Dear [title] [last name],
I am writing to express my support for the provision of gap financing to Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects that is currently being discussed by House members as a part of their FY 2021-2022 and FY 2022-2023 budget. An allocation of $200 million in ARP funds, as has been proposed, will ensure that North Carolins continues to provide new affordable housing stock, rather than deepening the existing supply shortage.
“Shovel-ready” affordable housing developments all across the state are facing significant cost increases that threaten to significantly stall or derail 2019 and 2020 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects from being constructed. These are units that the state’s lowest income households desperately need.
Affordable housing developers are seeing dramatically increased costs related to materials and labor, as has been widely documented, and also due to methods and procedures that have had to be implemented due to COVID-19 public health protocols. Gap financing will ensure that these potential housing units are not lost to the pandemic, along with the jobs and economic growth they also generate.
It is vital that the General Assembly House recognize the importance of providing sustaining investment in affordable housing, by ensuring that the construction of these affected 2019 and 2020 housing credit projects are able to move forward as our communities rebound from the pandemic.
The state has access to historic levels of federal funds for recovery efforts. When considering what recovery efforts to fund, the state should be prioritizing activities such as affordable housing construction that has multiple layers of public benefits.
