Recently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated $382 million through the nation’s Housing Trust Fund (HTF). The HTF is an affordable housing production program that complements existing federal, state and local efforts to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income households, including families experiencing homelessness, HUD announced in a press release.
“We’re proud to invest in states to create more affordable housing,” HUD Secretary Marica Fudge said in the release. “The Biden-Harris administration is committed to improving the nation’s housing affordability crisis and the Housing Trust Fund provides communities resources they need to produce more safe, sustainable and affordable housing.”
HTF is a formula-based program for states and U.S. territories. By law, each state is allocated a minimum of $3 million. State affordable housing planners will use these funds for the following eligible activities:
- Real property acquisition;
- Site improvements and development hard costs;
- Related soft costs;
- Demolition;
- Financing costs;
- Relocation assistance;
- Operating cost assistance for rental housing (up to 30 percent of each grant); and
- Reasonable administrative and planning costs.
The HTF is being capitalized through contributions made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In December 2014, the Federal Housing Finance Agency directed them to begin setting aside and allocating funds to the fund.
The HTF helps to strengthen and broaden the federal housing safety net for people in need by increasing production of, and access to, affordable housing for the nation’s most vulnerable populations. One hundred percent of the funds must be used for extremely low-income families. This targeting ensures the priority of this program: helping those with the greatest needs.