Annual Performance Plan 508

Strategic Objective: Rental Investment
Ensure sustainable investments in affordable rental housing.
OVERVIEW
The number of renter households with worst case needs – those with very-low incomes 13 that do not receive
government assistance and either pay more than one-half their income on rent or live in severely inadequate
conditions – decreased to 7.7 million in 2013 from the record high of 8.5 million in 2011, ending a sustained
period of large increases. The Worst Case Housing Needs 2013 14 study details the continued, substantial unmet
needs for affordable rental housing even as economic conditions improve. As the rental market continues to
tighten, it is critical to increase the level of private investment into affordable housing. Currently, for every two
very low-income households that receive rental assistance, there are over three very low-income households
with worst case housing needs.
STRATEGIES
• Pursue Housing Finance Reform legislation with Administration partners and Congress to provide a
dedicated, budget-neutral financing mechanism to support affordable rental housing.
• Implement the Housing Trust Fund and support the Capital Magnet Fund. On December 10, 2014,
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to allocate funds
to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund pursuant to the Housing and Economic
Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). The purpose of these funds includes providing grants to states to
increase and preserve the supply of rental housing for extremely and very low-income families,
including homeless families.
LEADING THIS OBJECTIVE
Ben Metcalf
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Multifamily Housing
FY14 APR PROGRESS UPDATE
Recent evidence demonstrates that there is a critical need for new investments in affordable rental housing:
renter population outpaced the expansion of rental stock between 2011 and 2013, and one-hundred thousand
fewer units affordable to very-low income households were constructed in FY13 than in FY11. HUD completed
the milestone to publish the Housing Trust Fund Interim Rule in the Federal Register by January 30, 2015; this
fund will provide substantial resources to invest in affordable rental housing. Standing up the Fund on schedule
is a critical task for the coming months, as is planning for how the Fund will leverage other resources and lead
to the measurable, desired outcomes for residents. Government Sponsored Enterprise reform would be a key
tool for financing new investments in our affordable rental stock, but requires Congressional action.
13
Very low income renters have a household income of 50 percent or less of the area median income, with adjustments for household size.
trajectory towards meeting this target, it is uncertain whether the target will actually be achieved by FY 2015 or FY 2016.
14
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2015 (January); Worst Case Housing Needs 2013: Report to Congress.
Strategic Goal: Meet the Need for Quality Affordable Rental Homes
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