Emergency Affordable Housing Act of 2020

Emergency Affordable Housing Act of 2020

This bill enhances provisions of the low-income housing tax credit and adjusts the credit to provide assistance during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

Specifically, the bill

• increases to three years (currently, two years) following an allocation of housing credits, the period for making rehabilitation expenditures for a low-income housing tax credit project;
• extends to three years the period during which a project may be placed in service and remain eligible for the credit;
• reduces for a two-year period the financing percentage for an affordable housing project from 50% to 25%;
• establishes a 4% minimum credit rate for affordable housing projects that received a housing credit allocation after 2019;
• makes permanent the expansion of the 9% housing tax credit;
• increases the credit for low-income housing tax credit buildings that designate at least 20% of their occupied units for extremely low-income households;
• increases the credit during a specified temporary period to compensate for construction or leasing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
• allows a credit for low-income housing supportive services.