State Housing Trust Funds Support Preservation

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Eighty percent of all housing trust funds support affordable housing preservation, according to the Housing Trust Fund Project at the Center for Community Change. The Center recently released its 2007 Housing Trust Fund Progress Report which illustrates the growing impact of state, city and county trust funds on affordable housing.

“We are very pleased to see the high interest in preservation”, said Mary Brooks, director of the project.  “Housing trust funds now have a proven record as an invaluable resource for affordable housing preservation.”

Nearly all state housing trust funds make financing or grants available to preservation.  Some states, including the District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana, Montana, Utah, Vermont, and Washington prioritize preservation as a preferred activity.

Housing trust funds are especially important for affordable housing development because they provide a continuous stream of funding not dependent on annual appropriations and often represent the most flexible funds jurisdictions have available for affordable housing.  All totaled, there are currently 600 housing trusts nationwide that contribute $1.6 billion each year towards critical housing needs.

For example, in Utah, the state housing trust fund has become an important source of funding for preserving the state’s invaluable supply of Section 8 and Section 515 subsidized rental units. According to Shellie Goble, multifamily director for Utah’s Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, the fund’s success can be attributed to the recipient’s ability to combine trust fund loans or grants with other funding sources. “Historically we’ve found that our projects leverage up to $11 in other funding sources for every dollar they receive from the Fund,” she said.

For more information about the Center for Community Change’s Housing Trust Fund Project or to obtain a copy of the Housing Trust Fund Progress Report visit www.communitychange.org.