Federal Update
Budget
On June 7 the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously advanced their FY19 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill. The bill provides $44.5B in funding for HUD, an increase of $1.8B over FY18 and $900M over the House FY19 bill. For more information on the Senate bill and FY 2019 appropriations, you can read Enterprise’s blog postor NLIHC’s blog post.
Income Averaging
Currently, eight states have issued guidance on the implementation of the new income averaging set-aside for LIHTC units. These early policies will likely serve as a guide to other agencies around the country. For more information, read Novogradac’s blog post.
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (HR1661) Co-Sponsors
With Rep. Butterfield (D) and Rep. Pittenger (R) joining the list of North Carolina co-sponsors of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (HR1661), we now have 12 of North Carolina’s 13 Representatives co-sponsoring the bill. Only Rep. Foxx has yet to sign on. This is exciting news for affordable housing advocates. If you live in Rep. Butterfield’sor Rep. Pittenger’s district, please take the time to reach out to them and thank them for their support.
Congress Passes, President Signs Law to Improve and Expand the Family Self-Sufficiency Program
On May 24, the President signed the “Family Self-Sufficiency Act” into law. The Act was included in another bill, S. 2155. The law permanently reauthorizes the program, combines the programs for Housing Choice Vouchers and public housing, and expands eligibility to include families in project-based rental assistance units. The original bills (S. 1344/HR 4258) had bipartisan support, and and were sponsored by Representatives Sean Duffy (R-WI) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Jack Reed (D-RI).
HUD Allocates $266 Million to Housing Trust Fund
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has published $266 million in Housing Trust Fund allocations for FY18. North Carolina’s allocation was $5,874,191. The funds are specifically targeted to housing for families with incomes of less than 30 percent of the area median income. The set-aside is equal to 4.2 basis points of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s new mortgage purchases.
State Update
State Budget Locked Up, Session Winding Down
The State’s legislative session is beginning to wind down now that the budget has been passed, the Governor has vetoed, and the veto has been overturned by both chambers. While there was some indication before the session began that we might see an increase in affordable housing investment, the budget contained flat funding for the Housing Trust Fund ($7.66M) and the Workforce Housing Loan Program ($20M). There are still a few items on the docket and the General Assembly is expected to adjourn before the end of June.
Bill Dealing with Landlord Recovery of Expenses Advances
Last night, S224 – The Landlord Recovery of Expenses/Rule 60 Motionwas amended on the House floor and passed to the Senate for concurrence. Introduced this week in the House Rules Committee, the bill was proposed by the Apartment Association of North Carolina and the North Carolina Realtors in response to the recent Wake County court casethat ruled landlords are only allowed to collect an administrative fee and not other out-of-pocket expenses such as attorney’s fees and filing fees. The bill seeks to clarify existing industry practice.
NCHFA releases research on LIHTC
The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency has released two studies, The Impact of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit in North Carolinaand The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Neighborhood Property Values in North Carolina. Notable in the findings of these two studies include:
- The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) saves up to $2.96 in health care dollars for every $1 invested over the life of the program;
- The LIHTC has generated $923 million in tax revenue over the years, and created 137,000 jobs overall.
- The report also shows that LIHTC properties do not lower surrounding home values.
Local Update
City of Raleigh Budget includes $22 million for affordable housing
The City of Raleigh has passed a $971.4 million budgetthat includes $22 million for the city’s affordable housing efforts. The budget also includes a 1.6 percent increase to the monthly water and sewer bill, lower than the proposed 3 percent increase.
Wake County Approves Budget
The Wake County Commissioners have approved a $1.32 billion budgetthat included a $15 million investment in affordable housing. The money will help build and preserve housing in Wake County that working families can afford. This recurring funding will generate $75 million over the next 5 years. Many advocates including the North Carolina Housing Coalition spoke in favor of the budget.
Buncombe County Housing Funding
A group of advocates is pushing Buncombe County commissionersto consider investing millions in funding for housing over the next three years. The plan calls for annually appropriating the equivalent of one penny per $100 of property tax value toward housing development, preservation and financing.It’s asking $800,000 be allocated next fiscal year to the Buncombe County Housing Trust, which funds the county’s affordable housing services programs. Its three-year proposal increases that funding every year, rising to $2.2 million by 2021.
City of Greensboro Eviction Statistics
Researchers at Princeton University’s Eviction Labranked Greensboro 7th in the country because of nearly 5,000 evictions in 2016 alone. The study showed the lack of affordable housing is the chief culprit but socio-economic problems like poverty, homelessness, healthcare and educational disparities have also contributed to the worsened condition of things.The study showed there were 4,948 evictions in Greensboro in 2016, with 14 families displaced daily and 8.41 in 100 renter homes are evicted each year. Other North Carolina cities included Winston-Salem at 16th with 3,173 evictions, High-Point at 24 on the list with 1,182 evictions, Fayetteville at 17 with 3,055 evictions, Charlotte at 21 with 9,101 evictions, Durham at 37 with 2,881 evictions and Raleigh ranked 76 with 3,322 evictions.
Charlotte Affordability Report
According to a new reportfrom the City of Charlotte, home prices and rents in Charlotte have risen much faster than wages in Charlotte, and that, combined with a building boom focused on high-end apartments, is driving the city’s growing affordability problem.The report looks at possible strategies to help create more affordable housing in Charlotte, such as letting people build accessory dwellings for family members on their residences and establishing a new fund to acquire land for affordable housing. City Council is planning to increase the amount of bond money available to subsidize new affordable housing developments from $15 million to $50 million every two years, a change voters will decide on at the ballot box in November.
Charlotte Approves $2.6 Billion Budget
The City of Charlotte approvedtheir 2019 operating budget. The budget gives Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers raises of between 7 and 9.5 percent. The council also agreed to ask voters to increase the city’s bond for affordable housing to $50 million. A one cent property tax hike, about 83 cents a month for a home valued at 100 thousand dollars.”I think this budget reflects the fact that we are trying to give people more access to opportunity,” said Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt.
Reports
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies: Proactive Preservation of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing in Emerging Markets: Lessons from Atlanta, Cleveland, and Philadelphia
Terner Center for Housing and Innovation: The Links Between Affordable Housing and Economic Mobility
