Editor’s Note: President Trump signed the bill on March 27.
The Senate passed a massive $2 trillion aid package to help lift a country still under siege by the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest relief package in history includes significant funding to assist homeless shelters, public housing, and other vital housing programs.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes $5 billion in Community Development Block Grants, $4 billion in Emergency Solutions Grants to assist shelters and homeless outreach workers, $1.25 billion in housing choice vouchers, $1 billion in project-based rental assistance, and $685 million for public housing.
The bill also provides $50 million for the Section 202 senior housing program and $15 million for the Section 811 housing program for people with disabilities. Overall, the CARES Act provides more than $12 billion in funding for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs.
“With the country’s unemployment rate expected to soar, we must assume tenants at every income level will face financial challenges and therefore many individuals and families are going to need housing assistance,” says David Gasson, executive director of the Housing Advisory Group and vice president at Boston Capital.
A record 3.3 million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, according to the Labor Department.
The House bill provided more for emergency housing assistance than the final Senate proposal, so that’s the one area that will likely need addressing down the road.
Here is a table prepared by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The Senate bill does provide for forbearance and eviction protection for economic purposes for properties under the Federal Housing Administration, Federal Housing Finance Agency, HUD, and other government assistance, notes Gasson.
At the same time, many jurisdictions are suspending evictions and taking other measures to keep people in their homes, which is good for residents but can be difficult on the properties and their owners.
“If they are not collecting rent at the tenant level, how are the properties supposed to maintain utilities, upkeep, and services?” asks Gasson. If not now, this will have to be addressed eventually.
Looking ahead, another legislative package to aid in the recovery is expected, possibly in May.
“The CARES Act is the largest piece of legislation ever created by Congress in our nation’s history and will require subsequent bills to shore up housing tax credit and regulatory issues still pending,” says Bob Moss, principal and national director of governmental affairs at CohnReznick. “The rental housing crisis we all knew about is front and center as an issue for all of America. I think the fact that the industry developed a comprehensive Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act last year will now prove beneficial with over half of the House of Representatives co-sponsoring the bill. It is sad that it took a pandemic to make the case that a safe and sound home are important now more than ever with widespread self-quarantine in place.”
Without making any promises, advocates feel confident that there will be language in future legislation that will deal specifically with the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), Gasson says.
Industry representatives are preparing a package to present to Congress addressing LIHTC issues directly affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
The early plan is to try to make improvements to the overall tax credit program as well as address regulatory issues like placed-in service deadlines in the next bill. The advocates hope to pursue the regulatory fixes both legislatively as well as administratively with the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, according to Gasson. “It’s a dual track that we’re working on,” he says.
