STATE LIHTC RESEARCH

Kentucky
QAP scoring guide.

Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) · 2027-2029 QAP

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● Verified guideChecked Sep 12, 2026View source QAP ↗

THE POINT TABLE

Competitive scoring

8 categories

Not stated as a fixed number in the QAP or scoring workbook. KHC's FY2027 pre-application (preliminary) rankings — explicitly disclaimed by KHC as "not an indication of which projects may be selected for funding" — show New Supply scores (out of the 75-point max) ranging from about 16 to 34.5 in the Urban pool and about 26 to 34.5 in the Balance of State pool; the Existing Supply pool is ranked 1-12 (unscored need-ranking, not points). Because these are pre-application (partial-data) scores, not final scored/awarded totals, treat this only as rough color, not a hard cutoff.

Select a category to read its scoring criteria.

PolicyMap: Renter Cost Burdens

15 pts

Applies to both Urban and Balance of State New Supply pools (15 pts each). Measures the percentage of renters in the site's census tract spending 30%+ of income on rent and utilities (PolicyMap data). Scored on a relative/blind-ranking basis against other applications in the same pool that round; the highest cost-burden percentage receives the maximum points.

PolicyMap: Median Household Income

15 (Urban) / 10 (Balance of State) pts

Local median household income as a share of area median income (PolicyMap census-tract data). Relative/blind-ranking scoring within the pool; the application with the highest median household income receives the maximum points (an opportunity-area incentive).

PolicyMap: Employment Density

15 (Balance of State only; 0 in Urban pool) pts

Jobs per acre within the site's census block group (PolicyMap data), scoring capped at 3 jobs/acre. Relative ranking; highest density gets maximum points. Balance of State pool only.

PolicyMap: Road Network Density

10 (Urban only; 0 in Balance of State pool) pts

Number of roadway intersection-to-intersection links within the site's census block group (PolicyMap data). Relative ranking; highest density gets maximum points. Urban pool only.

Significant Share of County's Affordable Units

10 (Balance of State only; 0 in Urban pool) pts

Project's affordable (income-restricted) units as a percentage of all affordable units existing plus new units under development in the county (all populations/sizes), per the National Housing Preservation Database and KHC's under-development tracking. Counties with zero existing income-restricted units automatically receive maximum points. Balance of State pool only.

Permanent Below-Market Sources

20 (Urban) / 15 (Balance of State) pts

Points awarded for permanent grants/loans at below-market terms (interest rate ≤4%, amortization ≥20 years, no unreasonable fees) or land secured for ≤$5,000, valued per unit and benchmarked against the average unit count of that round's New Supply applications (51 units in the 2026 round). All units in the project must be LIHTC units — any market-rate units make the application ineligible for these points. Highest below-market dollars per unit gets maximum points.

Revitalization Plans for QCTs

5 (Urban only; 0 in Balance of State pool) pts

Project must be in a Qualified Census Tract and within a target area of a formally adopted local revitalization/community/economic-development plan (created or updated within 10 years, or validated as still-active by an elected official's letter). The plan must be geographically specific, identify outcome goals, include a strategy for non-housing infrastructure/amenities/services commitments, and demonstrate need for both community revitalization and new multifamily units in the QCT. Urban pool only.

Family, Senior, or Supportive Housing

10 pts

Applies to both pools (10 pts each); applicant selects ONE subsection. Family: population served is "families," with 25%+ of units having 2+ bedrooms. Senior (Enriched Design): age-restricted project providing at least 5 of 8 listed aging-in-place design features (accessible kitchen/bath elements, common social spaces, enhanced lighting, etc.). Supportive Housing: serves homeless/at-risk-of-homelessness/domestic-violence-survivor populations via the local Continuum of Care's Coordinated Entry process, with a Supportive Housing Service Plan and referral/service-commitment letters. Projects serving both family and senior populations must score under the Senior subsection.

Scoring source

Kentucky Housing Corporation, 2027-2029 QAP, Section IV "New Supply Selection Criteria" (pp.5-8) -- the point-scored track the 8 categories and tiebreaker below apply to. Section III "Existing Supply Selection Criteria" (p.5) is a SEPARATE, criteria-only track for the Existing Supply/rehab set-aside: KHC states awards there are made "without determining points" and no tiebreakers apply -- it does not contribute to or share this 75-point scale. Companion "2027 Scoring Workbook": Tab "3) Scoring Overview" for the point-allocation table by pool, Tab "2) New Supply" for full category descriptions/instructions, Tab "1) Summary" for the applicant-facing score sheet. Threshold rules at 2027 Multifamily Guidelines, Chapter 3 "Application Process, Review, and Requirements," pp.15-23.

WHEN SCORES ARE CLOSE

Tie-breakers

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

Greatest number of LIHTC units in the application
Demonstrates innovative characteristics
Eligible for the historic rehabilitation tax credit
Intended for eventual tenant ownership

MODEL ASSUMPTIONS

Underwriting parameters

Kentucky Housing Corporation, 2027 Multifamily Guidelines (companion document to the 2027-2029 QAP), Chapter 6 "Underwriting Requirements," pp.38-46 (DCR/vacancy/opex at "Requirements for Underwriting" items 11 & 15-16, p.39; Developer Fee, Deferred Developer Fee, R4R, and ODR at pp.44-45; AIT at p.46); fee schedule at Chapter 1 "Project Fees," pp.10-13; vacancy/rent/expense trending defaults confirmed in the companion "2027 Underwriting Model" workbook, Tab "1)UnderwritingCriteria."

OPERATING ASSUMPTIONS

Utility allowance

Preferred method: No single default among owner-chosen options. KHC's policy sets a mandatory hierarchy of 4 "if-applicable" methods that outrank owner choice: (1) RHS/RD-assisted building's RD-prescribed UA, (2) RHS/RD tenant-assistance UA, (3) HUD-regulated building's HUD UA (Multifamily Housing Utility Analysis per Notice H-2015-4), (4) PHA Section 8 Existing Housing UA for HUD-assisted tenants. Only if none of those apply does the owner freely choose among: (5) PHA Utility Chart, (6) Local Utility Company Estimate, (7) HUD Utility Schedule Model, (8) Energy Consumption Model, or (9) a KHC Estimate based on actual consumption data — and owners may mix-and-match options 5-9 by utility type.

Kentucky Housing Corporation, "KHC Utility Allowance Policy — LIHTC, HOME, and NHTF Funded Projects" (current version dated 2026-06, hosted alongside the 2027-2029 QAP), Options 1-9 and "Timeline Requirements for Options 6-9." The 2027-2029 QAP itself (Section V, "Compliance Monitoring") does not spell out UA methodology; it incorporates "KHC's LIHTC Manual, as periodically updated" by reference, and this standalone Utility Allowance Policy is the operative document implementing Treas. Reg. 1.42-10 for KY.

YOUR NEXT STEPS

Development guides for Kentucky

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 the operating pro forma PHASE 6Cost, construction type, and the labor package PHASE 7Kentucky's real gap-money sources — and the ones that aren't real yet PHASE 8Four gates before you're competing: capacity, pre-application, application, threshold PHASE 9The clock KHC actually enforces: 18 months to close, then the federal 10% test PHASE 10Construction through placed-in-service PHASE 11Compliance, Year 15, and Kentucky's 30-year extended-use floor

Use the LIHTC feasibility checklist →