The Biden Administration American Rescue Plan contains sizeable funding for affordable housing along with other policy proposals. It totals $231 Billion in funding in 3 key areas:
Produce, preserve, and retrofit over 1 million affordable housing units to be resilient, accessible, energy-efficient, and electrified. To do accomplish this Biden proposes funding with tax credits, formula funding, grants, and project-based rental assistance. Units would be targeted to households in underserved, rural and tribal communities.
Build 500,000 affordable housing units for low and middle-income buyers. This begins to address the remarkable housing shortage in the country. Funding would come from the proposed Neighborhood Homes Investment Act. $20 Billion.
Update and Upgrade Public Housing through $40 billion in capital funding.
Leveraging existing block grant programs to increase available tax credits for clean energy. For example, Biden proposes creating a $27 billion Clean Energy and Sustainable Accelerator.
HUD announced it will make available $5 billion in new grants to states and local government for rental assistance and development of affordable housing and other services to people experiencing homelessness. This translates in about $150 million for Michigan.
If you have any questions, please contact Mary Levine.
Mary P. Levine is an attorney with Fraser Trebilcock, focusing on affordable housing and community development. Mary was the former President and Secretary of the Greater Lansing Housing Commission (GLHC). She can be reached at mplevine@fraserlawfirm.com or (517) 377-0823.