New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency

Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha Way

New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency

UNIAP - Application for Financing



What is UNIAP?

UNIAP is the Unified Application for HMFA Multifamily Rental Housing Production Programs. It is the one place to go to apply for:

  1. Multifamily Financing Programs - One [1] electronic copy- see below instructions
  2. Low Income Housing Tax Credits - One [1] electronic copy- see below instructions; one paper copy.
  3. Supported Housing and Special Needs Programs - One [1] electronic copy- see below instructions

Projects often require funding from more than one of the programs listed above. The UNIAP consolidates the application process across programs, in order to reduce the number of forms you need to fill out.

Before Applying: Review the program information available on this website and the program guidelines within the UNIAP. Please contact the appropriate program staff, particularly if you are seeking Special Needs financing, for pre-application guidance and instructions.

IMPORTANT UPDATE
Please note, the financial structure of a financing application cannot be changed once the application has been submitted successfully and has reached an “application completed” status. In the event the financing structure changes after the “application completed” status (i.e., a single borrower entity changes to a co-borrowing entity) the initial application will be considered closed/inactive. The developer will be required to submit a new application which sets forth the revised financing structure and any other changes to the project, including but not limited to the download of a new form 10, upload new documents as well as payment of another non-refundable application fee. The developer should also keep in mind the timeline to reach the HMFA Board could be affected during the process.





2025 Tax Credit Application Updates

The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency will be conducting two competitive 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit Rounds in 2025

The first will be a smaller Spring 2025 round and the second round will be in the Fall 2025.

   9% Spring Round Application Deadlines:

          Family, Senior, and Supportive Housing Cycles
          Friday, May 16, 2025 by noon 12:00 PM

          Mixed Income Reserve
          Beginning March 31 through
          May 16, 2025 by noon 12:00 PM (rolling)

   Approximately $12M in 9% tax credits will be made available during the Spring Round

Submission Requirements
Submit one hard paper copy of the application by the filing deadline to 637 South Clinton Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08611 AND an electronic copy of your application through LeapFile to (NJHMFAtaxcredits@njhmfa.gov) 

Please separate your application into four distinct files/folders and label accordingly (Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV). LeapFile instructions can be found on the LIHTC Resources and FAQs page. 

Application Fee:
The 9% application fee is $5,000. Payment of the application fee is required in order for a 9% application to be considered complete.   The application fee is due by the application deadline or the application will not be accepted.

For wire payments, please contact Johanna Pena at jpena@njhmfa.gov.

Underwriting Guidelines 
The underwriting guidelines shall be as follows: 
  
Equity Range 
No equity range will be established for the 2025 9% round. Applicants should underwrite at pricing based upon a commitment from their equity investor.  Applications without a firm commitment from an equity investor shall be underwritten at $.90.
  
Applicable Percentage 

  1. 9.00% for the 70% present value credit 
  2. 4.00% for the 30% present value credit 

Average Income Set-Aside: 
Please be advised that 9% Applicants will NOT be permitted to underwrite assuming the new “Average Income” or “Income Averaging” federal minimum set-aside election in 2025 applications. 

All 2025 applicants must select either the 20% at 50% or 40% at 60% minimum set aside and adhere to current underwriting parameters (units underwritten above 60% of Area Median Income will be treated as market rate or unrestricted). After award, owners should notify the Agency of any substantive changes to the project, including a requested change in minimum set aside by no later than carryover/ binding commitment.





2025 UNIAP Documents

2025 Documents will be available in the coming weeks. See below for Application, Guides and Worksheets. (You will need Microsoft Word and Excel installed on your computer to open the .doc and .xls files, respectively.) 





Questions?

Contact the Tax Credit division by sending your written questions to the LIHTC mailbox NJHMFAtaxcredits@njhmfa.gov.

All questions and responses will be posted in the FAQs. Applicants are encouraged to check the FAQs  periodically for updates.