The Center for Community Change’s Winter, 2017, newsletter includes an article about Pittsburgh’s recently enacted affordable Housing Opportunity Fund (the Fund).
The Fund includes a number of features designed to ensure that it benefits people with the greatest housing needs, including:
• 50% of the fund must benefit households earning at or below 30% AMI (another 25% must benefit households earning between 30% and 50% AMI, and the final 25% is to be used to provide homeownership opportunities for households earning between 50% and 80% AMI)
• Projects of 4 units or larger must have a non-profit applicant.
• After 5 years, at least 50% of the units that are produced or preserved should be permanently affordable. The fund can be used to provide operating and capacity support for CLTs to help meet this requirement.
• There are strong tenant protections and anti-displacement protections.
• Funding decisions will be based upon recommendations by a citizen advisory board.
RHLS provided legal research and legislative drafting assistance to Pittsburgh United as it worked on this legislation. RHLS will be working with Pittsburgh United to secure a dedicated source of funding this year.