Lawmakers reintroduced the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA) that calls for a new tax incentive to build and preserve more than 500,000 affordable single-family homes over 10 years.
The bill was reintroduced by Reps. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), chair of the Ways and Means subcommittee on tax, and John Larson (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee.
Under this legislation:
- Tax credits would be awarded to project sponsors through statewide competitions administered by state housing finance agencies;
- Sponsors, which could include developers, lenders, or local governments, would use the credits to raise capital for their projects, and investors would claim the credits against their federal income taxes; and
- The credits can only be claimed for homes developed or rehabilitated in eligible low-income communities, and only after the homes are sold and occupied by lower- or middle-income families.
“The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act will revitalize distressed urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods with federal tax credits, mobilizing private investment to build and rehabilitate homes for lower- and middle-income homeowners,” says David M. Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference. “With a shortage of affordable housing supply, this initiative would help bridge the gap between development costs and market prices in neighborhoods where housing values don’t currently support new construction and rehabilitation lending. Over the next decade, NHIA can support the creation of hundreds of thousands of homes where it’s needed most. NHIA is one of the top priorities of the National Housing Conference. We are committed to working with policymakers and stakeholders to advance this vital, bipartisan legislation.”
The NHIA gained strong backing in the 118th Congress, with 111 House cosponsors, including 17 members of the House Ways & Means Committee. The Senate version of the bill had 16 cosponsors last Congress, and a companion Senate bill is anticipated to be reintroduced later this month by Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.).
Read the bill text here.
