National Housing Trust Fund

In 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) into law. Among the bill’s numerous provisions was the establishment of a National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF). The purpose of the fund is to increase and preserve the supply of affordable housing for low-income people and the homeless.

Passing the NHTF was a major victory for low income housing advocates, but with the near collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-the two biggest Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) in the nation--that victory was bittersweet. Advocates had expected that the primary source of revenue for NHTF would be a percentage of funds from new business purchases at the GSEs. In the wake of the mortgage meltdown, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suspended payments to the new fund pending a major restructuring of the housing finance system under the 111th Congress.

While the future of the GSEs remains uncertain, the FY 2010 Budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) contains a provision that would capitalize NHTF at $1 billion with an overall goal of distributing $5 billion annually to states for low-income housing.
For complete information about the National Housing Trust Fund, go to www.nhtf.org.

 

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