201H Affordable Housing Credits

201H Affordable Housing Credit Registry

Tracking the Affordable Housing Credits ("AHCs") established by Hawai'i State Act 31 (2024). Please refer to the link below for the latest comprehensive list of 201H AHCs currently in production, available, or previously utilized.

01.

Stay Up to Date on AHC Ownership

Track the origination, transfer, and utilization of 201H Affordable Housing Credits and see the total number of credits in circulation today.

02.

Trust and Verify

Use the links embedded in the 201H Affordable Housing Credit Registry to verify the ownership of an individual or group of affordable housing credits.

03.

Tracking Made Easy

Reference the summary of 201H Affordable Housing Credit ownership or review the detailed ledger to track inception to utilization of 201H AHCs

Lelepau Systems

Lelepau Registry

Lelepau in Hawaiian means "to trust completely" or "to apply oneself to, concentrate wholly on". The Lelepau Registry is what Lelepau Systems concentrates wholly on, a trusted and transparent central repository for tracking and verifying affordable housing credits. Everything we do is in service of increasingly ambitious affordable housing goals and an accelerated transition to a future where everyone has a place to call home.

201H Affordable Housing Credit Registry

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Frequently Asked Questions - 201H AHC Program

FAQs

See the 201H AHC Program Summary page.

The 201H program is based on the lessons learned from existing Hawai'i-based affordable housing credit programs and the best practices of analogous credit programs, including Renewable Energy Credits and Conservation Banking. Critical language is included in the bill that requires:

• Credits will be issued upon project receipt of Certificate of Occupancy, meaning a residential unit must be occupiable prior to credit creation.

• Each credit is issued a four-digit ID number for ease of tracking.

• The issuance of credits must be recorded on land title (public record) of the originating project.

• Each time a credit is originated, transferred, or utilized, it is recorded on the land title of the originating project, creating an easily auditable trail of ownership that is public record.

    Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 201H governs the Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC), a state agency with the primary mission to increase and preserve the supply of affordable housing across the State.

    Typically, "201H" in general conversation refers to HRS 201H-38, which allows a residential project to receive variances in height, density, setbacks, state and county fees, etc. in exchange for designating greater than 50% of a project's units as affordable (i.e. income-specified), with affordable defined as up to 140% AMI (Area Median Income). See HAR 15-307 for detail on 201H project requirements.

A 2019 study commissioned by the Hawai'i State Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism found that the State required an additional 50,156 homes by the year 2025. Hawai'i remains woefully short of achieving the needed affordable housing units and HRS 201H-38 is a necessary tool to help solve Hawai'i's housing crisis. With the rapid rise in interest rates, the 201H program's efficacy was greatly reduced and would have remained so without necessary amendments.

Detail on how the 201H program was impacted by rising interest rates is linked here.

Senate Bill SB1170 was proposed in the 2024 legislative session and signed into law as Act 31 by the Governor of Hawai'i on May 28, 2024.

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Register 201H AHCs

Use one of the linked options below to register the issuance, transfer, or redemption of 201H Affordable Housing Credits.

Register: Issuance of New Credits

Register: Transfer of Existing Credits

Register: Redemption of Existing Credits

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201H AHC Program Summary

  1. A project utilizing HRS 201H-38 ("201H Project") will receive a county-issued affordable housing credit for each income-specified unit built

  2. Applies to for-sale and for-rent 201H Projects

  3. The credit does not expire

  4. The credit may be used within the same county that the originating 201H Project is located

  5. Credits will not be issued to 201H Projects that utilize Low Income Housing Tax Credits

  6. Credits will be issued upon the originating 201H project's receipt of Certificate of Occupancy

  7. Credits can be used to fulfill a maximum of 50% of a project's affordable housing requirement unless a higher percentage is agreed to by the originating county

  8. This is a pilot program, expiring on 07/01/2031 unless renewed by legislation

  9. Additional requirements related to the public recordation on title to record the chain of ownership of credits. This does not include the sale price of each credit, only ownership.
         - Credits will be issued upon project receipt of Certificate of Occupancy, meaning a residential unit must be occupiable prior to credit issuance
         - Each credit is issued a four-digit ID number for ease of tracking
         - The issuance of credits must be recorded on land title (public record) of the originating project
         - Each time a credit is issued, transferred, or redeemed, it will be recorded on the land title of the originating project, creating an easily auditable trail of ownership that is public record

  10. HHFDC (Hawai'i Housing Finance & Development Corporation) may execute a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with each county to further clarify the conditions of issuance, transfer, and redemption of affordable housing credits.

Lelepau Systems

Lelepau Registry

Lelepau in Hawaiian means "to trust completely" or "to apply oneself to, concentrate wholly on". The Lelepau Registry is what Lelepau Systems concentrates wholly on, a trusted and transparent central repository for tracking and verifying affordable housing credits. Everything we do is in service of increasingly ambitious affordable housing goals and an accelerated transition to a future where everyone has a place to call home.