property owners/landlords may be eligible for multiple incentives and/or participate in other funding opportunities. • New Landlord: Any landlord that has not been a partnering landlord with Fresno Housing would be eligible for this incentive. This would be a one-time payout per new landlord. ($2000- $2,500) • Returning Landlord: This incentive is for a landlord that has not had an active Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract within the last 12 months. This would be a one-time payout per returning landlord. ($500) • New Unit in High Opportunity Areas: This incentive is for a unit that has not been rented to a voucher holder within the last 12 months in a Small Area Fair Market Rent (SAFMR) Exception Payment Standard neighborhood. ($1,500) • Lease in Place Incentive: When a new applicant who is 50% rent burdened, or higher, in their current unit, receives a voucher and their existing landlord agrees to utilize the new voucher for the current unit, allowing the resident to stay "in place." ($1,000) Page 2 of 7 DEPOSITS & RENTAL FEE ASSISTANCE: ($400,000) DAMAGE REPAIR FUND (Up to $10,000) ($100,000) Under the Fresno Housing voucher program, voucher households are responsible for a portion of their rent and other costs including security deposits, application fees, first and last month rent deposits, and utility deposits. if the family lacks the funds, the landlord decides whether to forgo the deposit or seek another family. Additionally, many applicants have to pay multiple, non-refundable fees for credit checks each time they attempt to secure housing. Assistance with these items helps both the voucher holder secure a unit faster, and also serves as a way to reduce landlord concerns about damage and repairs above and beyond normal wear and tear. Many landlords and property owners remain concerned about unit damage. These funds would be made available to landlords who participate in any of the Signing Incentives and demonstrate excessive tenant -caused damages of units upon move out. Landlords will be required to provide walk thru forms from move -in as well as move -out walk thru forms. Pictures as well as receipts for work and items purchased for repairs will be required. An Itemized disposition of security deposit will also be required to ensure proper use of the resident's security deposit. Should a landlord receive a court judgment, the owner will also be required to provide Fresno Housing with a copy of the judgment. The resident will be notified by Fresno Housing of the owner's request for damages and the amount awarded. Because it is a misconception that voucher holders cause more damage than non -voucher tenants, case studies have demonstrated that while this is an important tool, it is often left underutilized. Should the initial funding be diminished early in the proposed program, Fresno Housing may readjust the total funding of this incentive. The Damage Repair Fund will be available until December 31, 2024. Landlords must submit damage claims and all supporting documentation no later than December 31, 2024 in order for funds to be obligated. Page 3of7 VACANCY There is a misconception that the process of moving a LOSS voucher family into a rental unit can take longer than PAYMENTS: the process of moving in a market -rate tenant, due to the need for the unit to pass a Housing Quality (HQS) ($50,000) inspection. An HQS inspection is typically conducted within 5 days of the owner's request for inspection. To encourage landlord participation, vacancy funds provide a monetary incentive to landlords to compensate for missed days of rental income. Funds will be made available to landlords to cover vacancy loss while processing or securing a new lease with a voucher holder for up to two months and up to the contract rent amount. These funds would be made available to landlords who participate in the Signing Incentives. NANT TRAINING: Should the initial funding be diminished early in the proposed program, Fresno Housing may readjust the total funding to allow for more allocation in the Vacancy Loss Payment Fund and decrease the Incentive portion of the proposed program. Fresno Housing will collaborate with industry partners offer training to voucher holders to prepare them housing search. Voucher holders will receive a certificz of successful completion. Training may inclu document preparedness, how to be a good tena housekeeping, etc. 4 PRIORITIZATION: Fresno Housing has limited ability to prioritize the success at which voucher holders reach agreements with private landlords. However, Fresno Housing does have the ability to prioritize how funds from the Voucher Incentive Program are distributed to voucher holders and private landlords: VOUCHER HOLDERS: While all Housing Choice Voucher holders and Emergency Housing Voucher holders are eligible for the Voucher Incentive Program, as long as they are also eligible under ARPA as detailed in Section 11 of the Agreement, funds will be prioritized for the following voucher holders: ■ Families Seniors ■ Persons with Disabilities ■ Veterans ■ Households in temporary or emergency shelters, and/or unhoused Length of time vouchers have been unused/length of time on the list ■ Households who have received a certificate from a tenant education program PRIVATE LANDLORDS: While most landlords can apply to become Fresno Housing partner landlords, funds from the Voucher Incentive Program will be prioritized as follows: ■ Small, "mom and pop" landlords (own no more than 10 units) ■ Landlords with properties having no code violations in last 12 months ■ New Landlords to Fresno Housing a Landlords with vacancies ELIGIBILITY: Landlords must be current on applicable City licenses and rental registry, and not owe the City of Fresno any fees, to participate in the Voucher Incentive Program. 2. Landlords or property owners debarred by Fresno Housing are not eligible. 3. Rental properties must be located within the boundaries of the City of Fresno. 5 4. Subsidized properties are not eligible for the Voucher Incentive Program including but not limited to Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties, Project - Based Vouchers (PBV), Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) PBV vouchers, Project -Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) Vouchers, Low Income Public Housing and/or any other subsidized property. 5. Landlords must be eligible under ARPA as detailed in Section 11 of the Agreement. TRACKING AND REPORTING: Fresno Housing will track all incentive monies paid as part of the proposed Voucher Incentive Program. Fresno Housing will maintain an accounting with landlord information, resident information, type of incentive paid, and dates paid. Fresno Housing will track the number of new landlords, new and existing units preserved/retained in the voucher program, and households served. Fresno Housing will also keep track of the demographics of the residents, such as, if they were homeless and housed, moved into high opportunity areas and if any funds were paid upon the residents' behalf for application fees, etc. Reports can be provided on an ongoing basis, or upon request. ADMINISTRATION ($100,000): Fresno Housing will be allowed up to 10% of the total Grant amount, or $100,000 of the $1 million, to administer the proposed program and staff the resident/landlord engagement efforts that are outside of services already offered by Fresno Housing. OUTREACH: Fresno Housing will utilize existing resources to promote the proposed program, and benefits. Additional outreach by the City would also be incredibly helpful to raise awareness. If the City has access to emails or mailing addresses for landlords, property owners and property management agencies, outreach to those groups would also be strongly encouraged in attempts to increase the number of landlords eager to lease to voucher holders. Fresno Housing is also partnering with RH Community Landlord Outreach to work side by side in obtaining Landlords for those that are hard to house. The California Apartment Association (Fresno Division) has offered to assist with outreach and education to its members on the Voucher Incentive Program. 0