Page 15 - Balancing Priorities

BALANCING PRIORITIES: Preservation and Neighborhood Opportunity in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program Beyond Year 30 FIGURE 5: LOCATION OF LIHTC UNITS REACHING YEAR 30 BETWEEN 2020-2029 BY NEIGHBORHOOD DESIRABILITY AND OPPORTUNITY Low or Very-Low Opportunity 13% 5% Moderate Opportunity High or Very-High Opportunity 42% 12% 9% Low or Very-Low Desirability Source: NLIHC and PAHRC, 2018 market-rate conversion, offer the highest degree of opportunity, and would the most dif cult to replace if lost from the affordable housing stock. It would likely be dif cult for displaced tenants, with or without portable rental assistance, to nd affordable housing in the same neighborhoods, or one offering a similar degree of opportunity. Expiring LIHTC units are most concentrated in neighborhoods that rank low in both neighborhood desirability and opportunity. Overall, 42% of expiring units (199,316) are in neighborhoods that rank very-low or low in both desirability and opportunity, while 19% (88,843) of units are in neighborhoods that rank very-low in both desirability and opportunity (not shown in Figure). These ndings suggest that demand for preservation resources in the future may be greater from LIHTC owners seeking to address the physical deterioration of units in lower opportunity neighborhoods than to maintain affordability in higher opportunity neighborhoods. Some LIHTC units reaching Year 30 between 2020 and 2029 are in neighborhoods of low desirability, but high opportunity (Figure 6). Thirteen percent of expiring LIHTC units in this time period are in very-low or low desirability neighborhoods but offer high or very-high levels of overall opportunity. Expiring units sited in neighborhoods with lower desirability might only offer higher levels of speci c components of opportunity, which underscores the importance of looking beyond aggregate opportunity metrics when making actual decisions about preservation (Goetz, 2018). Educational opportunity, for example, is likely more relevant to LIHTC properties primarily serving families than those serving primarily seniors. Owners of LIHTC units reaching Year 30 in neighborhoods of low desirability that score high in neighborhood opportunity might face dif culty addressing maintenance and rehabilitation needs without subsidies for 4% Moderate Desirability 8% 3% 4% High or Very-High Desirability NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION AND THE PUBLIC AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESEARCH CORPORATION 15