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Affordability

How Are LIHTC Rents Set—And Why Can’t So Many Renters Can’t Afford Them?

This video breaks down the LIHTC rent-setting process, and shows the surprising number of people it doesn’t serve.

Close up view of rock, scissors, and a sheet of white paper on a red table or desk. The rock is oval gray rock with a band of white quartz through it, the scissors have purple plastic grips and metal blades. The scissors are positioned such that they appear to have just cut the paper, and the rock is resting on the paper, half concealed by a portion of it.
Housing

Legitimate Debate or Short-Sighted Complaints? 5 Reasons Affordable Housing Is Expensive to Build

There’s no denying that affordable housing can be expensive to build. But we need to look at the long-term benefits of those investments to see the bigger picture.

View from the street of a bank built in 1917. From the photographer: The building features a red brick exterior with terra cotta trim, decorative panels with Sullivanesque detailing, Sullivanesque trim, a decorative mosaic in the tympanum below the arch above the front entrance with the word “Thrift” in gold lettering in the middle of an expanse of blue tile and decorative white, cream, green, purple, red, and orange tile accents, decorative metal lettering on the facade above the arch displaying the words “The People’s Federal Savings & Loan Assn." ... Gargoyles above the pilasters framing the front entrance, fixed glass windows at the corners, brass double doors.
Affordability

How the New CRA Rule Will Help, and Where It Falls Short

The assessments that evaluate a bank’s lending practices have improved, but there are several missed opportunities for reform. For one, the new rules won’t incorporate a racial analysis into lending examinations.

A collage of photos from stories that appeared on Shelterforce, with 2023 etched in the center.
Community Development Field

Shelterforce’s Top 10 Stories of 2023

What were the biggest Shelterforce stories of the year? We count down the top 10 of 2023.

Concept bold thinking—individual red paper plane flies in different direction in contrast to crowd of ordinary white planes
Housing

How to Really Reform the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program

Adding more credits and making tweaks do not actually address some of the major weaknesses of the program. We should be bolder.

Close-up of a 2012 copper US penny, cut into six pieces of unequal size.
Affordability

You Might Have to Accept Cuts—But Don’t Accept Devaluing of Your Work

As municipalities face post-pandemic fiscal shortages, there’s a longer-term danger lurking behind budget fights.

A row of 26 people of varying ages and skin tones stand in front of a pink building with a large archway leading to a plaza or park with trees. Many of the people are wearing ID tags on lanyards and all are smiling.
Affordability

How We Can Bring Vienna’s Housing Model to the U.S.

Legislators visited Vienna to learn about the city’s social housing program. Here’s how they say their states’ housing crises would benefit from similar policies.

Graffiti of green housing overlapping each other.
Housing

The Only Tool in the Box: What It Means That LIHTC Dominates Affordable Housing

Even those who praise the tax credit program and what it has accomplished are concerned that there are so few sizeable alternatives to it.

Close-up of document titled "Rent Increase Notice." Text is partly hidden by a blue and silver ballpoint pen. Visible text says "...inform you that beginning on ____ .... increase by $_____. No other ..... to original rental agreement.... monthly payment is due on the first...."
Affordability

How Tenant Activists Won Protections Against Mid-Lease Rent Hikes in Affordable Housing

Last year, we reported on tenants in Northern Virginia LIHTC properties whose rents were raised in the middle of their leases. Here’s how other states have banned the practice.

Affordability

LIHTC for Regular People

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is famously complex. We can’t exactly make it simple, but we’ve broken down the basics, especially those that residents of a LIHTC property might want to know, as clearly as possible.

Three men in work clothes including helmets and tool belts stand on scaffolding. It looks as though the scaffolding is standing alone but it is erected against a white building, creating that effect.
Affordability

How to Reform the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program

Housing and policy experts agree that LIHTC has successfully increased the supply of affordable housing. But they also believe there’s room for improvement.

Transparent check mark over compliance related icons and words handwritten on white papers
Affordability

How Are LIHTC Rules Enforced—And How Well?

LIHTC developers must follow strict affordability rules—and fulfill other promises—for at least 30 years. While industry insiders insist compliance rates are high, tenant advocates say noncompliance is a real problem.