Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) announced the opening of the 9% LIHTC Funding Request Form and updates to the Oregon Centralized Application (ORCA) manual (Version 2.2). Affordable rental housing projects seeking to request 9% LIHTC resources to develop or preserve housing will have the opportunity to submit their projects for consideration. 

As outlined in the State of Oregon 2025 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), projects seeking 9% LIHTC resources must complete a 9% LIHTC Request Form as well as an ORCA Project Intake indicating their interest and including key details about their projects that will be used in a competitive selection process. The form will: 

  • Remain open until February 25, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. 
  • Be used to evaluate, screen, and if necessary, rank 9% LIHTC project requests by the adopted tie-breaker criteria outlined in the QAP. 
  • This form collects more detailed information than the ORCA Project Intake Form. 

Additional Support: 

Important Notes: 

  • In addition to completing the 9% Request Form, all projects must also submit an ORCA Project Intake Form listing 9% LIHTC as a requested resource. 
  • 9% LIHTC ORCA Project Intake submissions prior to December 2025 must submit a new intake form to request 9% LIHTC funding. OHCS will not review 9% LIHTC Request Forms without an updated ORCA Project Intake Form. 
  • OHCS anticipates that 9% LIHTC project selections will be completed by June 2026. Selected projects will proceed through the ORCA Impact Assessment to receive a conditional award of resources and must meet all ORCA and LIHTC requirements and standards. Project changes from the 9% LIHTC Request Form may jeopardize final funding commitment. 

Summary of ORCA Updates: 

Version 2.2 of the ORCA Manual incorporates updates and clarifications for the 9% LIHTC program fund offering as well as updates and extends prequalification to general contractors and management entities, including: 

  • Updated ORCA Set-Aside guidance including updated per project limit on paired resources for 9% LIHTC projects. In addition to 9% LIHTC (which are limited based on QAP policy), projects may apply for paired gap funds based on affordable rental housing project type:
    • Preservation: Max $3 million per project 
    • Permanent supportive housing: Max $4 million per project
    • New construction: Max $3 million per project 
  • Revised prequalification guidelines and extended prequalification to include general contractors and management entities in addition to sponsors/owners, developers, and consultants. 
  • Incorporates requirements for 9% LIHTC projects requesting additional gap subsidy for Equity in Contracting or Unique Design Features. 
  • Incorporates updates to the Development Team Capacity worksheet, Impact Assessment application, and Site Review Checklist. These updated supplemental forms are now available in Procorem WorkCenters.