On August 28, 2023, RD’s Office of Multifamily Housing sent out the following information:
Rural Housing Service is pleased to announce guidance on the treatment of financial benefits from solar programs participation realized by Rural Development (RD) multifamily housing owners or tenants. These benefits are a result of participation in a community solar program or the presence of an on-site solar facility.
Many community solar programs and on-site solar incentive programs stipulate that financial benefits must be distributed to tenants as a condition of program eligibility. The guidance, located on our Multifamily Housing Programs website in the Tools and Resources section, addresses whether such financial benefits are to be factored into the property’s annual utility allowance analysis and/or tenant income calculations.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), expanded or created several programs to finance solar facilities, including some targeted to affordable multifamily housing. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service issued final rules and procedural guidance for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit program under Section 48(e) of the Internal Revenue Code and announced the application process will open by early fall.
If you have questions regarding this guidance, you may contact the project’s assigned servicing specialist in the MFH Field Operations Division. The assigned specialist can be found on the Agency’s website at https://www.sc.egov.usda.gov/data/MFH.html and selecting the link under the heading Multifamily Housing 514 & 515 Property Assignments.