Texas Housers is pleased to announce the release of “How to Improve Housing Tax Credits for Low Income Texans: 2024 QAP Report”, a new report on Texas’ Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.
The report focuses on policy changes that can improve the LIHTC program for vulnerable, low income Texans who experience the greatest housing need. As is shown year after year in NLIHC’s Gap Report, there is a severe shortage of housing available and affordable to the lowest income families, those making at or below 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI). In Texas, we have just 25 affordable units for every 100 households at or below 30% AMI. There is virtually no shortage of affordable units for households making more than 50% AMI.
The term “affordable housing” can be used to refer to anything from subsidized housing with supportive services for vulnerable and extremely low income households to market-rate housing for middle class families. When we discuss and think about affordable housing, the extreme lack of housing for the lowest income households needs to be the priority. We must prioritize this need first in order to address the larger affordability crisis.
Low income Texans have a right to safe and secure housing, but are disproportionately harmed by living in high poverty neighborhoods that are more vulnerable to hazards. The lack of deeply affordable, safe housing and the inability of private, market rate housing to address this need is a clear and chronic market failure. Focusing public funds on providing decent housing for our most vulnerable neighbors is the appropriate response to market failure.
LIHTC is currently the most important federal funding tool for creating new affordable housing, but state data shows that just 5.5% of households served by the Texas LIHTC program in the 2023 fiscal year had incomes at or below 30% AMI. The Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), which guides the award of housing tax credits, should be used to focus funds on helping those who need it most. The QAP is updated annually, which provides a regular opportunity to help shape the policies that determine how the state awards affordable housing funds. The recommendations included in this report will push additional funding towards deeply affordable housing in opportunity rich neighborhoods. .
Our high-level recommendations are:
- Increase Availability of Deeply Affordable Units
- Build New Projects Close to Existing Ones Only in High Opportunity Areas
- Support Eviction Prevention Policies
- Reduce Barriers to Accessing Supportive Housing
- Reduce Tenant Vulnerability to Hazards
- Increase Transparency and Involvement in Rehabilitation Properties
LIHTC advocacy is challenging. The LIHTC policy conversation is dominated by developers who are fluent in program rules and travel to Austin for in-person meetings. Historically, tenants and advocates have had a harder time participating and impacting policy. This report is intended to remove barriers to participation by demystifying the process and highlighting opportunities for improvement to the benefit of Texas’ lowest income renters.
Read ‘How to Improve Housing Tax Credits for Low Income Texans: 2024 QAP Report‘ below.
Questions? Email the report’s author, Sidney Beaty, at sidney@texashousing.org
