Housing Committee Schedule for Next Week Tuesday: 2/13/2024, 1 PM - WORK SESSION
L.D. 1710 An Act to Establish the Maine Rental Assistance and Guarantee Program and Amend the Laws Regarding Tenants and the Municipal General Assistance Program
L.D. 2169 An Act to Support the Development of Workforce Housing to Promote Economic Development in Maine
L.D. 772 An Act to Establish a Process to Vest Rights for Land Use Permit Applicants
L.D. 1294 An Act to Implement Certain Recommendations of the Commission to Increase Housing Opportunities in Maine by Studying Land Use Regulations and Short-term Rentals
Federal LIHTC 12.5% Increase Moves to Senate. You Can Still Send Support
MAHC joined 120 national and statewide housing and community development organizations and coalitions sending a letter to Senate leadership in support of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (H.R. 7024) that increase LIHTC funding by 12.5%. The letter got positive coverage today in POLITICO's Morning Tax newsletter. You can still reach out to Sen. King and Sen. Collin's for their support and to express their support to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) or Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), encouraging them to take action on the bill. The Senate will recess from February 12-25, which means most Senators will be home. This is a perfect time for property site visits. ACTION created awebpagewith links to templates and other materials to help with your outreach. You can share the support letter and the endorsement by the National Governors Association with your Senators.
USDA Grants & Loans for Dec. '23 Storm
For residents with very low incomes whose home was damaged in Androscoggin, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington counties. Click here.
As we begin 2024, U.S. policymakers and Wall Street are reading the tea leaves for signs about the economy’s health. One sector that deserves close attention is the housing market: Strong demand for housing generates additional jobs in related industries, boosts consumer spending, and provides a cushion for homeowners’ portfolios. But for renters, rising housing costs can create financial stress, especially among lower-income households.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Multifamily Housing has announced the availability of $212 million in funding to expand affordable housing and supportive services for very-low and extremely-low-income individuals with disabilities through the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program. This program aims to create, subsidize, and provide supportive services for rental housing to meet the needs of this vulnerable population. Through the Section 811 Capital Advance/Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) program, $106 million in capital advances can be used for the development of new or rehabilitation of existing supportive housing, along with project rental subsidies to keep homes affordable. The Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) will also provide $106 million to state housing and other agencies for project rental assistance to cover the difference between the tenants’ contributions toward rental payments and the HUD-approved rent for the property for eligible tenants with disabilities.
Quality Housing Coalition's Trust program with Guaranteed Income In the News
HOW DEFINITIONS SHAPE THE RURAL HOUSING LANDSCAPE
In the United States, rural areas face significant and unique economic and housing challenges. While far from homogenous, rural areas nevertheless tend to share some similar difficulties that may include a lack of economic activity and diversity, elevated poverty rates, overcrowding, and social isolation, among others. However, making sense of these challenges can be difficult, in part because there is no standard definition of rural used in federal housing policymaking and no consensus definition used in housing research. For example, the US Census Bureau, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), among others, all publish different definitions of rural. The result is that important policy and research conversations may be grounded in an understanding of the issues that varies with how rural is defined, potentially complicating or even undermining efforts to address housing needs in these communities.
In a new working paper, “In Search of Rural: How Varying Definitions Shape Housing Research,” we find that the choice of rural definition can matter immensely for the size of the rural housing market and its characteristics. In general, character definitions encompassed the fewest people while policy definitions were the most expansive. Interestingly, many people across the country view their community as rural, and perceptual definitions also produced large rural population estimates. Residual definitions, which are the most frequently used in research, due to data availability, give the widest rural population range.
Figure 1: Policy and Perceptual Definitions Produce the Largest Rural Housing Markets
Like population estimates, descriptions of rural areas’ demographic composition, housing stock characteristics, and housing challenges also vary depending on the definition that is used in the analysis. Poverty rates in rural areas also ranged widely but produced a less consistent pattern relative to the national rate. Researchers and policymakers should be thoughtful and intentional when it comes to defining rural, and assess how different definitions may alter their conclusions. This includes considering the project goal and how it will be impacted by a more or less inclusive definition. By doing so, researchers and policymakers can ensure that their work best captures the realities of rural communities. Read in browser »
ABA Commission on Homelessness & Poverty, the National Homelessness Law Center, and Southern Poverty Law Center, in partnership with RESULTS Educational Fund on Thursday, February 15, at 2pm ET / 11am PT for a webinar on the upcoming Supreme Court case, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson. Learn more about the most significant Supreme Court case about the rights of people experiencing homelessness and poverty in decades. Panelists will discuss the underlying facts, the consequences of how the Supreme Court rules on this case, why this case matters to everyone, and how advocates can use this case to push for lawmakers and politicians to meaningfully address homelessness in the country. Registration is now open.
HOUSING SUPPLY, LABOR MARKETS, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2024 | 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET VIRTUAL
While the insufficient supply of affordable homes in the United States leads to higher housing costs, it can also limit mobility, productivity, economic growth, and opportunity. This webinar will highlight the research demonstrating the relationship between housing supply and the labor market, including worker mobility and productivity, followed by a discussion with private-sector experts on how high housing costs and the lack of affordable homes are impacting their businesses, employees, and economic growth.
Panel discussion featuring:
Orphe Divounguy | Senior Economist, Zillow
Edward Glaeser | Chair, Department of Economics; Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University
Taylor Marr | Senior Housing Economist, Airbnb
Kristen Sawin | Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Weyerhaeuser
Kristen Klurfield | Senior Policy Analyst, BPC (Moderator)
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.
