Missed among the coverage of the federal Omnibus Bill on Friday of last week: a long-awaited expansion of the Low Income Tax Credit.
"The $1.3 trillion Omnibus spending bill that was approved by Congress and begrudgingly signed by the President last week contained the first expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program in more than 10 years," reports Erika Morphy.
The news about the expanded LIHTC program wasn't part of the initial round of news coverage when President Trump signed the omnibus spending bill into law on Friday last week. That news focused more on the expansion of funding for TIGER and Community Development Block Grants. "The spending bill increased the number of LIHTCs that are available to the US states for the next four years by 12.5%," according to Morphy.
The LIHTC survived the GOP tax reform bill signed at the end of 2017, and now it has survived the federal budget process as well. The expanded funding for LIHTC isn't a guarantee that more affordable housing will be built—since President Trump signed the GOP tax reform bill into law, there's been more than one article raising the alarm about other ways the tax reform bill could harm affordable housing production. But, according to a source cited by Morphy in the article, "the expansion of the LIHTC…will help offset the effects of the Tax Reform bill that passed last year..."
FULL STORY: Spending Bill Gives Affordability Housing A Huge Boost
Losing Nonprofit Control of Tax Credit Housing?
How an ambiguous legal definition is endangering nonprofits’ control of dozens of affordable housing developments in the final years of their tax credit agreements.
'The Affordable City' Offers Solutions for the U.S. Housing Affordability Crisis
An excerpt from the new book by Shane Phillips, "The Affordable City," published by Island Press.
The COVID-19 Housing Crisis and the Housing Affordability Crisis Have the Same Solutions
The solutions for the U.S. housing crisis caused by the economic wreckage of COVID-19 will also provide relief in the future, according to this article.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
