The National Housing Trust Fund is a new federal affordable housing production program that will complement existing District of Columbia efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing for extremely low-income households, including homeless families and individuals, and persons with special needs.
Congress established the NHTF through the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. On January 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published an interim rule that guides implementation of the NHTF by the states.
The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will administer the NHTF in the District. The Development Finance Division (DFD) will obligate funds and undertake eligible activities in a timely manner.
In years when total national funding is less than $1 billion, 100 percent of each state’s allocation must benefit households at or below the federal extremely low income (ELI) level, which is 30 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), or households with income below federal poverty level, whichever is greater. In the District, the ELI level is greater than the federal poverty level. Thus, in 2018, the District’s entire NHTF allocation will be used to benefit ELI households because HUD estimates the total amount of the trust fund to be approximately $174 million.
Given the requirements of the program and the need for rental housing affordable to ELI households in the city, the District will use NHTF program funds to develop newly constructed affordable housing that serves ELI households, including developments that create Permanent Supportive Housing, as defined below.
