5th District Footprint
July 2017

This issue of 5th District Footprint examines how counties and independent cities in the Fifth District use the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) to produce affordable housing units.
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Use in the Fifth District
A housing unit is the living space for one household (e.g. one apartment or single-family house).
“Overview of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC),” National Housing Law Project.
The federal government defines affordable housing as costing less than or equal to 30 percent of household income. However, households may choose to spend more than 30 percent of their household income on housing costs depending on personal preference for housing quality, location or other characteristics.
Community Pulse, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 2013-2016.
Below-market rents must be at or below 30 percent of the area median income (AMI).
All LIHTC-funded properties developed from 1987 to 1989 were subject to a 15-year compliance period. The Revenue Reconciliation Act (1989) extended the compliance period from 15 years to 30 years, but instituted a policy mechanism that allows developers to exit the LIHTC program after 15 years.
“Overview of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC),” National Housing Law Project.
The eligible basis is the sum of costs on which the calculation of tax credits is based. Eligible basis includes the cost of acquiring existing buildings, construction and/or rehabilitation, but does not include land, financing fees, syndication costs or reserves.
“HOME and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Guidebook,” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The first five years of the LIHTC program are January 1, 1987 to December 31, 1991.
Data on active LIHTC units primarily comes from tracking at the state and local level, and as a result, there may be incomplete information on a unit’s national subsidy status. For the purpose of calculating if a project is active, the National Housing Preservation Database assumes that LIHTC subsidies have a 15-year use period. If a LIHTC subsidy is still listed as programmatic in HUD’s LIHTC Database after this use period, it is assumed to have entered an extended use contract and 15 additional years are added to the subsidy end date.
National Housing Preservation Database, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Active Housing Units, May 2017.
These counties are Logan County, West Virginia, Hyde County, North Carolina and Amelia, Greene, Madison and Caroline Counties, Virginia.
“Affordable Housing Needs Assessment for the District of Columbia,” Urban Institute, May 2015.