NYC’s HPD Awards $18.1 Million in LIHTCs

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) allocates a portion of the State of New York's federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit. The amount of HPD's authority is negotiated annually with the state. Typically, HPD allocates $12 to $14 million in credits per year to 20 or more projects creating approximately 1,000 low-income units.

For 2018, HPD has reserved $18.1 million in LIHTCs for 13 affordable housing developments. The 2018 awards will help create or preserve 1,000 affordable apartments for New Yorkers across the five boroughs. The amount of LIHTCs allocated by HPD represents a substantial increase from last year's awards, due in part to a 12.5 percent increase in 9 percent credits authorized by Congress. The first expansion of the program in a decade helped HPD finance two additional developments with more than 100 affordable homes.

Four developments will take advantage of the new income-averaging option, which also became available under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. The move expands the program’s reach by allowing LIHTC-qualified units to serve households earning as much as 80 percent of the area median income (AMI) as long as the average income limit at the property is no more than 60 percent of the AMI.