PROBLEM 

LEGISLATION

THE FINE PRINT

Demand for homes has far outpaced supply.

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The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would lead to more affordable housing options for families and workers by expanding and strengthening the nation’s most successful affordable housing program.

This legislation would build nearly 1.6 million new affordable homes over the next decade by increasing the number of credits available to states, stabilizing financing for workforce housing projects, and improving the Housing Credit program.

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The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act would encourage developers to rehabilitate and build affordable, owner-occupied homes in the communities that need them most. This bill would build and preserve more than 500,000 affordable, single-family homes for homeownership over ten years in under-resourced communities.

This legislation would create a new tax incentive that will cover the cost between building or renovating a home in these areas and the price at which they can be sold.

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The RESIDE Act would help communities convert vacant buildings – such as abandoned hotels, warehouses, and strip malls – into affordable homes.

This legislation would create a new pilot program to provide grants to local governments for acquisition, site prep, and rehabilitation of vacant properties, with priority given to communities that reduce regulatory barriers to housing conversion.

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The New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act would permanently extend the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) in order to encourage redevelopment and new construction in communities across the country.

This legislation would permanently extend the NMTC, which attracts capital to low-income communities by providing private investors a 39 percent federal tax credit for investments made in businesses or economic development projects, including housing.

Affordable housing in rural America is decaying and disappearing.

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The Preserving Rural Housing Investments Act would support more investment in rural and low-income housing.

This legislation would clarify IRS code to ensure that Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are able to participate in partnerships that are crucial for low-income housing investments.

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The Rural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act would make it easier to build housing in rural communities by cutting red tape, reducing cost-burdens to rural home owners and small developers, and providing affordable housing incentives.

This legislation would make improvements to the tax code, making rural Historic Tax Credit projects more financially feasible, resulting in a higher number of these projects being completed in rural areas and states.

People in underserved communities cannot access the financing needed to purchase a home.

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The Scaling Community Lenders Act would increase lending capacity and support for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), allowing CDFIs to expand access to affordable housing in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities.

This legislation would authorize new resources to activate and fund the long-dormant Section 113 of the Riegle Act of 1994 – the CDFI liquidity enhancement program – allowing the CDFI Fund to finance projects within the industry, selected on a competitive basis, to provide liquidity to CDFIs.

First-generation homebuyers are finding it harder and harder to buy a home.

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The Downpayment Toward Equity Act would provide federal grants to aid first-generation homebuyers with qualifying expenses toward purchasing their first home, including downpayment costs, closing costs, and costs to reduce the rates of interest.

This legislation would administer grants of up to $20,000 to qualified first-generation homebuyers through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

People of color continue to be significantly underrepresented in homeownership.

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The Low-Income First Time Homebuyers (LIFT) Act would offer new homeowners a 20-year mortgage for roughly the same monthly payment as a traditional 30-year loan, helping families traditionally underrepresented in the housing market to grow equity twice as fast.

This legislation would establish a program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, to sponsor low fixed-rate 20-year mortgages for first-time, first-generation homebuyers who have incomes equal to or less than 120 percent of their area median income.

Faith-based organizations wanting to address the affordable housing crisis run into steep bureaucratic barriers.

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The Yes in God’s Back Yard (YIGBY) Act would help faith-based organizations and institutions of higher education who want to transform underused property into much-needed affordable housing.

This legislation would provide resources and incentives to support the development and preservation of affordable rental housing on property these institutions already own. It would also provide technical assistance and grant funding for communities that remove barriers to affordable housing on property owned by faith-based organizations or colleges.