CSH Releases Supportive Housing Report

Housing credit allocating agencies continue to actively promote affordable supportive housing, according to a recent report by the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH). In “Housing Credit Policies in 2013 that Promote Supportive Housing,” CSH reviewed 56 qualified allocation plans (QAPs) from 2013. QAPs are used by housing finance agencies to award tax credits to applicants. The report summarizes the supportive housing policies in each QAP.

The report notes three specific policy trends:

• An increasing number of housing finance agencies (HFAs) require or reward coordination with public housing authorities (PHAs) for funding or wait lists;
• Agencies are providing additional incentives to preservation projects in their QAPs; and
• More agencies are promoting developments with a mix of supportive housing and affordable housing units.

The report also lists five universal or near universal policies that create a positive incentive for construction of supportive housing:

• Statutory requirements to consider special needs populations in allocating credit;
• Statutory priorities for serving the lowest-income tenants;
• Market study requirements to document need for targeted populations;
• Incentives for development proximity to community services; and
• Incentives for development amenities such as common space.

In addition, the report identifies and provides examples of a variety of Housing Credit policy approaches, including threshold requirements, credit set-asides, and scoring incentives. CSH found that 53 out of 56 housing credit agencies provide potential scoring advantages for supportive housing and 45 housing credit agencies provide scoring incentives that encourage permanent supportive housing, special needs housing, and housing for people with disabilities.