LeadingAge Highlights Affordable Housing Preservation through Proposed HOME Updates

LeadingAge submitted coalition comments to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in response to a proposal by the agency to update program rules for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

HUD proposed wide-ranging rule changes for the HOME program earlier this year; the HOME program has been a critical resource to communities across the country to build, rehab, and preserve multifamily rental housing, often used to fill critical gaps in affordable housing financing.

Among LeadingAge's priorities for the HOME program updates were changes to definitions of "troubled properties" that allow additional flexibilities to preserve the affordability of a project-previously, the program focused on financial viability without allowing for preservation based on the physical condition of HOME-assisted housing units at risk of failure or foreclosure. The letter also calls out efforts to more clearly define the period of affordability so that additional resources can be used to preserve a property for the long-term.

The coalition letter also applauds changes to permit a higher maximum per-unit subsidy limit for meeting specific sustainability measures, as well as changes to Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) related to designations and project requirements.

LeadingAge helped to develop the comments on behalf of the Preservation Working Group, a national coalition of housing owners, developers, advocates, tenant associations and state and local housing agencies dedicated to the preservation of multifamily housing for low-income households.