HUD has so far approved 34 national Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Allocation Plans. Of the 34, HUD has publicly identified 13: Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia.
The Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) publicly identifies the states that have approved HTF Allocation Plans only after notifying the states’ congressional delegations and obligating the states’ HTF allocations when the states enter the required information into CPD’s management information system, the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS).
The HTF statute requires each state to prepare an annual Allocation Plan showing how it will distribute the funds based on priority housing needs. The interim rule amends the ConPlan regulations by adding HTF-specific Allocation Plan requirements to the ConPlan’s Annual Plan rule. A state’s Allocation Plan must describe the requirements that must be met by entities applying for HTF funds and the criteria the state will use to select applications.
Allocation Plans must give funding priority to applications based on a number of features listed in the statute, including:
- The extent to which rents are affordable, especially for extremely low income households.
- The length of time rents will remain affordable.
- The project’s merit. The interim rule gives as examples of merit: housing that serves people with special needs, housing accessible to transit or employment centers, and housing that includes green building and sustainable development elements.
- Geographic diversity. Neither the statute nor the interim rule explicitly mention rural areas.
Copies of the HUD-approved HTF Allocation Plans for Arizona, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont are available on NLIHC’s HTF Implementation page, http://nlihc.org/issues/nhtf/state-allocation-plans. Allocation Plans for Indiana, Minnesota, and North Dakota will be added this week, and others will be added as they become available.
More information about the HTF is at: http://nlihc.org/issues/nhtf and on page 3-1 of NLIHC’s 2016 Advocates’ Guide at: http://bit.ly/2kwFuFM