The National Housing Trust Fund (Trust Fund) is a permanent federal fund authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). It provides grants to states to increase and preserve the supply of rental housing for extremely low- and very low-income families, including homeless families, and to increase homeownership for extremely low-income families and individuals.
HFAs and the Trust Fund
Each state will decide whether its HFA or another state entity will receive these grants, which will be allocated according to a needs-based formula to be developed by HUD. Eligible Trust Fund activities are defined as the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of rental housing; and the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of housing for homeownership, including down payment assistance, closing cost assistance, and assistance for interest rate buy-downs. All assistance must be used to benefit very low-income families (with incomes not greater than 50 percent of area median income (AMI)) and at least 75 percent of assistance received must be used to benefit extremely low-income families (with incomes not greater than 30 percent of AMI). State spending on homeownership activities is limited to not more than 10 percent of total assistance provided.
HERA requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) to transfer a percentage of their new business to finance the Trust Fund. Since enactment of the legislation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been placed into conservatorship. Their conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), has directed the GSEs to suspend their contributions to the Trust Fund indefinitely because it has determined they are undercapitalized.
NCSHA and other affordable housing advocates are continuing to search for additional revenue sources for the Trust Fund. President Obama’s FY 2011 Budget requested $1 billion for the Trust Fund. Advocating for Trust Fund resources and a dedicated, sustainable funding source is one of NCSHA’s Legislative Priorities.
Useful Links: HUD's Housing Trust Fund Webpage, National Housing Trust Fund Campaign Website
Printer-friendly versionNCSHA Blog Posts
- February 1, 2012
According to the White House fact sheet on President Obama’s Plan to Help Responsible Homeowners and Heal the Housing Market, released today, the Administration’s FY 2013 Budget will propose $1 billion for the Housing Trust Fund and $15 billion for Project Rebuild. The Budget is set to be released on February 13. - July 13, 2011
On July 12, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises marked up and passed six bills that would increase the oversight of and impose limitations on government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Housing Headlines
- Senate Committee on Finance
- House Ways and Means Committee
- New York Times
Housing Trust Fund - Resources
- December 13, 2011
NCSHA’s priorities, adopted annually by its Board of Directors after consultation with all state HFAs, set the agenda for NCSHA’s business development activities and advocacy before Congress, the Administration, and the federal agencies concerned with housing, including HUD, USDA, and the Treasury. - April 18, 2011Entries for the 2011 Robert C. Larson Workforce Housing Public Policy Awards should be submitted by June 15 and sent directly to the Urban Land Institute Terwilliger Center.
