The Alabama Housing Trust Fund An Overview of the Housing Trust Fund and LIHCA’s Dedicated Revenue Campaign to Capitalize the Fund Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Why do we want a housing trust fund? “We can find no social or moral justification, no justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing.” Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

What is a Housing Trust Fund? A housing trust fund (HTF) is a flexible source of funding that can be used to meet a variety of housing needs Funds can be used for development, rehabilitation, down payment assistance, supportive services and other housing related activities HTFs allow states to address critical and/or urgent situations in a fiscally responsible way Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Affordability in Alabama According to the NLIHC, Alabama lacks nearly 95,000 affordable and available homes for extremely low income (ELI) earners. For those of you who are football fans out there, that is more than: UF stadium: 88,548 FSU stadium: 82,300 U of Miami stadium: 76,100 Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Why is affordability important? Hardworking Alabamians should be able to pay rent and still be able to put food on the table. Every child deserves a safe place to call home. The men and women who defend our country deserve to return to a safe and affordable home. Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Alabama Housing Trust Fund Designed to maintain, retain, and create affordable housing in Alabama Eligible activities could include: – Acquisition – Construction – Rehabilitation – Down payment assistance – Disaster recovery – Emergency assistance – Supportive services Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

AHTF – How will it work? Administered by ADECA Advisory committee Competitive, annual application All funds will go to 60% and below AMI, with majority going to 30% and below AMI For profit developers must partner with a nonprofit in order to access funds Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Revenue Sources? Annual allocation Lottery Unclaimed property fund Sin tax Deed record tax Mortgage record tax Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Securing dedicated revenue (cont.) Current: $0.15 for every $100 of indebtedness Proposal: $0.30 for every $100 of indebtedness Proposed Income for FY14 ($0.30 for every $100) Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama Fiscal YearTotal MRT Collected Probate Allocation General Fund Allocation County Allocation Housing Trust Fund 2014$91,350,000$3,425,625$43,391,250$21,695,625$22,837,500 Comparison of Mortgage Record Tax Rates MRT RateTotal MRT Revenue $0.15 for every $100$45,675,000 $0.30 for every $100$91,350,000

Securing dedicated revenue (cont.) By modifying the Mortgage Record Tax, the State of Alabama could potentially invest more than 20 million dollars annually into our communities to address our most critical housing needs. This proposal would have a minimal effect on Alabama homeowners and a significant effect on Alabama communities. Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

“We Need to Build Public Will …without it nothing will succeed. Consequently, he who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to be executed.” -Abraham Lincoln Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Communications Strategy To win, we must frame the issue to be about people and home A well executed communication strategy is essential Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Overall housing need in Alabama Moderate Elevated Severe Critical Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Economic Impacts of the AHTF Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama $1.1 Billion Total Impact 6,500 FTE Jobs $20 Million Annual Investment

Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama

Contact Information For more information about the HTF please visit: facebook.com/LIHCAlabama #FundtheAHTF Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama