STATE LIHTC RESEARCH

Florida
QAP scoring guide.

Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) · 2026 QAP

Browse all states ↗

● Verified guideChecked Sep 12, 2026View source QAP ↗

THE POINT TABLE

Competitive scoring

9 categories

Not meaningful in the traditional multi-state sense. Because the additive scored total in FL's competitive RFAs caps at only 10 points for two simple administrative-compliance items (which the large majority of complete Applications satisfy in full), FHFC does not publish or reference a competitive "winning score" threshold. Which Applications get funded is instead driven by set-aside/priority-pool funding availability, the specific numeric Goals, Leveraging Classification, Development Category and Job Creation preferences, County Award Tally balancing, and ultimately the random lottery number described in scoring_categories.

Select a category to read its scoring criteria.

Principals Disclosure Form Timeliness

5 pts

5 points if the Applicant/Developer Principals Disclosure Form is stamped "Received" at least 14 calendar days before the Application Deadline AND stamped "Approved" before the deadline (a single combined condition, not two alternative paths).

Bookmarking Attachments

5 pts

5 points for properly bookmarking all Application attachments prior to submission. Together with the item above, these are the ENTIRE additive point system in the RFA — "Total Possible Points" is stated as 10.

Proximity Score (non-additive; threshold + tiebreak only)

See criteria

Distance-based points for Transit Services (max 6 pts: Private Transportation 2 pts, or a Public Bus Stop/Bus Transfer Stop/Bus Rapid Transit Stop/Rail Station up to 6 pts each) plus up to three Community Services (Grocery Store, Medical Facility, Pharmacy, Public School), up to 4 pts each, plus a 3-pt PHA/RD-515 proximity boost. The RFA states explicitly: "Proximity points will not be applied towards the total score." They only (a) gate a pass/fail minimum-proximity eligibility threshold (4.0–7.0+ pts depending on pool/goal status) and (b) determine whether the Application separately qualifies for a non-additive "Proximity Funding Preference" used later as a tiebreaker in the funding-selection sort order (9.0+ or 6.0+ pts depending on county size).

Leveraging Classification (Group A vs Group B)

See criteria

Non-point funding preference/sort criterion. Applications are classified A or B based on total Corporation funding requested per set-aside unit (Eligible HC Request × 8.5, adjusted by a PHA multiplier and, for new construction, a Leveraging Factor). Group A (more leveraged, i.e., less Corporation dollars per unit) is sorted above Group B — it is a ranking rule, not additive points.

Development Category Funding Preference

See criteria

Non-point preference. New Construction automatically qualifies; Rehabilitation (with/without Acquisition) qualifies only if the Applicant affirmatively certifies the Development does NOT meet the state's definition of "Preservation." Qualifying Applications sort above non-qualifying ones.

Florida Job Creation Funding Preference

See criteria

Non-point preference. A formula — (units × a per-Development-Type FL job-creation rate × $1,000,000) ÷ (Eligible HC Request × 8.5) — must clear a minimum "Florida Job Creation score"; qualifying Applications sort above non-qualifying ones.

Funding Goals (Permit Ready / Local Government Areas of Opportunity / SunRail / Geographic Areas of Opportunity-SADDA)

See criteria

A handful of specific numeric "Goals" are filled first, ahead of the general ranked pool — e.g., a goal to fund 1 "Permit Ready" Application, 4 Applications demonstrating sustained Local Government support (with sub-preferences for support since 2022 vs. 2023), 1 SunRail-proximate Application, and 1 Medium-County Family Application in a Geographic/SADDA-designated area. Each Goal has its own internal sort order (reusing Development Category Preference, Leveraging Classification, Proximity Preference, Job Creation Preference, then lottery number).

County Award Tally (geographic balancing)

See criteria

Within a pool, the Corporation prioritizes eligible unfunded Applications located in counties with the lowest running "County Award Tally" over otherwise higher-ranked Applications in counties that already have more awards, before finally exhausting the general ranked list.

Lottery Number (final tiebreaker)

See criteria

Every timely Application is assigned a randomly generated lottery number by FHFC's internal auditors immediately after the Application Deadline. Once all scored/preference/goal sorting is exhausted, the LOWEST lottery number wins — in practice this is Florida's dominant, often outcome-determining tiebreak mechanism, since the vast majority of complete Applications tie on the 10-point additive score.

Scoring source

The 2026 QAP, Part II authorizes competitive solicitations generally and states such solicitations "will set forth additional selection criteria and preferences," pointing to Rule Chapter 67-60, F.A.C. as the governing competitive-solicitation-process rule. The specific point/threshold/preference mechanics reported above are drawn from RFA 2024-201, Section Five ("Scoring and Evaluation Process"), pp. 76-81 of 132 (Eligibility Items table; "Awarding Points" table; Funding Selection Process sort order), pp. 99-101 (Leveraging Classification, Florida Job Creation Funding Preference), and Exhibit C, Item 2 (Transit/Community Service Proximity Scoring Charts). CAVEAT: the current-cycle equivalent for this pool, RFA 2025-201 (Small & Medium Counties), was issued 10/22/2025, due 11/18-19/2025, and Board-approved 1/30/2026 — I confirmed it exists and its funding amounts (~$1.73M small-county / ~$17.67M medium-county 9% HC) via search snippets, but could not directly download/open its final RFA PDF in this session (repeated URL-pattern probes on floridahousing.org 404'd, and the fetch tool hit a certificate error on that host), so its exact current point values were not independently re-verified against the 2024-201 figures used here. FHFC's RFA structure is materially stable year-to-year, but treat exact numeric thresholds (proximity minimums, funding amounts, Job Creation multipliers) as sourced to the 2024-201 cycle specifically, not confirmed current for 2025-201/202/203.

WHEN SCORES ARE CLOSE

Tie-breakers

Review the agency’s tie-breaker rules alongside the scoring criteria.

Development Category Funding Preference (New Construction auto-qualifies; Rehabilitation only via an affirmative non-Preservation certification)
Leveraging Classification: Group A (more leveraged) ranked over Group B
Proximity Funding Preference
Permit Ready Tier status
Florida Job Creation Funding Preference
Random lottery number assigned to every timely Application at the Application Deadline; lowest number wins

BEYOND THE SCORE

Development strategy

Explore the documented considerations behind a competitive application.

Stack funds for the top Leveraging tier

Florida Housing's RFA tie-breaker sorts by Leveraging Classification first, then Proximity Funding Preference, then Job Creation Funding Preference, then lottery number -- stack SAIL/HOME/local funds to reach the top Leveraging tier, and site or negotiate improvements around the measured proximity criteria, since that clears the tie-breakers that matter most before the ones that matter less.

Florida Housing Finance Corporation -- Competitive (RFA) Programs ↗

Match tiebreaker weight to the right RFA

FHFC's tiebreaker order isn't fixed across every RFA -- the 2026 geographic 9% RFAs (2026-201/202/203) sort Leveraging Classification first and Proximity third, but the SAIL-for-4%-bond RFA (2026-205) sorts Proximity first instead. A site's measured distance to transit, grocery, and schools carries far more weight on a 4%/bond deal than a 9% one; confirm which RFA a site is actually competing under before assuming how much proximity matters.

Florida Housing Finance Corporation -- RFA 2026-205 (SAIL/4% Bonds) vs. RFA 2026-201/202/203 (9% HC) tiebreaker order ↗

Treat the RFA score itself as a formality

Real 2026 award data: 74 of 74 applicants scored the identical maximum in RFA 2026-201, 43 of 44 in 2026-202, and 27 of 32 in 2026-203 -- 96% tied at the ceiling across all three. The RFA's own point total (10-15 points) barely differentiates anyone; the sorting chain below it (Leveraging, then Proximity, then Permit-Ready Tier, then Developer Experience, then Job Creation, then lottery) is what actually decides who gets funded.

Florida Housing Finance Corporation -- 2026 RFA Review Committee Application Scores (real posted award-cycle data, pending Board ratification 9/25/26) ↗

MODEL ASSUMPTIONS

Underwriting parameters

Rule Chapter 67-48.0072, F.A.C. ("Credit Underwriting and Loan Procedures") is the core underwriting-standards rule for SAIL/HOME/Competitive HC, and is referenced directly in the 2026 QAP (Section II: "Prior to the issuance of a Housing Credit Allocation, a Development must be underwritten in accordance with Rule 67-48.0072, F.A.C., or as outlined in a competitive solicitation..."). The parallel bond/Non-Competitive HC underwriting rule is Rule 67-21.026, F.A.C. All quantitative underwriting parameters above (DCR, vacancy floor, reserves, developer fee, escalation) were pulled from Rule Chapter 67-48, F.A.C. (effective 8-27-24, 45 pp.) and Rule Chapter 67-21, F.A.C. (effective 8-27-24, 40 pp.) — not from the QAP PDF itself. The 2026 QAP (qap2026.pdf, downloaded directly from the URL provided) is a short 4-page substantive document that delegates essentially all quantitative underwriting standards to these separate administrative rules.

OPERATING ASSUMPTIONS

Utility allowance

Preferred method: local_pha

FHFC Energy Consumption Model (ECM) Utility Allowance Procedures and Approved Provider List ↗

FHFC Compliance Guidebook, Ch. 5 (Housing Credit), Section E.2 "Utility Allowance" (rev. Aug. 2009, still the current posted guidebook), which implements 26 U.S.C./Treas. Reg. §1.42-10; plus FHFC's separate "Energy Consumption Model (ECM) Utility Allowance Procedures," rev. 4/8/2026. The 2026 QAP PDF itself contains no utility-allowance section (confirmed by full-text search — zero hits for "utility").

YOUR NEXT STEPS

Development guides for Florida

PHASE 1Site sourcing and screening PHASE 2Site control and due diligence PHASE 3Entitlement pathway election PHASE 4Program election (9% vs 4% vs hybrid)PHASE 5Rents/income limits and operating pro forma PHASE 6Cost, construction type and labor package PHASE 7Capital stack and soft money PHASE 8Application assembly and submission PHASE 9Post-award readiness clock PHASE 10Construction through placed-in-service PHASE 11Compliance, year 15, and the affordability tail

Use the LIHTC feasibility checklist →