Email from Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund

July, 2023

The CLIHTF Notes

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Hours of Operation

Office Hours:

Monday

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Tuesday

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Wednesday

Closed

Thursday

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Friday

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

View CLIHTF's Brand New "About Us" Video!

Upcoming Training Webinars!

Join us for Upcoming Training Webinars!

1. TRUST FUND CENTRAL INTRODUCTORY TRAINING SESSIONS, TUESDAYS AT 12:30 PM.

FOR ALL PROPERTY OWNERS: ALL CURRENT PROPERTY OWNERS MUST ATTEND AT LEAST ONE TRUST FUND CENTRAL INTRODUCTORY TRAINING SESSION.

Property owners must become familiar with navigating Trust Fund Central so that they can utilize this new system to ensure that their properties follow CLIHTF’s Rental Subsidy Program guidelines. This session will focus on showing select property owners (from the test group) how to use Trust Fund Central effectively and provide property owners with the opportunity to ask questions about the new system.

Please click on the drop-down menu to select a training date.

2. TRUST FUND CENTRAL INTRODUCTORY TRAINING SESSIONS, THURSDAYS AT 5:30 PM.

FOR ALL PROPERTY OWNERS: ALL CURRENT PROPERTY OWNERS MUST ATTEND AT LEAST ONE TRUST FUND CENTRAL INTRODUCTORY TRAINING SESSION.

Please click on the drop-down menu to select a training date.

3. FOR NEW PROPERTY OWNERS: Join us for an upcoming interactive informational session on our Rental Subsidy Program Annual Agreement. This session will teach new participants how to accurately complete CLIHTF's Rental Subsidy Program Annual Agreement, and will focus on the process of correctly submitting payment request forms. This session will also explain our inspection policy.

4. FOR SERVCE PROVIDER PARTNERS: This interactive webinar for CLIHTF's Service Provider Partners will cover the Roles and Responsibilities for service providers. This session will also explain CLIHTF's New Unit inspection policy in depth, as well as the tenant relocation process and Zero Income Waiver eligibility.

Please click on the drop-down menu to select a training date.

Please click on any of the links below to register for one of the upcoming webinars or to schedule a one-on-one virtual training session!

1. Register for a TFC Introductory Training session on Tuesdays at 12:30 PM

2. Register for a TFC Introductory Training Session on Thursdays at 5:30 PM

3. Register for an upcoming Rental Subsidy Program Annual Agreement at 12:30 PM

4. Register for an upcoming Service Provider Partnership Training Session on Wednesdays at 12:30 PM

CLIHTF is now in Open Enrollment!

Learn How to Apply for CLIHTF's Rental Subsidy Program

Important Memos, Please Read!

1.) 2024 Budget Revision Requests for Rent Increase Due on August 31st, 2023

Please note the deadline to submit Budget Revision Request forms to request annual rent increases for the 2024 budget is 5:00 PM on August 31, 2023. Late submissions will NOT be considered for approval.

You will find a blank Budget Revision Request form attached to the Guidelines in PDF format. You can access the excel version of the 2024 Budget Revision Request form by clicking on the side menu icon on the Trust Fund Central Owner’s Portal dashboard page, and then clicking the link titled, “Blank Exhibit Forms”.

PLEASE NOTE, LANDLORDS MAY SUBMIT COMPLETE BUDGET REVISION REQUEST FORMS IN THE TRUST FUND CENTRAL PORTAL UNDER THE “INTERIM SUBMISSIONS” TAB, BY FAX, BY EMAIL AND BY USPS MAIL SERVICE.

What is a Budget Revision Request?

A budget revision request is a two-page form that is submitted by the property owner or by the designated authorized agent to request changes to the breakdown of an approved subsidy, this would include properties under consideration for an annual rent increase. CLIHTF's Board of Directors will either deny or approve each applicant's budget revision request for an annual rent increase based on the guidelines listed below. Applicants will be notified of the Board's decision in December of 2023.

All approved budget revisions will be applied to the applicant's 2024 Rental Subsidy Program Annual Agreement, to go into effect with the 2024 renewal of their tenant(s’) lease(s). Please note that rent increases are required to take place when the lease is renewed – this is a State of Illinois requirement for Trust Fund funding per the Rental Housing Support Program Act’s administrative requirements (47 IL Admin. Code 380.307).

If approved, rent increases shall take effect either at the time the lease for the Unit is renewed or, if a lease is not renewed, in the first month Rental Assistance is subsequently provided for a new Tenant for the Unit.

What are the guidelines for Budget Revision Request submissions?

CLIHTF (Chicago Low Income Housing Trust Fund) does NOT consider budget revision requests for individual rents exceeding 120% of the current Fair Market Rent (FMR) for the designated area. Click HERE to access the current FMR for your unit based on the zip code.
CLIHTF will NOT consider rent increases of more than 7% of the current rent.
CLIHTF will NOT consider budget revision requests for properties that have joined CLIHTF within the last year.
CLIHTF will NOT consider budget revision requests for properties that are out of compliance with program guidelines. This includes properties that have failed Housing Quality Standards inspections or Department of Buildings inspections.
Participants under a multi-year agreement are NOT eligible for a 2024 rent increase.
To be considered for a 2024 annual rent increase, property owners are asked to submit two comparable rent examples in the general area for the same unit size along with their completed Budget Revision Request form. Property owners can search for comparable rent rates using a third-party apartment rental website. The following links are links to popular third-party apartment rental websites: https://www.rent.com/, https://www.zillow.com/, http://apartments.com/, https://www.rentometer.com/, https://www.redfin.com/.
Property owners should NOT adjust the tenant portion of rent on the budget revision request form. Please note that the tenant portion of rent is solely based on the tenant’s income, and not the rent rate.
If applicable, properties with Special Initiative units MUST indicate the Special Initiative on the attached budget revision request form. This information can be found in Exhibit B of the property’s current annual agreement.
If applicable, properties with Special Initiative units MUST inform the designated Service Provider of the budget revision request (rent increase) so that the service provider can verify that there is funding available under that Special Initiative for a rent increase.
If applicable, properties with Special Initiative units MUST list the name of the Service Provider notified below the signature line on the budget revision request form attached.
The full Budget Revision Request form (two-pages) must be fully completed for the entire rent roll (this includes non-Trust Fund units), and the comparable rent rates must be submitted with this documentation.

*Please note that Rent increases are NOT guaranteed and are based on funding availability.

Click here to view CLIHTF's Budget Revision Request Guidelines and Forms

Click here to download the 2023/2024 Budget Revision Request Form

2.) Special Initiative Transfer Notification for Landlords

The Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund has reached an agreement to transfer the management of all "Special Initiative" unit(s) to a new administrative that will be selected by the City of Chicago in 2023. The transition will be an opportunity for landlord partners to receive continuity of social services for their tenants.
CLIHTF will continue to communicate additional details when the administrator has been selected and when the timeline for this transition has been finalized.
Note that the transfer has been postponed until approximately March of 2024.
Landlords with "Special Initiative" unit(s) should click the link below to read and download the official Special Initiative Transfer Notification, which contains updated instructions for submitting quarterly and annual submissions.

Click here to read and download CLIHTF's Special Initiative Transfer Notification

3.) Service Provider Resources

CLIHTF strongly encourages service provider partners to review the resources below on a regular basis, and to attend at least one Service Provider Partnership training session per year.

View our Service Provider Partner Package

View CLIHTF's Housing Quality Standards

View CLIHTF's Service Provider Memos the website

View CLIHTF's Service Provider Roles and Responsibilities

View a Sample Tenant Relocation Letter for Tenants

For Property Owners: Tips for Trust Fund Central

The tips and tricks below will help property owners to navigate the Trust Fund Central portal with ease.

Please note: Landlords with Special Initiative units must upload all documents to the "Interim Submissions" Tab. See tip number 5.

1. The Trust Fund Central portal is an owner-based portal. Each owner will get one username and password, and owners can share this information with the designated authorized agent(s).

2. The Trust Fund Central portal should be used on a computer or laptop. The portal is not yet compatible with smart phones.

3. The Trust Fund Central portal is most compatible with the google chrome browser.

Click here to learn more about downloading Google Chrome

4. The Trust Fund Central Portal only accepts PDF files and excel files.

5. If you are unable to submit digital quarterly payment requests under the "New Quarterly Submission" tab, you should upload the quarterly payment request form under the "Interim Submissions" tab.

6. Property owners are responsible for adding tenants to the portal, and for uploading each tenant's proof of income under the "Tenants Tab".

7. If you are unable to select the correct unit number for your tenant, please ask your Trust Fund Coordinator to update your property's unit information.

8. Property owners are responsible for uploading all leases, lease riders, lead disclosure forms, and Tenant Income Verification forms for households living in CLIHTF units. Property owners should have these documents on file while creating leases under the "leases tab".

9. Property owners can use the tab titled "Documents from TFC Liaison(s)" to download important documents from their CLIHTF liaisons.

10. Property Owners must email tfc@clihtf.org with any questions or concerns about the Trust Fund Central portal. Click the link to the right to send an email.

TFC@clihtf.org

We Would Love to Hear from You!

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The Chicago-Low Income Housing Trust Fund | Website