No other issue touches the heart of housing trust funds more than that of serving those populations that continue to have the most difficult time securing decent, affordable housing. Due to their flexibility, housing trust funds have developed creative approaches to serving the lowest-income renters.
- More than half of the housing trust funds responding to Community Change’s 2016 national housing trust fund survey indicated some targeting to households that earn no more than 60% of the area median income or below (for some, these requirements applied only to rental housing).
- Nearly two-thirds of these trust funds target incomes below this amount, generally 30% or 50% of the area median income.
- More than 40% of survey respondents also indicated that priority or preference is given to projects that serve the lowest-income households.
- Over one-third of these respondents indicated that they set aside some available funds to serve specific lower-income populations.
The rationale for using housing trust funds to serve those with the lowest incomes is clear: they are public funds that use public revenue and should meet a public purpose. We must ensure that all our community’s residents have decent, affordable housing. Those with the lowest incomes face the most complicated challenges in finding affordable and decent housing; thus, they should be a priority. A second reason to target these households is that trust funds generate resources that would not otherwise be available for housing and have no predetermined conditions restricting their use, offering a means to address needs not being met by other programs.
The most common argument against serving those with the lowest incomes is that available funds would serve more households if less money is required to support each unit, i.e., shallower subsidies. A second argument is that more support can be generated for the proposed housing trust fund if it promises to serve a broader range of housing needs. This may be true. However, it is also true that presenting the trust fund as part of a solution for addressing specific needs critical to the health of our communities can be compelling.
The following housing trust funds have set-aside to serve extremely low-income persons:
State Housing Trust Funds
Washington, D.C. Housing Production Trust Fund
Iowa State Housing Trust Fund
Louisiana Housing Trust Fund
Maryland Affordable Housing Trust
Minnesota Housing Trust Fund
North Carolina Housing Trust Fund
New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Washington Home SecurityFund
City Housing Trust Funds
Sioux City, Iowa Housing Trust Fund
Chicago, Illinois Low-Income Housing Trust Fund
Albuquerque, New Mexico Workforce Housing Trust Fund
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Housing Trust Fund
Nashville, Tennessee Barnes Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Seattle, Washington Housing Levy
County Housing Trust Funds
Chico, California North Valley Housing Trust
San Luis Obispo County, California Housing Trust Fund
Des Moines, Iowa Polk County Housing Trust Fund
Kalamazoo County, Michigan Local Housing Assistance Fund
Camden County, New Jersey Homeless Trust Fund
Columbus/Franklin County, Ohio Affordable Housing Trust
Housing Trust Funds can also be structured to serve the critical housing needs of other populations; funds often prioritize housing for special needs populations, for example, or set aside a portion of funds to be directed to rural or other special geographic areas.
Priority Category | Adopted by |
|---|---|
Rural Areas | Arizona Kentucky Oklahoma Ohio South Dakota Washington Vancouver, WA |
Persons with Disabilities | Tucson, Arizona Bainbridge Island, Washington |
Preservation Activities | Polk County, Iowa |
Emergency Assistance | Nevada Account for Low Income Housing |
Homeless Projects | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Transitional Housing | San Diego, California |
Non-profit Applicants | Madison, Wisconsin |
Pre-development Activities | West Virginia |
Non profit Capacity Building | San Diego, California |