January 25, 2019
Dear District H Constituents,
As Council Member for District H, I have begun to receive quite a few housing applications and I understand that developers are likely reaching out to you regarding these applications as well. In order to clarify the housing tax credit programs and the City's role, I have compiled the following information for you.
January is the time of year when the State of Texas' affordable housing 9% Tax Credit Program opens for business. This means that housing developers looking to bring workforce apartments into eligible neighborhoods are reaching out to civic organizations and my office to share information about their plans. The State's process, which is operated by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), has an extremely narrow time-frame for these developers to submit their applications so they are moving fast to get land under contract, design their project, and receive a Letter of Support or No Objection from the City. Unfortunately, the State does not require the developers to notify you or me though most do. Developers that have met with me have all been told that they must communicate with the local civic club or Super Neighborhood to receive my support.
Please also note that a Special Called City Council Housing and Community Affairs meeting has been called to discuss the
9% Tax Credit Program
on
January 29, 2019 at 10 am
. I encourage you to tune in by
visiting this website at the start of the meeting
.
The TDHCA operates another tax credit program, the 4% program, which is non-competitive and accepts applications all year round. The application process for this program does not require the support of the City and developers who participate in this process generally do not notify me.
The City also received a $1.17 billion allocation of Hurricane Harvey Disaster Recovery money from the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) earlier this month. This money is expressly for the purpose of building new housing and repairing existing, damaged homes. As part of this program the City will also be receiving its own applications from housing developers who want a contribution from the City to make their apartments affordable. In addition, the City is also accepting applications for assistance
right now
from homeowners whose property was damaged by Hurricane Harvey.
Further information about these programs is available below.
TDHCA 9% Tax Credit Program:
- Operated by the State of Texas. Application began being accepted January 4th and close mid-February.
- Extremely competitive process. Less than 5% of all applications across the State are chosen to be funded.
- In order to be competitive, developments located within the city must have a Letter of Support or Letter of No Objection from the City of Houston. These effect the scoring of the project by the TDHCA.
- City Council Housing and Community Affairs Committee will consider recommendations from the Houston Housing and Community Development Department on which projects should receive a Letter of Support or Letter of No Objection during their meeting on January 29th at 10AM. The meeting will be broadcast live on HTV which is available on TV as the municipal channel, and online at this page.
- For a list of applications submitted to the State so far please visit their website here and click on most recent 2019 pre-application log.
- For an FAQ on the Tax Credit program please visit this page.
TDHCA 4% Tax Credit Program:
- Operated by the State of Texas. Application are accepted throughout the year.
- Non-competitive. Most applications that are submitted and meet the State's requirements are chosen to be funded.
- No letter is required from the City is required.
- For a list of applications submitted in 2019 please visit the TDHCA's site and view the most recent bond status log.
- For an FAQ on the Tax Credit program please visit this page.
City of Houston Harvey Disaster Recovery:
- Operated by the City. Funding arrived January 4th and applications began being accepted on January 14th.
- The City has opened four recovery centers across the city, has a number that can be called during work hours (Mon -Fri, 9AM - 5PM) at 832-393-0550, and has launched a website.
- If you are in need of assistance recovering from Hurricane Harvey please fill out the Harvey Recovery Survey here which will determine if you qualify for any of the available programs.
