Housing Call: June 13, 2023

Federal Policy Highlight:

Affordable Credit Improvement Act of 2023 – S.1557 & H.R.3238

A bipartisan piece of legislation that aims to expand and strengthen our country’s primary tool for developing and preserving affordable housing – LIHTC. It has been introduced in the past three congresses and has earned bipartisan support each time. Pieces of the AHCIA have also been implemented separately in years past such as the establishment of a minimum 4 percent Housing Credit Rate – in 2020, and in 2018 the 12.5 percent Housing Credit Allocation was increased for four years – expiring in 2021 – and income averaging was added, which provides flexibility within LIHTC developments to serve a broader range of low-income tenants.

It has 101 cosponsors on the House side and 17 so far on the Senate side that are known or have been published.

Key Differences between the 2021 version of the AHCIA and the 2023 version include:

Clarifies the Basis Boost for properties serving extremely low income households (section 307) stating that properties will receive a 50 percent bassist boost if 20 percent of their units are reserved from extremely-low-income households. This version clarifies the units have to be both income -and rent-restricted.
The 2023 version also uses the unit fraction to determine the amount of Credit a project is eligible to receive.
New provision in the 2023 version includes a provision that additional steps should be taken to increase the transparency of the program and sharing of data.
Clarifies the protections for Housing Credit residents that are covered by the Violence Against Women Act (section 205).

Additional sources about the AHCIA:

https://rentalhousingaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/AHCIA-Bill-Differences-May-2023-1.pdf

https://rentalhousingaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/AHCIA-One-Page-Bill-Summary-May-11-2023.pdf

https://rentalhousingaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/AHCIA-Detailed-Bill-Summary-May-2023-1.pdf

Current known co-sponsors from the North Carolina delegation

Co-Sponsor (Known)

Need to Cosponsor or Not Published Yet

Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC-7)
Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC-6)
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-9)
Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC-10)

Senator Ted Budd
Senator Thomas Tillis

Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC-13)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5)
Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC-4)
Rep. Gregory Murphy (R-NC-3)
Rep. Deborah K. Ross (D-NC-2)
Rep. Alma S. Adams (D-NC-12)

Call, email, send letters to your representatives in the US House and US Senate! Advocate for the AHCIA, and the importance of it for communities across our state, which like all others is experiencing growing demands and need for affordable housing.

Federal Updates

Neighborhood Homes Reinvestment Act H.R. 3940 introduced in the House on Friday June 9. The bill would create a Neighborhood Tax Credit. The NHTC would be a federal tax credit that covers the gap between the cost of building or renovating a home and the price at which that home can be sold. The credit would also help existing homeowners to rehabilitate their homes. States would allocate the credit on a competitive basis and monitor its compliance. The Senate version of this bill was introduced back in March 2023. A similar bill was introduced last year as well.
Vice President Kamala Harris announces new actions to combat the inequality that persists in Home Appraisals. On June 1, Vice President Kamala Harris presented the progress of the PAVE task force along with new sweeping actions to address Racial bias in Home Valuations. The White House released a fact sheet with all the actions, which included:
- Empowering consumers to take action against appraisal bias.
- Increasing transparency and leveraging federal data to inform policy and improve enforcement against appraisal bias.
- Cultivating an appraiser profession that is well trained and looks like the communities it serves.
Additional info about PAVE – the interagency task force on property appraisal and valuation equity
- What is PAVE?
- What is in the PAVE action plan?
Jimmy Gomez launches Renters Caucus to fight housing crisis. Rep, Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) launched the Congressional Renters Caucus last week with support from fellow Democrats. Rep. Gomez hopes to use the caucus as a platform to collaborate on legislation and issues affecting renters. The group’s stated goals are to 1) Expand assistance for rent-burdened households; 2) Eliminate bureaucratic and discriminatory barriers to affordable housing; and 3) improve the quality, availability, and affordability of the nation’s housing stock.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition and Campaign for Housing & Community Development Funding are organizing a national day of action on the federal budget this Friday, 6/16. The purpose is to secure increased funding for HUD and USDA affordable housing/homelessness programs in the FY24 budget. Specifically, the asks include:
- Implement full funding for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program to renew all existing contracts.
- Provide full funding for public housing operations and repairs.
- Fully fund homelessness assistance grants.
- Provide $100 million for legal assistance to prevent evictions.
- Fund a permanent Emergency Rental Assistance program.
- Maintain funding for competitive tribal housing grants for tribes with the greatest needs

Check out the call-in script and other advocacy resources here.

Interested in learning more about the details of the debt deal and their impact on housing? Check out these resources:
- Debt limit legislation prevents default, sets spending caps for next two fiscal years | Enterprise
- Debt deal strikes blow to housing affordability | The Hill

State Updates

Stephanie visited the General Assembly last week to talk about housing investments in the NC FY23-25 as well as the bills that are still live and active that we’re tracking in the coming weeks.
- Check out our bill tracker here and our gallery of bills that survived crossover here. Reach out to us if you have any questions.
  - Remember that bills that made crossover are still live AND elements from other bills that did not make crossover still could make it into other bills and ultimately whatever final form of the budget for FY 23-25 that is reached.
  - You can find a full list of the bills that made crossover (not only the ones we are tracking) by clicking here.
- The Senate released their list of conferees for the budget last week. Conferees from the House and Senate will now reconcile differences between the versions of the budgets passed by the two chambers in order to get to a concurrent budget agreement.

Local Community Updates

Yanceyville Place breaks ground in Greensboro . Over the weekend Yanceyville Place, an affordable housing development in the City of Greensboro broke ground. The 84 unit development total development costs sit at $18 million currently and is set to come online next year.
Charlotte City Council members and Mecklenburg County Commissioners vote to preserve NOAH. City and County officials vote to invest $12 million into Charlotte Woods, an apartment complex built in the 1970s with 266 units of one-and two-bedroom apartment homes. The City of Charlotte is investing $8 million, and Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners approved a $4 million investment last week. With this investment the property can be purchased by affordable housing developers who can improve the property while keeping the rents at affordable levels and mitigate the risk of displacement for the current residents.
Chapel Hill Approves Source of Income Policy. Chapel Hill Town Council recently approved a Source of Income Policy. The policy requires landlords that receive funds or property from the Town to accept all lawful sources of income, including Housing Choice Vouchers. Chapel Hill joins the growing list of NC localities that have adopted SOI protections, including Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Charlotte, and Mecklenburg County.
From Housing to Hiring: 12 Wake County Initiatives Win National Awards. Wake County’s Housing Affordability and Community Revitalization department was recently named “Best in Category” by the National Association of Counties. The department was recognized for their Lease 2 Home program, a database launched last year that helps match families exiting homelessness with landlords who have affordable units for rent. The county dedicated $1.1M towards the program, which offers landlord incentives like lease signing bonuses and risk mitigation funds.

Events

[in-person] Charlotte Happy Hour | NC Women’s Affordable Housing Network, 6/13, 4 p.m., 204 North Kitchen & Cocktails
[webinar] The State of the Nation’s Housing 2023 | Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 6/21, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
[in-person conference] Terwilliger Center 2023 Summit on Housing Supply Solutions | 6/22, Washington, D.C.
[in-person] WNC Housing Forum | Land of Sky Regional Council, 7/14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
[in-person conference ] National Fair Housing Alliance’s 2023 National Conference | 7/16-7/18, Washington, D.C.