How to Reform the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program
Housing and policy experts agree that LIHTC has successfully increased the supply of affordable housing. But they also believe there's room for improvement.
Can Residents Get More Out of Tax Credit Housing?
Arrangements in which LIHTC tenants share in the development’s financial benefits, or become partial or full owners, are rare—but some properties have pulled them off. This scan of several examples shows the possibilities—and the conditions needed for them to succeed.
Memphis Is Shrinking. Here’s Why We Need to Change That
Memphis is struggling with a dwindling population, driven in part by a high crime rate and disinvestment in low-income areas of the city. What are local organizations doing to turn this around?
How Are LIHTC Rules Enforced—And How Well?
LIHTC developers must follow strict affordability rules—and fulfill other promises—for at least 30 years. While industry insiders insist compliance rates are high, tenant advocates say noncompliance is a real problem.
LIHTC: How It Started, How It’s Going
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit was created in a moment when other real estate tax preferences were going away—but at the time, no one expected it to grow into the main source of affordable housing finance in the country.
Meet Me at the Intersection of Housing, with Guest Dawn Kelly
Dawn Kelly, founder of the New York-based healthy food and beverage restaurant The Nourish Spot, chats with Shelterforce's Schlonn Hawkins about the connection between entrepreneurship, housing, building communities, and more.
How Organizers in Rio’s Favelas Are Harnessing Solar Energy
Neighborhoods on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro face a multitude of challenges, including social and racial inequity, and a lack of public services. This organization is hoping to prove that solar energy can benefit neighborhoods, lower electric bills, and provide jobs.
Western States Look to These Lands for New Affordable Housing
In several western states, state-owned trust lands were created to support schools and other community benefits.
Cellphones Are a Lifeline for Unhoused People—But Barriers Abound
A lack of internet access and charging stations makes it challenging for unhoused folks to maintain a working cellphone, posing a threat to their safety and ability to follow up with service providers or connect with employers.
A COVID Upside: It Pushed Organizations to Do Better
During the pandemic, community development organizations had to work double-time to adapt to residents' needs. For some, that work yielded important lessons about better helping their communities, permanently.
Tenant Protections Undone: How Florida Organizers Are Moving Forward
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in June that overrode dozens of local tenant protection laws won there in recent years. How are housing organizers in Florida fighting back? And what can other organizers do if they live in a state that is hostile to tenant protections?
Supreme Court Decision: Good for Homeowners, Bad for Land Banks?
A SCOTUS ruling that protects a homeowner’s equity may end up benefiting speculators and hurting land banks.
Rebuilding After Trauma: Public Spaces in Cleveland
Traumatic events, and the ongoing traumas of vacancy and disinvestment, can be strongly associated with the places where they occurred. In Cleveland, several organizations are bringing new function and meaning to traumatized spaces.
Squatters Ask Chicago: Why So Many Vacancies?
Officials in Chicago are struggling to address the city's homelessness and housing crises. So why does the Chicago Public Housing Authority have one of the highest rates of vacancy in the country?
Let’s Act Now to Stop Racism in Real Estate Appraisals
In 2022, a government task force released an action plan about combating bias in the appraisal industry. How can CDFIs fight back against the damage caused by under-appraisals?
Preparing Underinvested Communities for New Funding
Underinvested communities are at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting and deploying funding. The Center for Community Investment is helping to change that.
A Critical Look at the Section 8 Program, a Webinar
In September, Shelterforce’s Shelby R. King was invited to participate in a virtual “Housing Hangout.” Panelists discussed the history of the Section 8 program, its strong points and failings, and ideas for large-scale reforms.
West Virginia Tackles Vacancy With Tax Reform
In 2018, Shelterforce wrote about the Center for Community Progress's recommendations for tax reform in West Virginia to address vacancy. Guided by CCP's suggestions, the state auditor’s office has recently passed two laws to change its tax sales process and keep properties in use.
Low-Barrier Motel Shelter Is a Success—But Not an Easy One
Many guests at Motels4Now are on their second or third stays—but staff say that's doesn't equal failure, and the numbers bear them out.
San Francisco Is Fighting to Keep Its Homeless Sweeps Going—With or...
Courts are curbing cities’ ability to threaten, cite, or arrest people merely for being homeless. Now states and cities are searching for loopholes to avoid the injunctions.