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Find out what the state and local fiscal recovery funds are, and how they can be used to increase affordable housing.
“State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds,” or SLFRF, is a funding program included in the 2021 COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan (ARP). In the bill, Congress appropriated $350 billion to be divided among the states and territories to support COVID-19 response and recovery actions. The program is administered by the Treasury Department, which has released multiple rounds of guidance for states to outline permissible uses for the funding.
In guidance released in early 2022, the Treasury Department made clear that programs targeted at increasing the supply of affordable housing are responsive to the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus are an eligible use for the SLFRF.
In July 2022 the Treasury updated its SLFRF guidance with more flexibility to further promote increasing the affordable housing supply. The guidance clarifies that affordable housing loans that qualify for additional assistance under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) are eligible for SLFRF money, and by adding to the presumptive eligible uses several federal programs that support long-term housing loans, including:
To help state and local governments navigate using the SLFRF funds to increase affordable housing, the Treasury Department and HUD have jointly published a “How-To” guide for combining the SLFRF funds with other sources of federal funding, including examples of ways to combine multiple sources of federal funding with SLFRF money to facilitate affordable housing deals.
As of March 2022, $12.9 billion in SLFRF funds have already been budgeted to meet housing needs and lower housing-related costs, including $4.2 billion for affordable housing development and preservation. NAR CEO Bob Goldberg will meet with Administration officials in August to discuss the opportunities the program provides, the White House’s “Housing Supply Action Plan,” and ways NAR can work with the Administration to find solutions to the nation’s housing supply and affordability challenges.
For more resources and information on NAR’s work to end the housing supply and affordability crisis, the SLFRF, and the Administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan, please visit:
Visit NAR’s Coronavirus topic page for the latest information on NAR’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
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