We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
As Congress begins work on its next coronavirus relief package, various groups are urging lawmakers to include provisions in the legislation that will provide relief to LIHTC owners and developers. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently sent a letter to House and Senate leaders urging lawmakers to expand eligibility to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) so that developers and multifamily property owners are eligible to participate in this loan program and to have their loans forgiven.
Within the Moving Forward Act, the recent infrastructure bill passed in the House of Representatives, is legislation that would provide a tax credit for supportive services in LIHTC buildings. The Opportunity Starts at Home Act would provide permanent, supportive services for people at risk of experiencing homelessness.
On June 1, 67 mayors representing communities across 28 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter to House and Senate leaders, urging Congress to establish a minimum 4 percent rate for bond-financed properties and lower the “50 percent test” financed-by threshold that bond-financed properties must meet to receive 4 percent Housing Credits in the next coronavirus relief legislation. The letter explains how the drop in the 4 percent minimum Housing Credit rate is threatening the viability of LIHTC sites.
Nearly 300,000 affordable units could be lost in the next five years, according to a joint report recently released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC). “2020 Picture of Preservation” says that although federally assisted affordable housing provides stability for 4.9 million low-income renter households, the need for affordable rental homes still far outweighs the supply.
Representatives Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Denny Heck (D-WA), along with 133 House cosponsors, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and 24 Senate cosponsors, recently introduced the “Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act.” The bill would provide $100 billion in emergency rental assistance to ensure that lower-income households remain stably housed during the coronavirus pandemic.
On May 15, House Democrats passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, 208-199, which would provide more than $3 trillion for coronavirus relief in programs across government agencies, including significant funding for affordable housing.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently released a final rule strengthening and modernizing the agency’s regulations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The CRA was enacted in 1977 to encourage insured depository institutions to help meet the credit needs in their local communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. It was created as a reaction to the practice of redlining, where banks avoided making loans to low-income neighborhoods.
On April 10, the IRS issued Notice 2020-23, which postpones various deadlines between April 1 and July 15 to a new July 15, 2020, deadline. Here is a full list of April 1 – July 15 LIHTC deadlines extended by Notice 2020-23 to July 15, 2020:
On April 16, HUD updated its COVID-19 FAQs for Multifamily Housing Providers to state that the stimulus checks, and the enhanced unemployment insurance assistance, should not be counted toward income. Because the stimulus assistance is technically an advance tax credit, and because the up to $600 per week federal unemployment insurance payments issued under the CARES Act are temporary, they are not to be included in calculations of income.
RSS