(a) In general
Assistance made available under this section shall be used for direct assistance grants to resident organizations and community-based nonprofit housing developers and resident councils to assist the acquisition of specific projects (including the payment of reasonable administrative expenses to participating intermediaries).

(b) Allocation
30 percent of the assistance made available under this section shall be used for resident capacity grants in accordance with subsection (d). The remainder shall be used for predevelopment grants in connection with specific projects in accordance with subsection (e).

(c) Limitation on grant amounts
A resident capacity grant under subsection (d) may not exceed $30,000 per project and a grant under subsection (e) for predevelopment costs may not exceed $200,000 per project, exclusive of any fees paid to a participating intermediary by the Secretary for administering the program.

(d) Resident capacity grants

(1) Use
Resident capacity grants under this subsection shall be available to eligible applicants to cover expenses for resident outreach, incorporation of a resident organization or council, conducting democratic elections, training, leadership development, legal and other technical assistance to the board of directors, staff and members of the resident organization or council.

(2) Eligible housing
Grants under this subsection may be provided with respect to eligible low-income housing for which the owner has filed a notice of intent under subchapter I of this chapter or title II of the Emergency Low Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987 (pursuant to section 604 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act).

(e) Predevelopment grants

(1) Use
Predevelopment grants under this subsection shall be made available to community-based nonprofit housing developers and resident councils to cover the cost of organizing a purchasing entity and pursuing an acquisition, including third party costs for training, development consulting, legal, appraisal, accounting, environmental, architectural and engineering, application fees, and sponsor's staff and overhead costs.

(2) Eligible housing
Such grants may only be made available with respect to any eligible low-income housing project for which the owner has filed an initial notice of intent to transfer the housing to a qualified purchaser in accordance with section 4110 of this title, or has filed a notice of intent and entered into a binding agreement to sell the housing to a resident organization or nonprofit organization.

(3) Phase-in of grant payments
Grant payments under this subsection shall be made in phases, based on performance benchmarks established by the Secretary in consultation with intermediaries selected under section 4145(b) of this title.

(f) Grant applications
Grant applications for assistance under subsections (d) and (e) shall be received monthly on a rolling basis and approved or rejected on at least a quarterly basis by intermediaries selected under section 4145(b) of this title.

(g) Appeal
If an application for assistance under subsections ¹ (d) or (e) is denied, the applicant shall have the right to appeal the denial to the Secretary and receive a binding determination within 30 days of the appeal.