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The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently released an analysis of how many people have benefitted from the LIHTC program since it was created in 1986. According to the NAHB, approximately 6.5 million low-income households, or roughly 13.3 million people, have lived in affordable apartments financed by the Housing Credit as of 2013. This estimate is the first to reflect the impacts for the primary beneficiaries of the program, the low-income households who live in the Housing Credit apartments.
A 2015 study published in Urban Studies by researchers at Texas A&M University, titled “Unpacking the impacts of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program on nearby property values,” questions the perception of affordable, subsidized housing driving down housing prices in surrounding buildings. It looks at changes in housing prices before and after the introduction of LIHTC-subsidized housing. Researchers examined data from Cleveland, Ohio, and Charlotte, N.C., from 1996 to 2007, classifying properties based on the proximity to LIHTC developments.
The IRS recently released Revenue Procedure 2015-53, which outlines the inflation adjustments for nearly 50 federal tax provisions, including the amount of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) authority each state will receive. Under the new guidelines, each state will be allocated $2.35 in Housing Credit authority multiplied by its population, or $2.69 million, whichever is greater. This is a slight increase from 2015, when states received $2.30 for every resident, and the minimum was $2.635 million.
Recently, the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for Housing America’s Families hosted the New Hampshire Housing Summit and invited presidential candidates to address an audience of about 200 housing industry officials. Seven presidential candidates individually discussed how they would address the affordable housing crisis if elected president.
On Oct. 21, HUD announced a proposed rule that would formalize the standards for evaluating harassment claims in housing or housing-related transactions under the Fair Housing Act. According to HUD, sexual harassment is the most common type of harassment complaint it receives. Harassment in housing threatens a resident's sense of safety and privacy in her own home, and there can be little opportunity to escape such harassment unless the individual or family moves.
National accounting firm CohnReznick has spearheaded an effort to bring together independent state housing associations. The Council of Independent State Housing Associations (CISHA) will, for the first time, formally connect representatives of affordable housing associations with one another in order to combine and amplify advocacy efforts for the LIHTC program on the federal level and share best practices with one another.
The former Miami-based Carlisle chief executive officer recently admitted to participating in a $30 million fraud scheme involving 10 low-income housing sites. Specifically, he pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit theft of government money, in connection with a scheme to steal government funds intended for the construction of low-income housing.
In response to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggesting that a joint administration between the IRS and HUD would benefit the LIHTC program, LIHTC industry groups have opposed the GAO’s recommendations. The GAO report suggests that the IRS currently lacks appropriate resources to engage in more than minimal oversight of the program. It notes that, since 1986, the IRS has conducted seven audits of 56 state housing finance agencies (HFA) on which the IRS relies to administer and oversee the program.
Ten years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, Louisiana State University researchers have analyzed and documented the recovery effort for the state. Initial reports were recently released. Due to the unprecedented destruction of the 2005 storm season, recovery efforts traditionally supported by insurance and FEMA were supplemented by a unique set of programs funded through $13.4 billion of Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds.
When developers seek financial resources for affordable rental housing development, many combine funds generated through the LIHTC program offered by the IRS with housing block grant funds provided through the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program administered by HUD. For example, to establish affordable rents in many markets, a site’s rents may not adequately support sufficient conventional mortgage debt. The equity raised from the LIHTC may not be sufficient to provide all of the additional capital required by the project.
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