Section 1101. Definitions

For the purposes of this article:
    1. "Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of the state division of
  housing and community renewal.
    2.  "Corporation"  shall  mean  the  housing  trust  fund  corporation
  established by section forty-five-a of this chapter.
    3.  "Rehabilitation"  shall  mean  all  work  necessary  to  bring   a
  residential  property  into  compliance  with  all  applicable  laws and
  regulations including but not limited to the  installation,  replacement
  or  repair  of heating, plumbing, electrical and related systems and the
  elimination of all hazardous and immediately hazardous violations in the
  structure in accordance with state and local  laws  and  regulations  of
  state and local agencies. Rehabilitation may also include reconstruction
  or  work  to  improve the habitability or prolong the useful life of the
  residential property.
    * 4. "Cooperative project" or "condominium  project"  shall  mean  any
  vacant  residential  or nonresidential property, or any portion thereof,
  or any distressed residential property, which, subsequent to  conversion
  or  rehabilitation under this article, will be owned as a cooperative or
  a  condominium  or  new  residential  construction  to  be  owned  as  a
  cooperative or a condominium.
    * NB Effective until July 1, 2010
    * 4.  "Cooperative  project"  or  "condominium project" shall mean any
  vacant residential or nonresidential property, or any  portion  thereof,
  or   any   underoccupied  residential  property,  which,  subsequent  to
  conversion or rehabilitation under this article,  will  be  owned  as  a
  cooperative or a condominium or new residential construction to be owned
  as a cooperative or a condominium.
    * NB Effective July 1, 2010
    * 5.  "Homesteading  project"  shall  mean  any  vacant residential or
  nonresidential property, or  any  portion  thereof,  or  any  distressed
  residential   property,  or  any  new  residential  construction  which,
  subsequent to construction,  conversion  or  rehabilitation  under  this
  article,  will  contain less than five dwelling units, have at least one
  owner occupant and not be owned as a cooperative or a condominium.
    * NB Effective until July 1, 2010
    * 5. "Homesteading project"  shall  mean  any  vacant  residential  or
  nonresidential  property,  or  any portion thereof, or any underoccupied
  residential  property,  or  any  new  residential  construction   which,
  subsequent  to  construction,  conversion  or  rehabilitation under this
  article, will contain less than five dwelling units, have at  least  one
  owner occupant and not be owned as a cooperative or a condominium.
    * NB Effective July 1, 2010
    * 6.   "Rental   project"   shall   mean  any  vacant  residential  or
  nonresidential property, or  any  portion  thereof,  or  any  distressed
  residential   property,  or  any  new  residential  construction  which,
  subsequent to construction,  conversion  or  rehabilitation  under  this
  article, will be owned and operated as rental residential property.
    * NB Effective until July 1, 2010
    * 6.   "Rental   project"   shall   mean  any  vacant  residential  or
  nonresidential property, or any portion thereof,  or  any  underoccupied
  residential   property,  or  any  new  residential  construction  which,
  subsequent to construction,  conversion  or  rehabilitation  under  this
  article, will be owned and operated as rental residential property.
    * NB Effective July 1, 2010
    7.  "Eligible  applicant" shall mean a person of low income, a housing
  development fund company incorporated pursuant to article eleven of this
  chapter, a not-for-profit corporation or charitable  organization  which
  has  as  one  of  its  primary  purposes  the improvement of housing for

  persons of low income, a wholly-owned subsidiary of such  a  corporation
  or organization, a partnership at least fifty percent of the controlling
  interest  of  which  is  held  by such a corporation or organization and
  which  has  agreed  to  limit  profits or rate of return of investors in
  accordance with a formula established or approved by the corporation  or
  a  private developer which has agreed to limit profits or rate of return
  of investors in accordance with a formula established or approved by the
  corporation, a city, town or village, or a  county,  provided,  however,
  that  the  county  is only acting as an administrator of a program under
  which  projects  are  rehabilitated  or  constructed  or  nonresidential
  properties  are  converted  by other eligible applicants, or a municipal
  housing authority created pursuant to the public housing law,  provided,
  however,  that  any  real  property  of  such  housing  authority  to be
  rehabilitated, constructed or converted under  this  article  shall  not
  have  been financed pursuant to the provisions of the public housing law
  and shall not have been owned by such authority  prior  to  July  first,
  nineteen  hundred eighty-six and provided further, however, that persons
  of low income shall not be direct  recipients  of  payments,  grants  or
  loans from the corporation under this article but may receive such funds
  from another eligible applicant.
    8.   "Conversion"   shall   mean   all   work   necessary  to  convert
  nonresidential property into a cooperative or condominium,  homesteading
  or rental rehabilitation project.
    * 9.  "Nonresidential  property"  shall mean any property which is not
  residential property and is underutilized.
    * NB Effective until July 1, 2010
    * 9. "Nonresidential property" shall mean any property  which  is  not
  residential property and is vacant.
    * NB Effective July 1, 2010
    10. "Persons of low income" shall mean (a) in cities with a population
  of one million or more persons, those persons and families whose incomes
  do  not  exceed eighty percent of the median income for the metropolitan
  statistical area in which a project is located; provided however that in
  the case of an owner occupant of a homesteading project, "persons of low
  income" shall also mean those persons and families whose incomes do  not
  exceed  eighty percent of the median income for the state and (b) in the
  portion of the state outside cities with a population of one million  or
  more  persons,  (i)  and  within  a  metropolitan statistical area those
  persons and families whose incomes do not exceed ninety percent  of  the
  median  income  for the metropolitan statistical area in which a project
  is located or ninety  percent  of  the  median  income  for  the  state,
  whichever  is  greater  or,  (ii)  if  a  project  is  located outside a
  metropolitan statistical area, those persons and families whose  incomes
  do  not  exceed  ninety  percent  of the median income for the county in
  which a project is located, or ninety percent of the median  income  for
  the state, whichever is greater.
    * 11.  " Distressed residential property" shall mean (a) a residential
  property which has an occupancy rate by lawful occupants  of  less  than
  sixty  percent,  (b)  a  portion  of a residential property described in
  paragraph (a) of this subdivision provided that such portion also has an
  occupancy rate by lawful occupants of less than  sixty  percent,  (c)  a
  residential  property  which  consists  of  one or two residential units
  prior to rehabilitation under this  article  and  which,  subsequent  to
  rehabilitation,  will  contain at least one additional residential unit,
  or (d)  a  residential  property,  the  rehabilitation  of  which  would
  preserve affordable housing currently serving a population whose housing
  need would justify its replacement if it ceased to be available.
    * NB Effective until July 1, 2010
    * 11.   "Underoccupied   residential   property"   shall  mean  (a)  a
  residential property which has an occupancy rate by lawful occupants  of
  less  than  sixty  percent,  (b)  a  portion  of  a residential property
  described in paragraph  (a)  of  this  subdivision  provided  that  such
  portion  also  has  an  occupancy  rate by lawful occupants of less than
  sixty percent, or (c) a residential property which consists  of  one  or
  two  residential  units  prior  to rehabilitation under this article and
  which,  subsequent  to  rehabilitation,  will  contain  at   least   one
  additional residential unit.
    * NB Effective July 1, 2010
    12.  "Project"  shall mean a cooperative, condominium, homesteading or
  rental project. In cases where any such project consists  of  less  than
  the  total  number  of  units  or  the  total amount of floor space of a
  property, any reference in this article, to  a  "project",  "cooperative
  project",  "condominium  project",  "rental  project"  or  "homesteading
  project" shall mean that portion of such property which  makes  up  such
  project.
    13.  "Private  developer"  shall  mean  a person, firm, partnership or
  corporation which  is  not  otherwise  included  in  the  definition  of
  "eligible applicant".