Permanent Housing Affordability Act

Key Points

• The bill creates a $100 million fund at the Treasury Department to give grants to state agencies and community development financial institutions. Those grantees then provide low-interest construction loans (capped at 3%) to nonprofits and local governments that build or rehabilitate permanently affordable homes.
• A separate $500 million pilot program at HUD ($100 million per year for 5 years) provides grants directly to eligible entities to buy vacant land or existing properties and develop housing for sale to low- and moderate-income families, with priority given to entities that keep homes affordable for the longest terms.
• All homes built or sold under these programs must stay affordable for at least 99 years using ground leases, deed restrictions, or similar legal tools. Resale prices are controlled by a formula so future buyers can also afford the homes, while current owners still build some equity.
• The federal government could sell its surplus land to community land trusts and shared equity homeownership programs at a 75% discount or more, making it far cheaper for nonprofits to acquire land for affordable housing projects.
• HUD would launch a public awareness campaign and research program to educate homebuyers, lenders, and real estate professionals about shared equity homeownership models like community land trusts, backed by $3 million per year for three years plus additional sums for research.