The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced yesterday that nearly $174 million will soon be made available through first-ever allocations of the National Housing Trust Fund. HUD Secretary Julián Castro made announcement to a gathering of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition meeting in Washington.
The National Housing Trust Fund is a new affordable housing production program that will complement existing Federal, state and local efforts to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income households, including families experiencing homelessness.
The Fund is capitalized through contributions by government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Fund will be administered by HUD.
HUD expects to make individual allocations to States later this spring and anticipates these funds can be drawn upon as early as this summer.
“This is an exciting new tool to help states across the country to produce more critically needed affordable housing,” said Castro. “The National Housing Trust Fund will play an important role in creating new opportunities for those who are most in need to secure a safe, decent and affordable home they can call their own.”
Eight years after it was authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), the Housing Trust Fund is only now being capitalized through contributions made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
In December 2014, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed these Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) to begin setting aside and allocating funds to the Housing Trust. In January of 2015, HUD issued interim rules to guide states on how to implement their Housing Trust Funds.