Monthly Columns Archives

Against a backdrop of rising rents nationwide and a lack of housing supply in major cities, suburbs, and rural areas, leaders in Washington, DC are devoting significant time and attention to addressing the affordable housing crisis. President Biden, in his March 7th State of the Union address, called for Congress to enact his plan to “build and renovate two million affordable homes and bring…rents down.”

The needs of the public housing portfolio are well documented: annual shortfalls in Congressional funding dating back to the 1980s have contributed to an estimated capital backlog of $70 billion.

In 1998, when North Carolina Democrat-turned-Republican Lauch Faircloth added the amendment for which he became infamous, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) were in a protracted bureaucratic standoff combining the worst features of medieval sieges and the First World War.   

If 20 years ago you had told a young Henry Santana that someday he would run for Boston City Council, the recent immigrant from the Dominican Republic growing up in public housing would have thought you were playing a joke on him.

Public housing in the U.S. dates back to the Housing Act of 1937 when Congress created local housing authorities to build public housing for millions who were struggling after the Great Depression.

In this issue of Tax Credit Advisor, we continue our discussions with the next generation of thought leaders in the affordable housing business.

The Path Forward

I am often asked some version of the question, “Why bother” when it comes to advocacy on the federal level.

Federal Affordable/Workforce Housing Legislation Déjà Vue 

With all the time that affordable housing property managers spend scrutinizing resident households’ income, owners and managers who want to avoid the quicksand of eviction should invest similar insight into understanding households’ expenses.

If you’ve ever spent time in Baltimore, you’ve likely noticed the vibrant and emotive murals strategically placed around the city.

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act achieved a major milestone – 200 co-sponsors within the House of Representatives (H.R. 3238).