Senate Bill Would Make Affordable Housing Available to Homeless Students

Bipartisan legislation recently introduced by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Al Franken, D-Minn., would amend a law that prevents some college students from qualifying for affordable housing. The Housing for Homeless Students Act of 2014 would allow full-time students who experience or have recently experienced homelessness to become eligible—or retain eligibility—for LIHTC housing.

The proposed law would tweak a provision of the LIHTC program that makes full-time college students ineligible for affordable housing units that were developed under the program.

“Students shouldn’t have to choose between stable housing and going to school full-time,” Portman said. “This common-sense bill will improve the way we help low-income students by giving them access to stable and affordable housing while they attend school full-time so that they can go on to graduate and succeed.”

“We can’t make young people and veterans in Minnesota who have experienced homelessness make the difficult choice between housing or an education,” Franken said. “But right now, they’re being forced to put one above the other. Our bipartisan bill will fix this problem by giving students access to affordable housing while they pursue their education.”