A little-known group of affordable housing financiers is calling on everyone up and down the housing food chain to take action to prevent “harmful cuts” to the federal agencies involved in the housing business.
The all-hands-on-deck plea from the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders (NAAHL) includes a tool kit of “essential information” for effectively engaging with elected and administrative officials at all levels of government about the importance of a strong federal partner.
NAAHL was founded in 1990 to expand economic opportunity through responsible private financing for affordable housing and inclusive neighborhood revitalization. It is the only alliance of banks, community development financial institutions, and other lenders and investors operating mainly in affordable housing and community.
The kit includes a section on the impact of staff and funding cuts to key federal programs plus a detailed list of the agencies that administer housing programs and what they do to advance their responsibilities. Those agencies include not just the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) but also the Treasury and Agriculture Departments.
Trimming staff and funding, as the Trump Administration has set out to do, along with cancelling related contracts, another Trump initiative, “would severely reduce affordable housing options and critical community services across America,” the NAAHL says. Those steps also would have “far-reaching consequences” for financial institutions and the overall economy.
Among the key impacts outlined by the group:
- Affordable housing construction and preservation would be severely crippled nationwide, worsening an already existing shortage of such housing.
- Private sector investment would be put in jeopardy. Program implementation would be impaired because of the significant uncertainty of deals. Such doubt would endanger the financial viability of projects.
- Access to affordable housing would be limited, especially for first-time buyers, veterans and moderate income families. At the same time, more people would be pushed into housing instability and homelessness.
- Seniors, people with disabilities and low-income families would be left without critical housing support, possibly leading to displacement.
- Communities affected by natural disasters would face longer rebuilding timelines.
- The overall economy would suffer with fewer housing-related jobs, and vital infrastructure projects would be delayed.
While HUD is the primary agency responsible for national housing policy, Treasury and Agriculture have key roles, too, the NAAHL package points out. Treasury, for example, drives affordable housing production through tax incentives. It also is home to the CDFI Fund, which invests in financial institutions that back affordable housing and neighborhood healthcare centers, childcare centers and other facilities.
