Governor Walz approved the 2026-2027 HTC Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP)—which includes the Self-Scoring Worksheet—on Feb. 21, 2025. The HTC QAP determines the policy priorities and the process by which Minnesota Housing will manage the Federal LIHTC program. This QAP sets the overall funding priorities for Minnesota Housing’s 2025 Multifamily Consolidated RFP/2026 HTC Rounds and the 2026 Multifamily Consolidated RFP/2027 HTC Rounds. 

The QAP has been updated to include some important changes: 

  • Preservation: Revised selection criteria for preservation of developments with existing rental assistance to remove barriers at application, reduce upfront application costs, expand eligibility and prioritize the needs of developments in distress and those with more severe critical physical needs (Self-Scoring Worksheet, pages 14-18); 
  • Geographic Location: Revised selection criteria related to geographic location to enhance the competitiveness of smaller, more rural cities. The changes now recognize that all cities, regardless of size, have a need for housing and acknowledge the challenges that smaller, rural communities experience (Self-Scoring Worksheet, pages 23-26); 
  • Innovative Construction Techniques: Created an Innovative Construction Techniques selection criterion, which incentivizes applicants to reduce construction costs and/or reduce the time a project is under construction (Self-Scoring Worksheet, pages 40-42); 
  • Climate Change and Action: Continued to incentivize energy efficiency, climate resiliency and renewable energy by increasing the points for the Enhanced Sustainability selection criteria. The Enhanced Sustainability selection criteria emphasize the importance of long-term sustainability, and the strategies used during construction aimed at slowing down or reversing the negative impacts of human-caused climate change (Self-Scoring Worksheet, pages 43-44); 
  • Unacceptable Practices: Revised the Unacceptable Practices section to simplify and streamline the penalty language so the potential penalties are consistent for each unacceptable practice. An unacceptable practice regarding violation of local, state or federal laws was added. This will apply to any new or existing state or federal requirements, including prevailing wages and wage theft prevention. An unacceptable practice regarding violations of a new policy (to be set forth in the HTC Compliance Guide) requiring a 120-day written notice to the tenant for any rent increase in excess of five percent was also added (QAP, pages 13-16); and 
  • Right of First Refusal: Added a requirement that all HTC projects involving ownership by qualified nonprofit organizations grant a right of first refusal to the nonprofit to better protect and preserve the long-term affordability of HTC properties and to protect units from converting to market-rate (QAP, pages 39-40). 

The 2026-2027 QAP, Self-Scoring Worksheet and a summary of the changes can be found on Minnesota Housing’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and Housing Tax Credits webpages. There you will also find the Methodology Guide, which explains several selection criteria outlined in the Self-Scoring Worksheet. 

New application materials and processes for the 2025 Multifamily Consolidated RFP/2026 HTC Round 1 will reflect the changes made in the 2026-2027 QAP and Self-Scoring Worksheet.