For the purpose of preserving or expanding the supply of rental housing affordable to low- and very low-income tenants in cities or counties affected by a natural disaster as defined by Section 8680.3 of the Government Code, resulting in a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor pursuant to Section 8625 of the Government Code, financial assistance may be provided as prescribed in this chapter under the following special conditions, which shall prevail over conflicting provisions of this chapter and administrative regulations: (a) Funds may be used for the purpose of repair or refinancing in conjunction with rehabilitation of rental housing developments. For purposes of this section, rehabilitation may include reconstruction. The loans shall only be made in a city, county, or city and county proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of disaster and only when the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development has determined that the disaster has decreased the supply of low-income rental housing. The loan funds may be used to repair disaster related damage, bring the housing into compliance with applicable health and safety and seismic safety standards, and to make property improvements that are related to that compliance. If reconstruction is precluded on the original project site due to documented soil, geological, or other conditions that cannot be mitigated at a reasonable cost, or the cost of the rehabilitation or reconstruction would exceed 110 percent of the value after reconstruction, the department may approve reconstruction on a comparable site in the immediate neighborhood. (b) (1) Rental housing developments, for this purpose, shall include, but not be limited to, multifamily rental dwellings, apartments, residential hotels, mobilehome parks, group homes for senior citizens or the disabled, buildings of mixed residential rental and commercial use, and buildings of mixed owner-occupant and rental use that are made available for permanent residency of tenants. Rental housing developments must contain five or more units. For buildings of mixed residential rental and commercial use, funds may be used for costs directly attributable to the residential space or the conversion of commercial space to residential space or a pro-rata share, based on gross floor area mix at the time of the disaster, if costs cannot be directly attributable to either commercial or residential space. (2) Eligible cost shall include those costs relating to all of the following: (A) Refinancing of existing debt to the extent necessary to reduce debt service to a level consistent with the provision of affordable rents and the fiscal integrity of the project. (B) Rehabilitation or reconstruction. (C) General property improvements that are necessary to correct unsafe, unhealthy, or unsanitary conditions, including renovations and remodeling, including, but not limited to, remodeling of kitchens and bathrooms, installation of new appliances, landscaping, and purchase or installation of central air conditioning. (D) Necessary and related onsite improvements. (E) Reasonable administrative expenses in connection with the planning and execution of the project, as determined by the department. (F) Reasonable consulting costs. (G) Rent-up costs. (H) Seismic rehabilitation improvements. (I) Any other costs of rehabilitation authorized by the department. (3) (A) âRent-up costs,â as used in this section, means costs incurred while a unit is on the housing market but not rented to its first tenant. (B) âSeismic rehabilitation improvements,â as used in this section, means improvements that are designed to increase seismic structural safety in accordance with a plan developed by a civil engineer, a structural engineer, or an architect for a particular building that has been identified as hazardous by the city or county in which the building is located in accordance with the criteria established by the Seismic Safety Commission pursu
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