Arizona Affordable Housing

In Arizona, there are only 26 affordable and available rentals for every 100 extremely low-income renter households, reports the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). State leaders have approved a state housing tax credit to offset the affordable housing shortage.

New and expanded programs for affordable housing in Arizona

The program provides $4 million per year in state credits until 2025. It is supported by the 4% federal low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program. Combined, builders can seek relief up to 50% of the project cost. Analysts suggest the credits will prompt about $160 million in investments during that period.

“That will make a significant dent in our housing shortage in Arizona,” says Tom Simplot, director of the Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) in an interview with Affordable Housing Finance.

Additionally, the ADOH will offer more programs that work in tandem with the 4% LIHTC. These programs result in $21 million in state and national housing trust funds.

“What we learned from our research of other state programs is that it’s very impactful and powerful to couple the state credit with the 4% credit,” says Ruby Dhillon-Williams, assistant deputy director of housing and community development.

To further stimulate growth, ADOH is revamping its qualified allocation plan (QAP). The current plan includes one cycle of 9% credits and 4% credits less consistently.

The new programs are slated for release in QAP 2022.

The national affordable housing crisis

Per the NLIHC, there are fewer than four affordable rental homes for every 10 extremely low-income renter households nationwide. Not a single state has an adequate supply of rental housing to meet the needs of the poorest renters.

As a result, “70% of extremely low-income renter households are severely housing cost-burdened, spending more than half of their limited incomes on housing. They account for over 72% of all severely housing cost-burdened renters in the U.S. Extremely low-income households with severe cost burdens struggle to pay for other necessities, like food, transportation, child care, and healthcare,” states The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes. The annual report is issued by NLIHC.

To fill the gap, the nation needs an estimated 7 million affordable housing units.

Arizona ranks among the states with the lowest supply, less than 30 units available per 100 extremely low-income families.

SHARE POST

Facebook LinkedIN

AUTHOR

Erica Rascón specializes in online content creation and social media. She joined Yardi in 2011 after receiving her bachelor's degree from Kennesaw State University and serving in the Peace Corps. Erica's interests include sustainability, philanthropy, and the arts.

Recent articles

10 Reasons to Adopt Cloud Based Accounting in Senior Living ebook

The hidden cost of paper: Switching to online accounting software

Paper-based accounting and manual workflows are still common in senior living, but they can slow teams down. See how communities work more efficiently.

Introducing Smart Lease: A new era for lease abstraction

Introducing Smart Lease: A new era for lease abstraction

Yardi Smart Lease automates lease abstraction with AI, improving accuracy and reducing manual work for commercial property managers within Voyager.

Building graphic hovering over a laptop with arrows symbolizing growth

From 10 loans to 200: What breaks when private real estate lending scales

Real estate private lenders hit operational breaking points sooner than expected. Learn where processes fail and why scalable infrastructure must be in place before growth exposes the cracks.