Welcome to the resource center for Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). CHDOs are private, nonprofit, community-based housing development organizations that are organized under state or local law to develop affordable housing in the communities they serve.
Available Funding and Related Programs
The state of Ohio receives a yearly allocation of HOME funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fifteen percent of those funds must be "set-aside" to be awarded to CHDOs to develop housing. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) administers this program and distributes the set-aside funds for the state through its Housing Tax Credit (HTC) program in the form of gap financing for HTC developments. OHFA develops guidelines for its state-certified CHDO program based on the Code of Federal Regulations Title 24 – Housing and Urban Development, Part 92 – HOME Investment Partnership Program. Attaining state-certified status indicates that the organization has the capacity to own, develop or sponsor a particular type (rental or owned) of HOME-assisted housing. It also indicates that the organization is an integral part of the community it is chartered to serve.
CHDO Certification Process
- HOME rules require that housing development organizations (even previously state-certified CHDOs) must be certified as a CHDO each time they apply for HOME funding from the 15 percent set-aside.
- An organization can only be a CHDO if it is involved in a particular HOME-funded development project.
- An applicant seeking to participate in a 9 percent Housing Tax Credit development as a state-certified CHDO must submit the CHDO Certification Application by the deadline indicated in the most current qualified allocation plan. Those elements of the certification that can be reviewed by OHFA prior to the submission of the Housing Tax Credit proposal, such as confirming proper board composition, non-profit status, mission to provide affordable housing, service areas and involving the community, will be evaluated, Applicants will be notified of any deficiencies with enough time to correct any issues prior to the HTC proposal application deadline.
- Once the HTC proposal application is received and the details of the development become known, OHFA will make the final determination of CHDO eligibility. Determination will be based on evaluating the development experience of the paid staff and its relation to the proposed development, the capacity of the CHDO to function as the sole general partner or sole managing member of the ownership entity, the appropriateness of the CHDO as a part of the development team and the assessment of the financial capacity of the organization.
- The organization can only be a state-certified CHDO for the type of development project (example: multifamily rental) for which it can demonstrate the on-staff capacity to sponsor a 9 percent HTC development. If prior development experience is in building and selling single family homes, the applicant most likely will not be certified as a CHDO to develop rental housing.
- In a limited partnership (LP), the CHDO or its subsidiary must be the sole general partner. In a limited liability company (LLC), the CHDO or its subsidiary must be the sole managing member. Furthermore, if the LP or LLC agreement permits the CHDO to be removed as general partner or sole managing member, the agreement must provide that the removal must be for cause and that the CHDO must be replaced with another CHDO.
Developing housing as a CHDO has taken on increased obligations and commitments. The Federal Regulations can be found at https://www.ecfr.gov/
Applications and Forms
- CHDO 2024 Guidelines (420 KB Word File)
- CHDO 2025 Board Self Certification Form (33 KB Word File) New
- CHDO Certification Update for HOME Set Aside Developments (48 KB Word File)
Contact Information
Questions and correspondence regarding the CHDO program may be directed to CHDOcertification@ohiohome.org.