RHLS has published a new, comprehensive tenants’ guide to Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) rentals, explaining the ins and outs of this important but not well-understood program. The guide is written for tenants who are searching for an affordable place to live as well as for residents of LIHTC properties.
Most tenants and advocates are familiar with public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and other HUD programs. LIHTC is not a HUD program and the rules are very different.
LIHTC is not a tax credit for tenants, but it is actually one of the most common ways of funding the construction of affordable rental housing. The tax credits make the construction more affordable and allow the rents charged to be lower than other similar but market-rate buildings.
Tenants, advocates, and service providers can all benefit from understanding LIHTC rules.
This new guide tells renters how to find LIHTC rentals, explains eligibility, and the application process. The guide also helps applicants and current tenants understand special rules, like how rent is calculated, chiefly that it is not based on the tenant’s income, as well as what “good cause” eviction means. There are many rules that LIHTC owners and property managers have to follow, and they all have an impact on tenants.
The guide demystifies LIHTC with clear answers to common questions and easy-to-understand charts. It also provides information on where a tenant can go for help with legal or fair housing questions.
RHLS will be printing a limited number of the LIHTC tenant guide in both English and Spanish and sending them to our fellow affordable housing advocates to hand out to their clients. You can also download the guide here in English, as well as the Spanish language version.
For more information, contact Cindy Daley, our Director of Community Development Initiatives at Cindy.Daley@rhls.org.
This guide was made possible by the generous support of the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Board.