The Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC) released a new report describing tools available to PHAs to preserve and expand their housing stock. Using data on federally -assisted homes from the National Housing Preservation Database, PAHRC found that the role of PHAs in the private rental market has expanded, particularly in programs other than public housing with the expansion of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. In 2013, researchers estimated that 919 PHAs owned more than 150,000 homes outside of the traditional public housing stock. PAHRC’s latest report shows that at least 1,664 PHAs own or manage 384,592 homes assisted by programs other than public housing, such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) and HOME.
Due to the federal divestment in public housing, PAHRC also reports that PHAs are leveraging private market development tools to finance their public housing redevelopment efforts and expand their affordable housing stock by using such tools as tax credits and project-based vouchers. For instance, the number of PHAs project-basing their vouchers has increased 39% since 2016. PAHRC recommends a series of policy actions to further support PHAs development efforts, including increasing affordable housing development and preservation funds.
On Wednesday, June 8, at 2 p.m. EST, PAHRC will host a webinar, Strategies for PHA Development Efforts, to further explain the findings from their latest report. The webinar will feature presenters from the San Diego Housing Commission.