As the 30-year term of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit expires for many affordable housing units, the families living there face steep rent hikes and evictions.
Hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units built using the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) could lose their affordability requirements as the 30-year term of the program is set to lapse, according to an Associated Press report by Jesse Bedayn and Arushi Gupta.
By 2030, some 350,000 units could lose affordability, with the number growing to 1 million by 2040. The article notes that some units are kept affordable after LIHTC requirements by various other government subsidies or private landlords, but the loss could be devastating to those households that need affordable housing most.
Some state and local governments are taking steps to mitigate the crisis. In California, LIHTC projects must stay affordable for 55 years and tenants and cities have the first chance to buy the property if it comes up for sale. However, the article notes that most states have not extended the 30-year agreement or taken other steps to keep housing affordable beyond LIHTC limits.
Read the full story: Takeaways from AP’s report on affordable housing disappearing across the U.S.
One Federal Low-Income Housing Program is Actually Being Expanded
Recent changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program could lead to over a million new housing units, but cuts to adjacent and complementary programs could limit its impact.
Rising Insurance Rates Squeezing Affordable Housing Developers
Spiking insurance costs in coastal areas prone to climate disasters are making it harder for low-income housing developers to keep building.
Mismanagement Leads to Loss of up to $35M for DC Affordable Housing
The District’s housing agency forfeited what would amount to $35 million in federal housing funds over the next decade.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic Place Names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority