The Biden-Harris Administration recently released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024, which carves out a number of initiatives and policies intended to support the creation and protection of affordable housing. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the proposed Budget would “significantly invest in building affordable housing, expanding access to homeownership, redressing housing discrimination, enhancing household mobility, and ending homelessness.”
Of note, some of the targeted elements of the Budget aim to:
- Increase Affordable Housing Supply Overall. The Budget earmarks $1.8 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) to address the dire shortage of affordable housing in communities across the U.S. (an increase of $300 million over the 2023 level). Grants through HOME enable the construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing and provide homeownership opportunities.
- Housing for Disadvantaged Groups. The Budget provides $258 million to support 2,200 units of new permanently affordable housing specifically for the elderly and persons with disabilities, supporting the Administration’s priority to maximize independent living for people with disabilities.
- Support Economic Development and Remove Barriers to Development of Affordable Housing. The Budget provides $3.4 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program to help communities modernize infrastructure, invest in economic development, create parks and other public amenities, and provide social services. The Budget also includes $85 million within this total for a competitive program to reward State, local, and regional jurisdictions that make progress in removing barriers to affordable housing developments.
- Advance Efforts to End Homelessness. To prevent and reduce homelessness, the Budget provides $3.7 billion (an increase of $116 million over FY 2023), for Homeless Assistance Grants to meet renewal needs and expand assistance to approximately 25,000 additional households, including survivors of domestic violence and homeless youth.
“The President's 2024 Budget directly supports this historic Administration's goal of building a better America for all. For those of us at HUD, that means addressing homelessness with urgency and ensuring everyone in this country has access to quality affordable housing," said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “The Budget invests in Americans at every station in life – from those seeking to purchase a home to those who receive HUD rental assistance – and will ensure families across the country can live in communities that are safe, affordable, and resilient.”
For more information on the President’s FY 2024 Budget, click HERE.