Multi-Family Frequently Asked Questions

The Build It Back Multi-Family Repair program provides forgivable loans or grants for repairs, reimbursements and resiliency improvements to buildings with five or more units. Eligible properties include rental buildings, condominiums and co-operatives that sustained damage due to Hurricane Sandy. The Program offers evaporating loans with zero payments and zero interest to cover the cost of improvements that repairs damage from the storm and improve the resilience of residential buildings to future storms. Loans evaporate at the end of multi-year terms and no repayment will be required unless the property is sold or refinanced during the loan term. Assistance is provided in the form of a grant to owners of individual condominium and co-operative units located in buildings with five or more units.

All multi-family property owners, individual condominium or co-op owners, and condo or co-op associations whose buildings contain five or more units and suffered damage from Hurricane Sandy should apply. Damaged buildings with fewer than five units are addressed by the Build It Back Single Family Program. Owners who received assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), private insurance, the Small Business Administration (SBA) or any other Sandy-related support may still be eligible.

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) administers the Multi-Family Program and directly issuing loans for properties that have one hundred units or more. The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) issues loans and grants on behalf of HPD to certain large scale affordable developments. For properties that consist of five to ninety-nine units, the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) issues loans and grants on behalf of HPD.

In accordance with federal policy, the Multi-Family Program prioritization for work is primarily based on the income levels of the residents of affected buildings. Buildings in which a majority of residents earn less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) as of 2013 are first priority, followed by buildings with residents earning between 80 and 165% of AMI. Buildings with residents earning above 165% of AMI are eligible, but behind the other income levels in terms of priority for repair work. For more information on income levels visit HUD's webpage on Income Limits.

The income levels of an affected building's residents are initially projected using existing City data, and then certified based on certification forms through the Program.

Applicants are required to use a bidding process to select contractors to do the repair work to the damaged buildings and units. The contractors invited to bid must be qualified to do federally funded work on multi-family building in New York City. To help ensure that the contractor chosen is qualified, the Multi-Family Program has established a list of qualified contractors, based on qualifications submitted through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process. It is possible for an owner/board to select a contractor that is not on this list, but the contractor must meet the qualifications specified in the RFQ.

For the repair work done under the Multi-Family Program, the contractors are paid based on the work completed, with a check issued to the owner. At the closing for the forgivable mortgage, contractors and building owners may be paid for soft costs.

Applicants are contacted by the Multi-Family Program to complete an application. Following the application completion and submission of the initial income verification information, such as the rent roll or income certifications, owners are contacted to schedule the damage assessment.

For a building to be considered Priority 1, the Multi-Family Program must show that over 50% of the households at the property where the project is located are low-to-moderate income (LMI).

The Multi-Family Program may reimburse building owners, associations or boards who used out of pocket funds to repair Hurricane Sandy damage to their buildings if the Program determines that the repairs and the costs associated with these repairs are both reasonable and necessary. Applicants must meet eligibility and other Program requirements before being considered for reimbursement.

The Program only reimburses for costs that were not already covered by insurance, FEMA, or other forms of assistance. The amount an owner may be eligible to be reimbursed for is based on information collected through the damage assessment on the property, as well as invoices for temporary repairs that are eligible under the Program. Reimbursement for eligible applicants will occur at the project closing.

Please note: Reimbursements are limited to repairs completed or contracts signed prior to October 29, 2013, the one year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy.