NHPF Industry Report
Zoning has long been used both as a tool to build cities and as an exclusionary practice to keep neighborhoods, towns, and cities racially and economically divided. According to a study by preeminent housing law scholar and Cornell University professor Sara C. Bronin, “zoning codes nearly universally establish areas exclusively for single- family housing. Lifting numerical caps in these areas brings the promise of increasing housing supply.” In a 2019 study conducted by NHPF, “onerous regulations” such as zoning also keep some would-be investors from even entering the affordable housing market. The creation of a federal zoning agency like USICH (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness), the only federal agency created to prevent and end homelessness, could mean an overhaul of the nation’s archaic and often arcane zoning laws impacting lot size, single residence per lot requirements, and parking minimums. We would also advocate for federal penalties for municipalities with restrictive zoning policy including withholding federal funding. A helpful tool for anyone looking to overhaul the zoning system could begin by supporting the creation of a national zoning atlas already in the works by a team including Professor Bronin.
Expand and Safeguard the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
“LIHTC is the only tool we have to create and preserve affordable housing supply at any meaningful scale. Any attempt to solve our nation’s affordable housing crisis must include a significant expansion of the program and reforms to allow the Credit to break more ground.” —EMILY CADIK, CEO, AFFORDABLE HOUSING TAX CREDIT COALITION LIHTC has financed over 3.7 million affordable homes since its inception in 1986. Though widely regarded as a successful program, spanning nearly four decades, and receiving broad, bipartisan support, the program is perennially at risk. In 2018 Congress increased the Housing Credit allocation by 12.5% on a bipartisan basis, but the increase has now expired at a time when rents are skyrocketing. In addition to restoring these resources, the program should be significantly expanded to meet the vast growing demand for affordable housing. Bipartisan legislation, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (S. 1557/H.R. 3238), would restore the 12.5% allocation increase, further increase the Housing Credit allocation by an additional 50%, and make other changes to unlock additional resources, streamline the program, and facilitate more developments in hard-to-reach areas like rural and Native communities. Though the legislation has the support of more than one-third of Congress, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, it has not yet advanced because of congressional gridlock. It is essential that Congress pass the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act this year, to allow thousands of shovel-ready affordable housing developments to move forward and LIHTC to continue unabated.
THE NHP FOUNDATION 2023 SYMPOSIUM: INDUSTRY REPORT • 5
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