Page 16 - Balancing Priorities

FIGURE 6: PERCENT OF LIHTC UNITS REACHING YEAR 30 BETWEEN 2020-2029 IN NEIGHBORHOODS WITH LOWER DESIRABILITY BUT HIGHER OPPORTUNITY Units in Neighborhoods of Very-Low or Low Desirability and Very-High Opportunity Units in Neighborhoods of Very-Low or Low Desirability and High Opportunity 8% 8% 5% 15% 4% 4% 11% 8% 7% 9% Labor Market Transit Educational Health Risk Overall Access Access Opportunity Opportunity Source: NLIHC and PAHRC, 2018 THE END OF INCOME ELIGIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS IN LIHTC UNITS PRESENTS A CHALLENGE TO DECISION-MAKERS WHO MUST BALANCE THE NEED FOR PRESERVATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH THE NEED TO EXPAND SUPPLY THROUGH NEW PRODUCTION. BALANCING PRIORITIES: Preservation and Neighborhood Opportunity in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program Beyond Year 30 preservation. These neighborhoods, however, may provide value in terms of opportunity. 10 LIHTC units in such neighborhoods should not be overlooked for preservation. for preservation of affordable housing with the need to expand supply through new production (Collignon, 1999). With signi cant demand for insuf cient subsidies, decision-makers need to strategically establish preservation priorities. The need for preservation in the LIHTC program and the degree of opportunities offered by neighborhoods raise important questions about the relationship between preservation and mobility, policy priorities that are sometimes viewed as con icting (Crowley & Pelletiere, 2012). In what follows we consider the dilemma decision-makers will likely face in establishing priorities in the context of scarce resources. We then consider how a broader vision for the housing safety net could help address this dilemma. On the one hand, if decision-makers want to pursue an affordable housing policy that promotes access to opportunity and desegregation, then expiring affordability restrictions might present an opportunity to reallocate place-based housing assistance to neighborhoods of higher opportunity. Discussion The end of income eligibility and affordability requirements in LIHTC units presents a challenge to decision-makers who must balance the need 10 Chetty and Hendron (2017) refer to lower-rent neighborhoods that provide positive outcomes as “opportunity bargains.” NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION AND THE PUBLIC AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESEARCH CORPORATION 16