Housing
LISC approaches affordable housing from a community development perspective that supports local initiatives. This strategy, which includes financing, technical assistance and educational resources to community development corporations, has resulted in the creation or preservation of more than 160,000 affordable homes and apartments. Affordable housing covers a range of issues, from homeownership to preservation to working with public housing agencies. LISC runs a variety of national programs to address those issues.
- The federal low income housing tax credit was established in 1986 to encourage private investment in affordable rental housing. LISC’s affiliate, National Equity Fund, Inc. (NEF), is the nation’s largest nonprofit syndicator of the credits, providing equity capital for multifamily housing projects. Since 1987, NEF has been involved in developing 1,300 affordable housing developments in 250 urban communities and rural areas.
- In many cities, local housing authorities (LHAs) that administer public housing projects are the largest landlords in areas targeted for redevelopment by LISC CDCs. LISC established the Housing Authority Resource Center (HARC) to encourage productive relationships among those housing authorities and local LISC programs. That encouragement comes in the form of financial and technical assistance for innovative development, preservation and redevelopment.
- Nearly 2 million units of federally assisted rental housing face expiring rent and mortgage subsidies and soon may no longer be available to low-income residents. LISC’s Affordable Housing Preservation Initiative is dedicated to preserving as affordable as many of those units as possible. The program provides technical support to LISC’s field offices and local CDCs, seeks new financing solutions to keep those units affordable, and maintains partnerships with other nonprofits to keep those properties safe and in good repair.
Related News
Related Publication
New Directions, Sustainable Solutions
10/26/2007
A new collection of case studies researched and written for the 2007 Affordable Housing Symposium, highlights innovative developers who are tapping non-traditional resources, expanding their scope of work, and offering affordable housing in areas once considered too exclusive or expensive. The case studies highlight four unique tools for affordable housing development: Low Income Housing Tax Credits, the Capital Fund Financing Program, committed and aggressive local agency programs, and mixed-financing. Regardless of their method, these developments help people that are most affected by high housing costs: seniors and low-income working families.
The case studies--in Burnsville, Minn,. Allegheny County, Penn., Charleston, W.Va., and San Diego, Calif.--profile different housing types within different community contexts. Readers are encouraged to apply them as a framework to create and preserve and/or increase affordable housing in their own communities.
Refinanced & Reborn: Planning for the Year 15 Transition of Your Tax Credit Projects
05/07/2007
This manual was prepared by New York City LISC for its CDCs but applies generally to all CDCs who have tax credit projects. It presents a general framework to help you formulate a plan to acquire your project at the end of the 15-year tax credit compliance period and preserve its affordability. You will learn how to consider the legal agreements, project performance, and market forces that will influence your acquisition plan. Working with your consultant, accountant and legal counsel, you can then carefully analyze the details of your project and formulate a purchase offer.
Related Event
Reclaiming Vacant Properties: Strategies for Rebuilding America’s Neighborhoods
September 24 - 25, 2007
Sponsored by the National Vacant Properties Campaign, this will be the first national conference focusing on helping realize the potential of vacant properties as community assets – highlighting strategies to ensure they are used as assets that benefit the residents, communities, and cities around them. The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is principal planning partner for the conference.
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Generous Supporters of LISC Housing
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Based on Greg Maher's 2005 memo, this guide is designed to assist CDCs in becoming educated consumers as they think about, plan and become partners in joint ventures with for-profit developers.