U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced two bills recently that seek to boost the availability of affordable housing.
“All over Ohio, I hear from renters and homeowners whose only option is to pay more than they can afford for housing. We need more housing to bring down prices and give Ohioans more options. These solutions would help us build and preserve more housing that renters and homeowners can afford,” Brown, chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, said.
One of the bills is the Housing Supply Fund Act, which would create a new fund to help Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and nonprofit affordable housing organizations to expand housing options for renters and homeowners. The funding would allow mission-based organizations to move quickly on opportunities to preserve and create affordable housing and expand the housing supply. The funding could also be used to convert commercial properties into affordable housing and help finance resident-owned manufactured housing communities that might otherwise be purchased by out-of-town investors.
The other bill is the Affordable Housing Preservation and Protection Act of 2024. This proposed legislation would allow HUD to provide loans to qualified owners of distressed HUD-assisted housing to make renovations. This will improve the quality of HUD-assisted housing and, in cases of mismanagement, give HUD new tools to locate new owners without displacing residents from the community.
Earlier this month, Brown introduced the Yes In God’s Back Yard (YIGBY) Act to support faith-based organizations and colleges wanting to build and preserve affordable housing on their land. In July 2023, Brown introduced the Stop Predatory Investing Act to restrict tax breaks for big corporate investors that buy up homes, often driving up local housing prices and rents.