Build Back Better Act Update
Last month, President Biden announced a final framework for the Build Back Better Act. The once $3.5 trillion plan now $1.75 trillion, outlines $150 billion in affordable housing investments including:
- $25 billion in rental assistance
- $65 billion to preserve the public housing infrastructure
- $15 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund to build and preserve over 150,000 homes affordable to extremely low-income households
Last week, an amended version of the Build Back Better reconciliation legislation was released. Despite pressure to bring down the cost of the legislation, the amended version proposes a historic investment and key measures to strengthen the Housing Credit. The following Housing Credit production proposals were included in the updated version:
- Lowering the bond-financing threshold from 50 percent to 25 percent for five years, from 2022 to 2026,
- Increasing the annual Housing Credit allocation at a rate of 10 percent per year plus inflation from 2022 to 2024, which amounts to a roughly 41 percent increase over current levels in 2024, followed by inflation adjustments after 2025,
- Providing a permanent 50 percent basis boost for properties serving extremely low-income (ELI) households, along with an 8 percent minimum set-aside for properties taking advantage of the ELI basis boost, as well as a limitation on the amount of allocation and volume cap that can be used for properties receiving the ELI boost, and
- Providing a permanent 30 percent basis boost for properties in Indian areas.
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