Photo by mediaslaveA bill introduced today by Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) aims to boost funding for affordable housing by tapping into the city’s unreserved surplus funds.
McDuffie’s bill would require one-quarter of D.C.’s unreserved surplus funds to go toward the Housing Production Trust Fund, which goes toward providing financial assistance to non-profit and for-profit housing developers to build housing for low-income residents. To meet the demand for more affordable housing in D.C., the city’s Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force recommends that at least 1,000 new units are built each year, a release states. The cost of building one unit is about $100,000, so it would cost the city about $100 million annually to produce 10,000 units in the next decade.
“We have an opportunity to make a significant investment in the production and preservation of affordable housing,” McDuffie said. “Dedicating 25 percent of the District’s unreserved surplus funds on top of deed recordation and transfer taxes is timely, given the declining revenue estimates for deed and transfer tax revenue and the likelihood that the city will see rising surpluses in the coming years.”
McDuffie’s bill, which was co-introduced by Councilmembers Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), was referred to Council’s Committee of the Whole, which will meet again on February 4.
