Federal updates
- Congress met last week’s deadline to pass a federal budget by midnight on Friday. After the omnibus cleared the House on Wednesday, the Senate passed the bill on Thursday The omnibus includes anticipated support for Ukraine, but the $15.6 in additional funds for COVID-19 relief was removed at the last minute.
For housing, HUD received an increase of $4 billion. It’s the largest increase in years, but less than what was originally proposed for FY22. Highlights include:
- $200M for 25,000 new Housing Choice Vouchers
- $4.84B for CDBG (+$1.37 billion over FY21)
- $1.5B for HOME Investment Partnerships program (+$150 million over FY21)
This NLIHC chart has a more detailed breakdown of the budget’s housing allocations.
The fix that was expected for State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and LIHTC was not included in the budget bill. However, separate legislation is expected to be introduced by Representative Alma Adams that removes statutory barriers preventing states, counties, and cities from using SLFRF dollars to support LIHTC developments that are under construction. Next steps are under assessment and the Coalition will continue to share updates when there is need for further advocacy on this.
Looking for Republican co-sponsors in the House and a original sponsor in the Senate.
- In late February, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that the National Housing Trust Fund will receive $740 million in 2022 from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is a $29 million increase from the previous year.
State updates
- The NC General Assembly wrapped up the longest session in decades last week, with lawmakers passing a bill that included technical changes on the budget, as well as other recent legislation. The bill includes a provision that clarifies the use of federal State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for the Workforce Housing Loan Program (which funds LIHTC projects). The correction allows the funds to be issued as grants in accordance with Treasury guidance, instead of solely as loans. This provides a layer of flexibility in response to the Treasury rule that limited the way State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds could be used for LIHTC.
- Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer highlighted homelessness and the lack of affordable housing as the city’s top issue during her State of Asheville address last week: State of Asheville: Mayor talks homelessness, police, affordable housing at CIBO | Citizen Times
Reports/articles/events
- THIS FRIDAY Virtual event: Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies presents Fixer-Upper: How to Repair America’s Broken Housing Systems on Friday 3/18 @ 12:15 PM
- Report: Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) During the Pandemic: Implications for the Design of Permanent ERA Programs | NLIHC
- The Threat Of Environmental Hazards To The Rental Stock | Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
- The Racial Wealth Gap Begins With Our Tax Code | Shelterforce
- Homeowners gain $8.2 trillion in housing wealth over 10 years | Housing Wire
- NC legislature finally ends annual session that began in ’21 | WRAL
- No more asking nicely: give us affordable housing | The Mountaineer
- More people 55+ are moving to Cary to live out their golden years. Is the town ready? | News & Observer
- Wake County foreclosures up 225% in a month | WRAL Tech Wire
