Housing & Homelessness - 01.24.2023

Hearing Summary

On Tuesday, the House Housing & Homeless committee held a hearing on proposals creating new tax credits and deductions for affordable housing. HB 2653 creates a new personal and corporate income tax credit for selling an existing affordable housing structure if the purchaser agrees to maintain its affordability for 30 years. Advocates for the measure claim the inventory of existing affordable housing was built under a subsidy arrangement requiring owners to enter into long-term use agreements for 40 years. Much of the current inventory is set to term out of those agreements and at risk of becoming market properties, potentially resulting in tenants losing their housing. They argue that providing a tax credit towards the capital gains from the sale of the property would nudge the new owners to maintain the current use.