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U.S. renters will owe up to $34 billion in past-due rent by January, increasing eviction filings and imposing punishing financial hardship on millions in just a few months, according to a recent report by the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA). The report estimates roughly 10–14 million renter households were behind on their rent by a total of roughly $12–$17 billion as of Sept. 14.

Senate Democrats recently announced a proposal to invest $350 billion in communities of color, including specific policies that would increase investments in affordable housing and promote racial equity in homeownership.

The Economic Justice Act proposes to provide communities of color disproportionately affected by coronavirus with $135 billion for child care, mental health care, primary care, and jobs, as well as $215 billion over the next five years for affordable housing, homeownership, and infrastructure.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reported changes in renter households and affordability from 2001 to 2017. The report, “As More Households Rent, the Poorest Face Affordability and Housing Quality Challenges,” is the first in a GAO series that aims to provide a detailed assessment of the country’s housing market. It describes rental housing trends, including rental affordability and rental housing quality.

Because of the economic uncertainty related to the ongoing pandemic, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently proposed that its 2021 housing goals remain at the levels that they were for 2018–2020. The proposal establishes housing goals for single-family and multifamily housing.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, recently released a list of affordable housing priorities he will push for in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation. His priorities are directed toward supporting LIHTC sites. Wyden’s focus on preserving and expanding affordable housing through the LIHTC program is particularly notable because he would become chairman of the committee should Democrats take the Senate in the fall.

In late March, HUD released the latest annual report that analyzes LIHTC household data collected as a result of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) passed in 2008. Among other things, HERA requires each housing finance agency (HFA) that administers the LIHTC to submit certain demographic and economic information on tenants in LIHTC units. HUD collects information about race, ethnicity, family composition, age, income, use of rental assistance, disability status, and monthly rental payments.

Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) recently released its annual “America’s Rental Housing 2020” report. The new report shows that rental markets are still extremely tight despite slowing demand and the continued strength of new construction. The JCHS report finds vacancy rates at the lowest level since the mid-1980s and rents continuing their climb for the seventh year straight.

Representative Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., recently released a report entitled, “Locked Out: Reversing Federal Housing Failures and Unlocking Opportunity.” The report identifies the LIHTC program as the largest form of federal assistance to state and local governments in the form of a tax credit and not a direct expenditure.

The House Ways and Means Committee recently held a hearing called “Paving the Way for Funding and Financing Infrastructure Investments.” The hearing was held the same day that House Democrats unveiled their outline for a $760 billion infrastructure package that includes LIHTC as a tool for community development.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently dismissed a discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). This long-running lawsuit was brought by the Inclusive Communities Project (ICP), the same organization that pursued a similar lawsuit against Texas’ LIHTC allocating agency.