MAHC Asks for $20 Million in Affordable Housing Funding from Supplemental Budget The Governor's proposed Supplemental Budget includes housing for shelters and affordable home ownership, but it leaves $107 million unspent for the next biennium. In the housing crisis we are in, MAHC is advocating for the Housing and Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee to $20 million in affordable housing development.Read our letter here.MAHC will be asking for your testimony and support in front of Appropriations when they evaluate the housing part of the budget.
LD 2209 Necessary to Get Projects to Proceed!
Procedural Change to Increase Maine Housing Bond Cap - 2/20 Public Hearing - Written Testimony Needed LD 2209, An Act to Increase the Cap on Bonds Issued by the Maine State Housing Authority to Reflect Current Housing Production Needs in the State, has a public hearing on Tuesday, February 20. This doesn't have a fiscal note and is a procedural change, but critical to keeping the pipeline of housing development and rehab moving forward. Maine Housing has informative testimony here.Please submit written testimony in support here stating that "LD 2209 is vital to sustain and grow the number of affordable housing projects getting built in Maine. Particularly with the increased state investment in housing and the cost of building housing." MAHC will testify at the hearing in support.
Mold and Indoor Air Quality Resources in Housing
Maine Indoor Air Quality Council has been working in partnership with the U.S. EPA for the past few years to develop, distribute, and train the landlord/tenant community on better ways to prevent and address mold in rental properties. We have a rental properties page on our website (https://maineindoorair.org/iaq-in-rental-properties) that contains comprehensive toolkit for preventing and addressing moisture problems in rental properties, see: MIAQC Mold Toolkit 110222.indd (maineindoorair.org). This page also contains other resources such as infographics and videographics that can be used in common areas of rental properties.
MAHC Support for LD 337 to Expand Manufactured Housing Access Moves Forward
RECORD HOMELESSNESS AMID ONGOING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS
Homelessness spiked 12 percent (71,000 people) in 2023, with more than 650,000 people unhoused, the highest number recorded since data collection began in 2007. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s point-in-time estimates show an increase in nearly every state and also for both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. The growing number of unhoused people is driven in part by the expiration of many pandemic-related relief measures and an influx of migrants. However, the most fundamental driver of the nation’s growing homelessness is the ongoing housing affordability crisis that has left a record number of renters cost-burdened, spending more than 30 percent of income on housing and utilities, as detailed in our latest report, America’s Rental Housing 2024.
Federal Negotiations Over Final FY24 Spending Deal Continue as 3/1 Deadline Nears – Take Action
NLIHC is calling on advocates nationwide to contact their members of Congress and keep up the pressure to pass a final fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bill that provides increased funding for HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness programs, including full funding to renew all existing Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) contracts. Read MoreContact Your Members of Congress
SAVE THE DATE: MAHC Housing Conference – Nov 13 Sponsor
This all day conference held every other year delves into housing and policy issues impacting addressing the need for housing in Maine and nationally. Hear from business and municipal leaders working on housing, statewide elected officials, housing policy leaders, development professionals and more. Attend to network with who’s who in Maine’s housing development world and understand the opportunities and challenges we face in the policy realm to meet Maine’s need of 80,000 new homes by 2030. With a presidential election, and a new Maine legislature starting, this is the event to understand what’s ahead for housing and how to get involved in advocacy so all Maine people have a home.
