The Alabama Housing Trust Fund
An Overview of the Housing Trust Fund and LIHCA’s Dedicated Revenue Campaign
to Capitalize the Fund
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Why do we want a housing trust fund?
“We can find no social or moral justification, no justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack
of housing.”
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
What is a Housing Trust Fund? A housing trust fund (HTF) is a flexible source of
funding that can be used to meet a variety of housing needs
Funds can be used for development, rehabilitation, down payment assistance, supportive services and
other housing related activities
HTFs allow states to address critical and/or urgent situations in a fiscally responsible way
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Affordability in Alabama
According to the NLIHC, Alabama lacks nearly 95,000 affordable and available homes for
extremely low income (ELI) earners.
For those of you who are football fans out there, that is more than:
UF stadium: 88,548FSU stadium: 82,300
U of Miami stadium: 76,100
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Why is affordability important?
Hardworking Alabamians should be able to pay rent and still be able to put food on the table.
Every child deserves a safe place to call home.
The men and women who defend our country deserve to return to a safe and affordable home.
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Alabama Housing Trust Fund
Designed to maintain, retain, and create affordable housing in Alabama
• Eligible activities could include: – Acquisition– Construction– Rehabilitation– Down payment assistance– Disaster recovery– Emergency assistance– Supportive services
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
AHTF – How will it work?
• Administered by ADECA• Advisory committee • Competitive, annual application• All funds will go to 60% and below AMI, with
majority going to 30% and below AMI• For profit developers must partner with a
nonprofit in order to access funds
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Revenue Sources?
• Annual allocation• Lottery• Unclaimed property fund• Sin tax• Deed record tax• Mortgage record tax
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Securing dedicated revenue (cont.)
• Current: $0.15 for every $100 of indebtedness• Proposal: $0.30 for every $100 of indebtedness
Proposed Income for FY14 ($0.30 for every $100)
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Fiscal Year Total MRT Collected
Probate Allocation
General Fund
Allocation
County Allocation
Housing Trust Fund
2014 $91,350,000 $3,425,625 $43,391,250 $21,695,625 $22,837,500
Comparison of Mortgage Record Tax Rates
MRT Rate Total MRT Revenue
$0.15 for every $100 $45,675,000
$0.30 for every $100 $91,350,000
Securing dedicated revenue (cont.)
By modifying the Mortgage Record Tax, the State of Alabama could potentially invest more than 20
million dollars annually into our communities to address our most critical housing needs.
This proposal would have a minimal effect on Alabama homeowners and a significant
effect on Alabama communities.
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
“We Need to Build Public Will
…without it nothing will succeed.Consequently, he who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to be executed.”
-Abraham Lincoln
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Communications Strategy To win, we must frame the issue to be about
people and home
A well executed communication strategy is essential
Overall housing need in Alabama
ModerateElevatedSevere
Critical
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
Economic Impacts of the AHTF
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama
$1.1 Billion Total Impact
6,500 FTE Jobs
$20 Million Annual
Investment
Contact Information
For more information about the HTFplease visit:
www.alabamahousingtrustfund.org
@LIHCAlabama facebook.com/LIHCAlabama
#FundtheAHTF
Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama