Site control and due diligence — Louisiana

Site Control is a light threshold with a vague backstop standard -- the real risk sits in that vagueness

LHC's Site Control threshold (Section IV.A.3) requires that "[s]ite control is required at the time of application and may be documented by a purchase agreement, an option to purchase, an extended term lease, or a valid title in the name of the taxpayer or developer." Unlike states that set a floor -- a minimum multi-decade ground lease term, for example -- this QAP states no minimum term for a purchase agreement, option, or lease. The same threshold item adds an open-ended second requirement: the Application "must identify the site locations and ensure that the site will not have any impediments or require extraordinary costs to develop the site." Neither "impediments" nor "extraordinary costs" is defined elsewhere in the QAP, which leaves this half of the threshold to LHC's own judgment at review rather than a fixed checklist -- worth a direct confirmation call with LHC on a site with any known complication, rather than assuming a specific test controls.

For a Scattered Site Project, the glossary's own definition sets the practical site-control bar higher than a single deed or contract: units must sit on separately subdivided lots (evidenced by a subdivision plat or proposed plat), a single building may contain no more than two housing units when the project is non-contiguous, and points for Community Facilities are unavailable if the scattered sites are on non-contiguous land. Site-control evidence for a scattered-site deal has to reach every separately subdivided lot, not just one instrument covering an assemblage.

Zoning documentation: a map, a signed local letter, and one real escape hatch, verified from LHC's own form

The Zoning threshold (Section IV.A.4) requires (a) an official local jurisdiction map showing the site is zoned for the proposed project type, and (b) a signed letter from a jurisdiction official stating either that the project is consistent with existing zoning or that a zoning change permitting the project will be completed no later than the LIHTC reservation date. The QAP is explicit on format: "notifications sent via email will NOT be accepted."

LHC's own Zoning Certification form (an application exhibit LHC labels Appendix 4) confirms the actual scope of that letter directly: it presents four checkbox findings for the local official to select from -- that the property is properly zoned for the proposed project; that the developer has submitted a request to zone the site for multi-family use; that the property is not properly zoned for the proposed project; or that "the property has not been zoned by this authority and no request has been made." That fourth checkbox is Louisiana's version of the "jurisdiction does not enforce zoning" escape hatch other states also provide, confirmed directly from LHC's own form rather than inferred from the QAP's narrative text.

Infrastructure and legal-description documentation round out the threshold package

Infrastructure (Section IV.A.5) requires evidence that electrical, water, and sewer lines are available to the site; evidence that reasonable transportation service is proximate, or a narrative on how tenants will otherwise reach services; and, for family projects, evidence that primary educational facilities are reasonably available plus notification to the local public school system of the project's estimated school-age population. Legal Description of Project Property Site (Section IV.A.16) requires a legal description and map by parish, municipality, subdivision, tract, section, range, and boundary; a Scattered Site Project may substitute street addresses per site; and once submitted, "[n]o additional sites may be included without LHC approval."

None of this documentation stands alone: the Minimum Score threshold (Section IV.A.17) requires "a minimum selection criteria score of forty (40) points" for every Application, including tax-exempt bond deals. A perfectly documented site-control, zoning, and infrastructure package clears its own threshold items but does not by itself clear an Application if the broader Selection Criteria score falls short of 40.

Environmental due diligence: LHC's own checklist for existing structures, plus a much heavier federal review once soft funds are layered in

The Environmental Review threshold (Section IV.A.6) applies specifically to "projects involving use of existing structures": an Environmental Restrictions Checklist completed by a professional licensed to conduct environmental testing, with any finding mitigated or abated under an Operating and Maintenance Plan (including on-site personnel training) and mitigation costs built into the project budget. LHC's own Environmental Restrictions Checklist form lays out exactly what that professional has to evaluate: FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area status and flood insurance; National Register of Historic Places listing or eligibility; airport clear-zone hazards under 24 CFR Part 51, Subpart D; evidence of hazardous manufacturing operations at or near the site; explosive or flammable material storage under 24 CFR Part 51, Subpart C; underground storage tanks (registration, leak-test history, and closure status for any out-of-service tank); polychlorinated biphenyls in electrical equipment installed before a stated cutoff date; asbestos-containing insulation or fire-retardant materials; lead-based paint in any residential structure built before 1978 (tied to 24 CFR 35's risk-assessment and Operations and Maintenance Plan requirements); and easements, deed restrictions, or other use restrictions on the property.

A materially heavier layer applies only once federal soft funds enter the deal. LHC's own "Introduction to the Environmental Review Process" training materials describe a full National Environmental Policy Act review under 24 CFR Part 58, required for any project funded in whole or part with HOME, CDBG, National Housing Trust Fund, or Continuum of Care dollars -- not triggered by a LIHTC allocation on its own. Projects are sorted into Exempt/Categorically Excluded tiers or into a full Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement, evaluated against sixteen named "Laws & Authorities" categories that include Coastal Zone Management, floodplain management, wetlands protection, historic preservation, and environmental justice alongside the more familiar contamination, noise, and endangered-species reviews. Required consultations include the State Historic Preservation Office and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. LHC's own materials note that a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment's practical shelf life "expires after 1 year and requires updating after 6 months from the initial site visit date," and that a full review can run "3 months (great) -- 6 months (average) -- 12+ months (possible)" before the record is submitted to HUD's national Environmental Review Online System (HEROS). Treat this as a separate, additive process layered on top of the QAP's own Environmental Restrictions Checklist threshold, not a substitute for it.

Flood and resiliency due diligence changed substantially in LHC's own January 2026 amendment

As covered in Site Sourcing and Screening, LHC's January 2026 amendment rewrote Threshold #1 (Resiliency Construction Requirements), dropping the prior version's Flood Factor risk-rating disclosure, its AE-zone-only construction restriction, its "2016 Great Floods" history question, and its wetlands-mitigation-plus-Army-Corps-permit narrative -- replacing them with a shorter standard keyed to 44 CFR 59.1 and 24 CFR 55.2(b)(10): lowest floor at least 2 feet above Base Flood Elevation, no residential structure in a floodway, and floodproofing to 44 CFR 60.3(c)(3)(ii) for mixed-use structures with no residents below that elevation. A due-diligence package assembled against the superseded language -- including the earlier rehab-specific rule that permitted rehabilitation in a floodplain "ONLY IF the lowest existing floor elevation ... is at least three (3) feet above the FEMA designated floodplain elevation" -- is documenting a standard LHC no longer states in the current QAP.

One flood-related threshold item is stable across both versions and can be relied on as written: Flood Requirements (Section IV.A.12) requires every project in a Special Flood Hazard Area to meet National Flood Insurance Program criteria under 44 CFR 60.3, elevating at minimum to the Base Flood Elevation shown on the applicable Flood Insurance Rate Map or Flood Insurance Study, plus a finished-construction Elevation Certificate and, for a site inside a levee-protected area, an Architect's certification.

For acquisition and rehabilitation deals, three further Threshold IV.B items round out title and financial due diligence: Audited Financials of Project from Seller (IV.B.1) requires the project's last three years of audited financials, with tax returns or compiled financials accepted as an LHC-approved alternative; Sales Price with Related Persons in Seller and Purchaser (IV.B.2) states that "LHC will not recognize a sales price in excess of the appraised value," and for the gap analysis reduces the recognized sales price by the spread between appraised value and the sum of sales price plus any seller-retained reserves; and Ten Year Title History (IV.B.3) requires "a ten-year title history of all property and a summary of the parties owning and purchasing the property (including price paid) within the ten year period" -- a distinct documentation requirement from Site Control, not satisfied by the same purchase contract alone.

Appraisal, Capital Needs Assessment, and a Coastal Use Permit LHC's own checklist never mentions

Appraisal (Threshold IV.B.6) is required "if the purchase price exceeds $500,000 or if the Acquisition Costs of buildings are included in Eligible Basis" -- a bright-line dollar/basis test rather than a related-party test. The appraisal must value the property "as is," before construction or rehabilitation and without regard to tax-credit or project-based-voucher financial effects, and cannot be dated more than 180 days before Application Submission. Capital Needs Assessment (Threshold IV.B.5) requires an architect or engineer, dated within six months of submission, with a demonstrated background evaluating accessibility under the Fair Housing Act, Section 504, and the ADA; the CNA must identify the age and condition of major building systems, specify twenty years of anticipated repair and replacement-reserve funding, estimate remaining useful life, and either identify environmental hazards directly or incorporate a Phase I Environmental as an exhibit.

None of LHC's own threshold documentation reaches Louisiana's separate Coastal Use Permit requirement. For a site inside the statutory Coastal Zone established under the State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978 (La. R.S. 49:214.21 et seq.), a Coastal Use Permit from the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources' Office of Coastal Management is required before commencing a "use of state or local concern" -- a state permitting step that sits entirely outside the QAP's own document checklist and should be added to a Louisiana due-diligence package independently for any coastal-parish site.