The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development recently awarded $40 million in state Rental Housing Funds and federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) to 18 projects, which will result in the creation or preservation of 2,144 affordable rental homes.
This is the largest number of units financed through one application round in the history of the program in Maryland, surpassing the previous record of 1,837 units financed in 2019.
“During our administration, the state of Maryland has provided financing and tax credits to create or preserve more than 20,000 affordable rental units across the state—an unprecedented level of production,” said Gov. Larry Hogan. “The worthy projects selected in this year’s record-breaking application round will further expand affordable housing opportunities for Maryland’s working families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities.”
The department received a record 51 applications in the 2020 round.
These applications requested approximately $40 million in state Rental Housing Funds and $72.5 million in federal LIHTCs. The department will administer tax credits valued at $26,671,000 and $12,533,000 in state Rental Housing Funds to 18 projects with a total estimated cost of more than $1 billion. The 18 awarded projects are distributed between eight counties and Baltimore City.
This was the first competitive application round managed by the department using the new version of the qualified allocation plan and Multifamily Rental Financing Program Guide, which were revised in 2019 and signed by Hogan in early 2020.
Department staff worked closely with multifamily housing developers and advocates on these revisions, which significantly contributed to the record-breaking amount of applications received and units financed, said officials.
For the second year, some projects used a “twinning” financial structure, combining the competitive 9% LIHTCs with noncompetitive 4% tax credits issued by the department. Twelve of the 18 awarded projects used this model.
