Local priorities
1. Increase support for multi- and single-family affordable homeownership opportunities.
Habitat NYC seeks to increase the City’s inclusion of affordable homeownership in its ambitious housing goals. This is made possible through:
• Increased focus on homeownership within mid- and high-rise RFPs on city-owned land.
• Re-establish support for the provision of bond and subsidy financing for affordable cooperative projects through the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
These policy changes will encourage affordable housing developers to provide low and moderate income New Yorkers with new homeownership opportunities for years to come.
2. Reform the sale of City tax and water liens for Class 1 properties, which includes one–three family homes.
The City’s current practice of selling tax and water liens on one–three family homes in order to receive addition revenues for services and operations is disconnected from the Mayor’s strategies to preserve affordable housing. The City must Stop these sales to private investors and implement new strategies that prioritize preserving this housing stock for future low-income homeowners.
State priorities
1. Establish state CLT tax exemptions for permanently affordable housing on CLT land.
Existing tax exemptions, abatements, and assessment practices are insufficient to ensure the long-term and permanent affordability of affordable homeownership. Housing on Community Land Trusts throughout the state are vulnerable to unfair tax assessments and we call on Albany to establish tax-exemptions for homes on and land owned by CLTs. In order to preserve this critical housing stock the State must take action to maintain affordability of resale restricted homes.
2. Support A-6494/ S-7063 to increase support for permanently affordable homeownership construction and rehabilitation projects and increase funding for the Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC).
Funding levels for rental housing has vastly outpaced homeownership programs, leading to very limited resources for Habitat and other home builders at the City and State levels. Despite dramatic increases in the cost of construction over the past 30 years, allocations to build a homeownership unit has not significantly increased since AHC’s establishment in 1985. A-6494/ S-7063 will increase the per unit allocation for homeownership projects from $40k/du to $110k/du. It will also require that projects accessing increased funds require permanent affordability restrictions, ensuring long-term public benefit for increased investment.
3. Allocate $25M to the NYS Community Development Financial Institution Fund (CDFI Fund).
Created in 2007, the CDFI Fund is an innovative approach to exclusively provide funding for CDFI loans. The loan fund should operate as a public private partnership – able to not only accept public monies but private funding from sources such as financial institutions – however it has never received an appropriation to support its mission. This Revolving Loan Fund would enable Community Development Financial Institutions to more effectively serve low income communities and businesses in economically distressed communities.
Federal priorities
1. Protect federal housing resources and programs that support the work of Habitat for Humanity and affordable home builders nationwide.
Habitat for Humanity affiliates and affordable home-builders across the country seek to leverage United States government programs and resources to build homes and to create resilient communities. We call on Congress to protect and fund effective federal housing programs and resources in the short term, and to pursue action on long-term, systemic solutions to the affordable housing crisis.