Page 21 - Balancing Priorities

BALANCING PRIORITIES: Preservation and Neighborhood Opportunity in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program Beyond Year 30 incomes below 30% of AMI or poverty.12 The remaining funds can be used to bene t very low-income households with incomes up to 50% of AMI. Unlike LIHTC’s per capita allocation to each state regardless of housing needs, the national HTF state allocation formula is based on the unmet housing needs of the states’ lowest income households and development costs. Greater funding for capital improvements to the current public housing stock is also needed to ensure this important component of the affordable housing supply is adequately maintained and not lost to disinvestment. Conclusion The 486,799 LIHTC units reaching Year 30 between 2020 and 2029 and losing affordability restrictions provide an opportunity to reconsider the way housing assistance is delivered. Continuing with the status quo of scarce resources in the face of growing demand leads to dif cult choices between important housing policy objectives such as preservation and housing stability on the one hand and desegregation and access to opportunity on the other. We nd these dif cult choices both unacceptable and largely unnecessary. Taking a broader view of the housing safety net, we propose suf cient funding for universal access to HCVs, reforms to the allocation of tax credits in the LIHTC program, and the expansion of funding for the national HTF and Public Housing. The success of such a proposal is contingent upon further research into strategies for improving voucher utilization and mobility, as well as improving our understanding of where supply and demand-side housing subsidies are most needed and effective. 12 100% of the national HTF funds must bene t extremely low-income households in the years that the HTF has less than $1 Billion. NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION AND THE PUBLIC AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESEARCH CORPORATION 21