Washington, DC – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today its 2021 allocation of $711 million to the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF) – more than double what was provided last year.
“This year’s allocation to the national Housing Trust Fund will provide critically needed resources to help build and preserve homes affordable to people most severely impacted by America’s rental housing crisis,” stated Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “This funding is a vital step in the right direction, though far more is needed. The pandemic has made clear that housing is healthcare, and that the federal government must address the systemic, structural reasons millions of America’s lowest-income and most marginalized renters are just one financial shock away from falling behind on their rent, facing eviction, and in worst cases, experiencing homelessness. To ensure long-term housing stability for people with the greatest, clearest needs, Congress must invest in the Housing Trust Fund and other proven solutions at the scale necessary.”
Even before the pandemic, the country was in the grips of a pervasive affordable housing crisis, impacting rural, suburban, and urban communities alike. Research from the National Low Income Housing Coalition demonstrates that across America, there is a shortage of 7 million homes affordable and available to the lowest-income renters, and there is not a single state or congressional district in the country with enough affordable homes to meet this demand. For every ten of the nation’s lowest-income renters, there are fewer than four affordable homes available for them.
Without affordable housing options, 8 million extremely low-income renters pay more than half of their limited incomes on rent, forcing households to make impossible tradeoffs between paying rent and buying needed medications and putting nutritious food on the table. These families are one financial shock – a sick child, a missed day of work, or a broken-down car – away from eviction and, in worst cases, homelessness.
The Housing Trust Fund is the first new federal housing resource in a generation exclusively targeted to build, rehabilitate, and preserve rental homes affordable to people with the lowest incomes. States use Housing Trust Fund investments to construct and operate affordable, accessible rental homes for extremely low-income veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness.
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