Page 18 - THE GAP: The Affordable Housing Gap Analysis 2019

THE GAP Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) must also be adequately funded for preservation. PBRA consists of rental contracts between HUD and private-property owners who provide subsidized housing for low-income renters. Tenants contribute 30% of their adjusted gross incomes toward the rent, and HUD’s contribution covers the rest. e average annual income of households living in housing supported by PBRA is $12,505 (HUD, 2018). Without adequate and timely appropriations to renew expiring contracts, some of these rental homes could be lost from the a ordable housing stock. Su cient funds should also be appropriated to preserve the a ordable housing stock supported by the USDA’s Section 515 loan program, whose rural tenants have an average annual household income of $12,588 (Housing Assistance Council, 2018). Reforms to the federal tax code could also improve our nation’s ability to stably house the most nancially vulnerable renters. A deeply income-targeted fully refundable renters’ tax credit for housing cost- burdened renters would help address the gap between housing costs and the incomes of the poorest renters. e credits could be based on the di erence between 30% of a renter’s household income and their actual housing costs up to a modest price. Congress should also expand and reform the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program to better target the housing needs of extremely low-income households. LIHTC is the largest production subsidy for a ordable housing in the U.S. LIHTC rents, however, are not typically a ordable to extremely low-income renters without additional rental assistance. NLIHC supports reforms to better serve people with the lowest incomes, including a 50% basis boost in tax credits for developments that set aside at least 20% of their housing for extremely low-income renters. A SHORTAGE OF AFFORDABLE HOMES, 2019 The political will for signi cant investments in solutions like these is expanding Congress should also create a National Housing Stabilization Fund to provide emergency assistance to poor households facing housing instability or homelessness after an economic shock. Temporary assistance can help households stay in their homes after a short-term job loss or unexpected emergency expense, which reduces the long-term negative impact of these events. e political will for signi cant investments in solutions like these is expanding. NLIHC co-leads the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign, a diverse coalition of nearly 100 national organizations from a wide range of elds, including education, health, mental health, food policy, faith-based, social work, civil rights, and housing, that calls for bold investments in deeply a ordable housing supply, in rental assistance, and in emergency assistance for housing stability and homelessness prevention (NLIHC, 2019). Growing Congressional support for these investments is evident. In the last Congress, the “American Housing and Economic Mobility Act” was introduced in the Senate by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and in the House by Representatives Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Elijah Cummings (D-MD) to invest $445 billion over 10 years in the national HTF, implement a federal ban on source-of-income discrimination against voucher holders, and increase funds in existing a ordable housing programs serving tribal lands and rural areas, among other provisions (NLIHC, 2018a). e “Ending Homelessness Act of 2017” was introduced by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) to invest $13.27 billion over ve years to address the shortage of a ordable housing and to combat homelessness. e bill included permanent funding of $1 billion annually to the national HTF and $50 million each year for rental assistance to be 14 NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION