This update describes three major parts of the Housing Bill recently passed by Congress and signed by the President. Highlights from each of the three main sections of the bill include:

National Housing Trust Fund

• The National Housing Trust Fund would primarily develop rental housing affordable to extremely low-income households (below 30 percent of area median income);
• Resources for the Trust Fund are dedicated and would not require annual appropriations like other housing programs. Funding for the Trust Fund will be phased in over three years;
• If the Trust Fund had been fully in effect in 2008, it would have provided approximately $300 million for affordable housing;
• At least 90 percent of Trust Fund resources would be for rental housing, including the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of rental housing, or for operating costs; and
• At least 75 percent of the amount used for rental housing would have to be for extremely low-income households (30 percent or less of area median income) or families with incomes at or below the poverty line.

Capital Magnet Fund

• The Capital Magnet Fund would be operated by the Department of Treasury. Nonprofit housing developers or Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) could apply for access to its funds;
• Funds could be used for the development, preservation, rehabilitation, or purchase of affordable housing for primarily extremely low-, very low-, and low- income families; and
• Funds could also be used for economic development activities or community service facilities, such as day care centers, workforce development centers, and health care clinics, which in conjunction with affordable housing activities implement a concerted strategy to stabilize or revitalize a low-income area or underserved rural area.

Low Income Housing Tax Credit

• Ongoing rent and operating subsidies would not reduce eligible basis;
• It will be easier to use project-based vouchers, McKinney-Vento subsidies, and other federal housing programs in conjunction with the Tax Credit;
• More community service space would be eligible; and
• Preferences for tenants with special needs would be explicitly permitted.

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