Public Policy: State & Local Preservation Initiatives

State and Local Preservation Initiatives

Resources

Affordable Housing Preservation Initiatives: A State-by-State Summary. This Working Paper is part of NHT's ongoing effort to identify state and local level initiatives that preserve affordable, multifamily housing. The information gathered includes preservation initiatives related to state qualified allocation plans for low-income housing tax credits, private activity bonds with 4% low-income housing tax credits, and housing trust funds, as well as other state and local initiatives. This is a work-in-progress and does not necessarily reflect the depth of any one initiative or the breadth of initiatives around the country

State Housing Finance Agencies: Developing Programs to Preserve Affordable Housing. The National Housing Trust facilitates roundtable discussions among state housing finance agency (HFA) staff . These discussions provide valuable opportunities for HFA staff to identify preservation obstacles and share their strategies for completing deals.

Legislation and Policies

NHT Testifies before the D.C. City Council on the Section 8 Preservation Act. The bill would amend D.C.’s existing right to purchase law by providing tenants an opportunity to purchase federally assisted housing before the owner acts to terminate federal housing subsidies. Current law only requires tenants the opportunity to purchase their building when the owner offers to sell the property. Click here for the testimony.

Chicago's Mayor Daley Announces New Initiative to Preserve Affordable Rental Housing. Mayor Richard M. Daley has announced a new three-year initiative designed to preserve at least 6,500 affordable rental units through an investment of $12 million and an allocation of $150 million in tax-exempt bonds.

Comprehensive Action Plan to Safeguard Cook County's Affordable Rental Housing Announced. The Preservation Compact, a project of the Urban Land Institute supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, has announced a comprehensive series of concrete steps that will save at least 75,000 affordable rental apartments in Cook County, IL by 2020. The initiatives represent a joining of forces of area real estate, finance, philanthropic, non-profit and governmental leaders to stem the loss of a critical housing resource.

State Housing Trust Funds Support Preservation. Eighty percent of all housing trust funds support affordable housing preservation, according to the Housing Trust Fund Project at the Center for Community Change.

Predevelopment Programs: An Opportunity for Federal Home Loan Banks to Enhance their Affordable Housing Programs. The initial costs associated with affordable housing development constitute a prohibitive barrier to nonprofits and smaller developers. Federal Home Loan Banks can enhance their Affordable Housing Programs with predevelopment financing programs that help nonprofit developers bridge these early-on costs.

Mayor Bloomberg Announces Plan To Build and Preserve 165,000 Affordable Housing Units. The Bloomberg Administration has committed to preserve 73,000 affordable housing units for 200,000 low- and moderate-income New Yorkers.

Judd Levy, Chairman of the N.Y. State Housing Finance and Mortgage Agencies, Discusses N.Y.'s Commitment to Affordable Housing Preservation. Click here for the interview.

WA State Housing Finance Commission Executive Director, Kim Herman, Discusses Preservation Strategy. Click here for the interview which focuses on WA state's efforts to preserve expiring tax credit properties.

Janet Byrd of The Neighborhood Partnership Fund Discusses Preserving Oregon's Affordable Housing. Click here for the interview which focuses on the importance of stakeholder dialogue.