NLBMDA continues to push for affordable housing tax credit

6/6/2019
The National Lumber and Building Materials Dealer Association (NLBMDA) said it approves of recent legislation reintroduced in The House of Representatives and Senate concerning affordable housing.

A lack of affordability in the housing market has been pointed to by multiple agencies, including the National Association of Home Builders and the National Association of Realtors, as a primary culprit for hindering home sales and housing growth.

The NLBMDA issued the following statement regarding the legislation and the Low-Income Tax Credit:

 

The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association applauds action taken yesterday by a group of bipartisan legislators in both the House and Senate to reintroduce the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (S. 1703 and H.R. 3077), which would address the nation’s shortage of affordable housing by protecting, expanding and strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

This legislation would boost affordable housing development by increasing the amount of credits allocated to each state by 50% over a five year period. The bill also establishes a minimum 4% credit rate floor which will increase the amount of equity available to build affordable housing and help close the gap between the costs of developing homes and the financing available to provide affordable rents to low and moderate-income families. Estimates have shown that 65,000 additional rental homes could be financed over the next 10 years if a minimum 4 percent floor is established for low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), in combination with tax-exempt private activity bonds.

“The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit plays a critical role in helping address our nation’s affordable housing crisis and NLBMDA is delighted to see the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act reintroduced in the 116th Congress,” said Jonathan Paine, President and CEO of NLBMDA. “This legislation will help spur affordable housing development, provide predictability for developers, and make more types of development financially feasible.”

Since 1986, LIHTC has financed the development of over 3 million apartments, providing affordable homes to roughly 7.2 million low to moderate-income families. The development of these apartments has supported 3.4 million jobs, and generated $323 billion in local income and $127 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues.

 
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