Page 4 - Balancing Priorities
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AS MANY AS 8,420 LIHTC PROPERTIES ACCOUNTING FOR 486,799 AFFORDABLE RENTAL UNITS WILL REACH YEAR 30 BETWEEN 2020 AND 2029, AND DO NOT RECEIVE OTHER TYPES OF SUBSIDIES THAT EXTEND THEIR AFFORDABILITY RESTRICTIONS. BALANCING PRIORITIES: Preservation and Neighborhood Opportunity in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program Beyond Year 30 TIntroduction Housing Preservation Database (NHPD), we examine the features of the LIHTC program, risk-factors for preservation, the number of LIHTC units at-risk of being lost from the affordable housing stock by 2030, and the neighborhood desirability and opportunity of at-risk units. We de ne neighborhood desirability as the preference for and quality of a given neighborhood as measured by the percent of households with annual incomes above $200,000, the percent of the population in poverty, median housing values, the personal crime index, and the housing vacancy rate. We de ne neighborhood opportunity as the degree to which neighborhoods provide amenities integral to economic mobility such as labor market access, educational opportunity, transit access, and a healthy environment. Our  ndings indicate: • As many as 8,420 LIHTC properties accounting for 486,799 affordable rental units will reach Year 30 between 2020 and 2029, and do not receive other types of subsidies that extend their affordability restrictions. • Nine percent of LIHTC units reaching Year 30 between 2020 and 2029 are in neighborhoods that rank high or very-high in both desirability and opportunity. • Forty-two percent of expiring LIHTC units reaching Year 30 between 2020 and 2029 are in neighborhoods that rank very-low or low in both desirability and opportunity. • Thirteen percent of expiring LIHTC units reaching Year 30 between 2020 and 2029 are in neighborhoods that rank high or very high in opportunity and moderate, low, or very low in desirability. • The expiring LIHTC units in neighborhoods of very-high or high opportunity could be at greater risk for converting to higher cost market-rate or owner-occupied housing, because demand for housing tends to be stronger in higher opportunity neighborhoods. he Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has  nanced the construction, rehabilitation, or preservation of approximately three million rental housing units affordable to low-income households since its inception in 1987 (HUD, 2017), making it the largest national affordable housing program in the U.S. With some limited exceptions, federal law requires existing LIHTC housing to remain affordable for a minimum of 30 years, with some states extending the affordability period even longer. As the LIHTC program ages, the risk of current LIHTC units being lost from the affordable housing stock grows. Between 2020 and 2029, nearly half a million current LIHTC units, or nearly a quarter of the total stock, will reach their 30-year mark and the end of their federally mandated affordability restrictions (i.e. Year 30). Many of these units, without new capital investment for rehabilitation and renovation, are also at-risk of physical deterioration. This report sheds light on the scope of the preservation challenges ahead. Utilizing data from a range of sources, including the National NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION AND THE PUBLIC AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESEARCH CORPORATION 4 


































































































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