WASHINGTON November 3rd, 2021 – Today the U.S. House of Representatives released an amended version of the “Build Back Better Act” that would boost LIHTC. Several proposals were originally part of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act that many affordable housing advocates have worked hard on for the last several years: Here’s a synopsis:
More detailed analysis coming!
Congress passed measures strengthening the creation of affordable housing. Highlights of the bill are as follows:
Permanent 4% Housing Credit rate: This is a big victory for housing credit advocates, who have made setting a minimum 4% rate a top priority. The 4% rate will apply to allocations of 4% credits made after December 31st 2020.
Disaster Housing Credit Allocation: This is the first time Congress has allocated disaster housing credits since the GO Zone allocation after Hurricane Katrina. Dozens of Gulf Coast counties have been subjected to disaster declarations in 2020, so they will receive additional credits.
$25 Billion in Rental Assistance: States long the Gulf Coast are expected to receive another $1B for rental assistance. Renters and tenants will be eligible to apply for funding.
Extended Eviction Moratorium: The current eviction moratorium has been extended through January 31, 2021.
We applaud Congress for passing Housing Credit provisions that will lead to the development of hundreds of thousands of additional affordable homes and the members and advocates who have worked to communicate the need for these provisions to Congress.
South Carolina has joined seventeen other states by enacting a state based affordable housing program that mirrors the federal LIHTC. The goal is to add critically needed affordable housing to workforce and income restricted seniors.
Calling it the “Workforce and Senior Affordable Housing Act” and signed into law on May 14, 2020, the program will be administered with the intention of being as robust as other successful state based LIHTC plans.
Until the Act was passed, Georgia stood alone as having the only state-based low income tax credit plan in the Southeast.
More news to come as the office in Columbia is staffed up.
On Friday March 27th the U.S. Congress passed the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) the $2 trillion aid package, and sent it to President Trump. He signed it late Friday.
The bill provides more than $12 billion in funding to HUD for housing and homelessness programs.
Key Components include:
The bill also institutes a moratorium on foreclosures for all federally backed mortgages, including those covered by HUD, USDA, FHA, VA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, for 60 days beginning on March 18, 2020. Under the bill, a borrower with a federally backed mortgage experiencing financial hardship due to coronavirus may also request a forbearance for up to 180 days, which may be extended for another 180 days at the request of the borrower.
The law allows multifamily housing owners with a federally-backed mortgage to request a forbearance for up to 30 days, which can be extended by another 60 days at the request of the borrower, on the condition that they agree not to evict tenants or charge tenants’ late fees.
The bill also institutes a moratorium on filings for evictions for renters in homes covered by a federally backed mortgage for 120 days of enactment.
The bill provides a temporary moratorium on evictions for most residents of federally subsidized apartments, including those supported by HUD, USDA or Treasury (Low Income Housing Tax Credit developments). The bill also institutes a moratorium on filings for evictions for renters in homes covered by federally backed mortgages for 120 days of enactment.
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