Protecting Affordable Housing Rental Properties from Abusive Behavior: Addressing an Alarming Trend in the LIHTC Industry

In this episode of Cinnaire’s Advancing Communities Podcast, Cinnaire’s Chief Strategy Officer Jim Peffley is joined by NASLEF’s Bobby Rozen, a longtime advocate for affordable housing in Washington who was involved in the crafting of the original Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program in 1986 and has been closely involved with the evolution of the program over the past 30 years.

Jim and Bobby discuss an alarming and growing trend in the LIHTC industry – efforts by private sector entities seeking to extract additional capital from owners or developers of affordable rental properties beyond the tax credits the program was designed to provide. These profit motivated investors have come to view the nation’s affordable housing stock as a source of capital and above market returns to the detriment of people the LIHTC program was designed to serve. Listen in to this thought provoking and informative discussion where Jim and Bobby describe these problematic trends, discuss their implications and strategize ways the industry can address these challenges to protect our affordable housing stock and the communities we serve.

During the conversation, Jim and Bobby cover:

• A brief overview of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program and its structure for investments

• The trend of private equity investors acquiring syndicators to leverage limited partner interests and extract capital from properties beyond the intended tax benefits

• Potential implications for the nation’s affordable housing stock as capital is extracted for profit

• How owners and developers of affordable rental housing can protect themselves and their partnership agreements

• Current efforts underway to address the challenge and preserve affordable housing and LIHTC investments