Purpose, Scope, and Goals
Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) uses Prequalification to confirm that developers, co-developers, consultants, general contractors, management entities, and sponsors/owners are capable, prepared, and in good standing before entering the funding application process.
As a critical first step, prequalification evaluates an organization’s readiness by reviewing three key areas:
- Performance of its existing portfolio
- Development track record (when applicable)
- Legal standing
Any deficiencies must be resolved before advancing, ensuring both resident protection and the long-term sustainability of OHCS-funded projects. Organizations submit their Prequalification Request Form through the OHCS website each year. Prequalification must be updated on an annual basis (12 months following approval). Applicants must be prequalified by OHCS before moving past the Impact Assessment step.
The goals of Prequalification are to:
- Reduce administrative burden for partners and OHCS by reviewing key eligibility factors once per year.
- Complete entity review tasks earlier so they don't delay project evaluations.
- Ensure organizations working with OHCS are legally sound, financially stable, and ready to complete projects successfully.
- Support equitable access by maintaining a transparent, consistent, and uniform review approach statewide.
- Identify where OHCS can offer support, technical assistance, or conditions that strengthen project readiness.;
- Provide a defensible and standardized process for determining partner eligibility.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Agreement
Developers (lead and co-developers) and development consultants complete a short online survey. This survey will direct applicants to submit an initial agreement or a renewal agreement, required annually. Partners will select goals related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and report progress on them each year.
Instructions for submittal
- Submit the Initial or Renewal DEI Agreement within 15 calendar days of an entity’s Prequalification request submission.
- Submit the Prequalification submission form.
-
Requirement to meet this standard: Initial or Renewal DEI Agreement has been submitted.
Types of Organizations Reviewed & Criteria
OHCS prequalifies five categories of partners
1. Developers (Lead or Co-Developer)
Includes nonprofit, for-profit, public, tribal, and joint-venture entities acting as sponsors/owners or developers of affordable multifamily rental housing. Developers are required to remain committed in each project’s development through financial closing.
Criteria reviewed:
-
Portfolio performance: Information on project challenges and issues will be gathered to understand how OHCS can better support developers and their projects. Problems with existing properties in OHCS’s portfolio of properties need to be addressed before the applicant can be prequalified. Examples include:
- Extended vacancies
- Unresolved compliance findings
- Unaddressed health or safety concerns
- Past projects that require material corrective action
-
Development experience: Development experience is assessed by evaluating the number of affordable rental housing projects an entity has successfully developed through financial closing and in Oregon with public funding. Qualified project development must be within the past 10 years to be considered. The minimum requirement is one project as lead developer or two projects as co-developer. Responses to this may lead OHCS to require applicants to include assistance from another prequalified developer or development consultant.
-
Legal good standing: The OHCS Integrity Certification form is designed to assess an organization’s legal and ethical standing. As part of this review, applicants must disclose information related to debarment, pending or past lawsuits and judgments, financial insolvency, organizational restructuring, conflicts of interest, and any criminal history tied to business integrity. The form also addresses matters of moral turpitude and financial responsibility. Together, these disclosures allow OHCS to gain a clear picture of whether an organization can operate responsibly and uphold the standards required for partnership.
-
Organizational continuity: The organization’s ability to maintain stable leadership and staffing, including managing turnover in key leadership roles.
-
OHCS-Funded Properties form: This form is required when an entity has any previous projects funded by OHCS.
-
DEI Agreement: Applicant has submitted their DEI Agreement. Applicants submit an initial agreement and then a renewal agreement each year.
2. Development Consultants
Professionals engaged by project sponsors to support development tasks such as project management, financing, feasibility, or compliance. Development consultants are required to remain committed in each project’s development through financial closing.
Criteria reviewed:
-
Track record of consulting on OHCS-funded or comparable public projects: Demonstrated history of providing consulting services on housing, community development, or other multifamily, publicly funded initiatives.
-
Organizational or individual expertise relevant to assigned project roles: Demonstrated experience providing technical assistance, project management, or advisory services on initiatives funded by the OHCS or similar public agencies.
-
Legal good standing: The OHCS Integrity Certification form is designed to assess an organization’s legal and ethical standing. As part of this review, applicants must disclose information related to debarment, pending or past lawsuits and judgments, financial insolvency, organizational restructuring, conflicts of interest, and any criminal history tied to business integrity. The form also addresses matters of moral turpitude and financial responsibility. Together, these disclosures allow OHCS to gain a clear picture of whether an organization can operate responsibly and uphold the standards required for partnership.
-
DEI Agreement: Applicant has submitted their DEI Agreement. Applicants submit an initial agreement and then a renewal agreement each year.
3. General Contractors
Builders responsible for delivering OHCS-funded projects.
Criteria reviewed:
-
Experience with affordable housing construction: Involvement in affordable housing projects, including the scope, complexity, and successful completion of developments that meet community needs.
-
Capacity for project scale: Assessment of organizational resources, staffing, financial strength, and operational systems to determine whether the applicant can manage projects of the proposed size and complexity.
-
Experience with state and federal labor standards and federal cross-cutting requirements: Review of familiarity and compliance with Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) prevailing wage law, Davis-Bacon labor standards, Section 3 requirements, and other state and federal cross-cutting regulations that apply to publicly funded housing projects.
-
Performance history on public projects: Consideration of past performance on projects funded by public entities, including timeliness, budget adherence, regulatory compliance, and overall quality of outcomes.
-
Licensing: Verification of an active Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) license, including license type, number, and expiration date, to ensure the contractor is legally authorized and in good standing to perform construction work in the state.
-
Legal good standing: The OHCS Integrity Certification form is designed to assess an organization’s legal and ethical standing. As part of this review, applicants must disclose information related to debarment, pending or past lawsuits and judgments, financial insolvency, organizational restructuring, conflicts of interest, and any criminal history tied to business integrity. The form also addresses matters of moral turpitude and financial responsibility. Together, these disclosures allow OHCS to gain a clear picture of whether an organization can operate responsibly and uphold the standards required for partnership.
4. Management Entities
Criteria reviewed:
-
Management capabilities: A narrative description of property and asset management capabilities, including systems, processes, and tools used to oversee operations.
-
Licensing and registration: Verification of Oregon Real Estate Agency (OREA) Principal Broker or Property Management License, including registration details and expiration dates.
-
Regulatory standing: Confirmation that the portfolio is in good standing with OHCS, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Agriculture -Rural Development (USDA-RD), lenders, and investors, with disclosure of any resolved or pending noncompliance issues.
-
Default history: Disclosure of whether any properties currently or previously managed have experienced a default, including circumstances and resolution.
-
Receivership experience: Disclosure of whether the entity has managed or been appointed receiver for defaulted or foreclosed properties, and whether developments returned to sustainable status.
-
Fair Housing compliance: Disclosure of whether, in the past five years, the entity or its personnel have been subject to housing discrimination complaints, lawsuits, or fair housing law violation actions, including details and resolutions.
-
Legal good standing: The OHCS Integrity Certification form is designed to assess an organization’s legal and ethical standing. As part of this review, applicants must disclose information related to debarment, pending or past lawsuits and judgments, financial insolvency, organizational restructuring, conflicts of interest, and any criminal history tied to business integrity. The form also addresses matters of moral turpitude and financial responsibility. Together, these disclosures allow OHCS to gain a clear picture of whether an organization can operate responsibly and uphold the standards required for partnership.
5. Sponsor/Owner Only
This is an individual, group or organization that provides resources, support, and leadership to the project team and generally “owns” the affordable housing development project.
Criteria reviewed:
- Portfolio performance: Information on project challenges and issues will be gathered to understand how OHCS can better support developers and their projects. Problems with existing properties in OHCS’s portfolio of properties need to be addressed before the applicant can be prequalified. Examples include:
- Extended vacancies
- Unresolved compliance findings/li>
- Unaddressed health or safety concerns
- Past projects that require material corrective action.;
- Development experience: Development experience is assessed by evaluating the number of affordable rental housing projects an entity has successfully developed through financial closing and in Oregon with public funding. Qualified project development must be within the past 10 years to be considered. The minimum requirement is one project as Lead developer or two projects as co-developer. Responses to this may lead OHCS to require applicants to include assistance from another prequalified developer or development consultant.
- Legal good standing: The OHCS Integrity Certification form is designed to assess an organization’s legal and ethical standing. As part of this review, applicants must disclose information related to debarment, pending or past lawsuits and judgments, financial insolvency, organizational restructuring, conflicts of interest, and any criminal history tied to business integrity. The form also addresses matters of moral turpitude and financial responsibility. Together, these disclosures allow OHCS to gain a clear picture of whether an organization can operate responsibly and uphold the standards required for partnership.
Required Conditions
- Prequalification renewals may be submitted no earlier than ten months following the prior approval date. Submissions received earlier than this window will not be accepted unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate a substantive change that materially affects eligibility or risk. This timing is intended to reduce unnecessary administrative burden and ensure that prequalification reviews remain meaningful, current, and efficient for both applicants and OHCS. Where no material change has occurred, early resubmissions provide no program benefit and will be returned without review.
- Applicants must respond to OHCS requests for clarification, correction, or missing information and submit all required documentation, using the correct forms and current legal entity names, within 15 calendar days of OHCS outreach.
- Failure to respond or to provide complete and accurate information within the 15-day period will result in denial of the Prequalification Request.&
- If a required DEI Agreement is not submitted within the response period, the Prequalification Request will not be approved.
- If a Culturally Specific Organization (CSO) Certification Form (when applicable) is not submitted or confirmed within the response period, the organization will be treated as not CSO-registered for that Prequalification Request.
- Organizations whose Prequalification Requests are denied due to non-response or incomplete documentation may submit a new request when ready to provide complete and accurate information.
What to Expect After Submittal
After submission, OHCS will review the form along with any attachments provided. During this process, staff may reach out to request clarifications or additional documents if needed. The typical review period may take up to 10 business days before a decision or next steps are communicated. At the conclusion of the review, the outcome will be one of three possibilities:
- The applicant is prequalified
- The applicant is prequalified with conditions (such as the requirement to partner with a consultant or co-developer)
- The applicant is not prequalified
OHCS maintains a
Partner Database Registry to support connections within the affordable housing sector and help communities explore potential solutions to housing challenges. This list shows the entities that are prequalified and the primary contact information they provided.
How to Appeal or Request a Waiver
If an organization disagrees with a determination or wishes to request reconsideration email the Applications Team at app.team@hcs.oregon.gov. OHCS will review appeals on a case-by-case basis.
Appeals may include:
- Clarifying information
- Documentation correcting or explaining issues;
- Updated materials
- A request for a legal good standing waiver, which must be approved by the Deputy Director of Affordable Rental Housing (ARH) Development.
OHCS Discretion, Reservations, and Disclosures
OHCS maintains full discretion and authority to determine whether an entity is eligible to conduct business with the state through its housing programs. This includes:
- Determining whether an applicant’s experience and performance meet minimum standards
- Placing reasonable conditions on prequalification
- Requiring additional oversight or review
- Denying prequalification request when necessary to protect program integrity, public resources, and resident safety
- Revoking or suspending prequalification if material issues arise
Prequalification is not a guarantee of funding. It simply confirms that an organization is eligible to participate in OHCS programs and that its team has acceptable experience, standing, and performance history to apply for funding.
Public Records
Information submitted via the Prequalification Request Form is subject to Oregon Public Records Law (ORS 192.311). OHCS may publish certain information, including the primary contact email provided, on its public registry.
This is Version 2026.1 of the Prequalification Guidelines.