Volume 17, Issue 3

2006

 

 

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is now 20 years
old. With the maturing of the program, the use of tax credits has become
commonplace in the development of rental housing across the nation. This
article examines how the program has changed both financially and spatially.
Specifically, the article asks whether it provides a mechanism that can help
deconcentrate impoverished renters by providing access to low-poverty
neighborhoods.

This research finds that as the price for tax credits rises, the program
becomes increasingly popular with developers who are helping it make inroads
in low-poverty suburbs. By entering the suburbs, the LIHTC program is meeting
and even exceeding the performance of the Housing Choice Voucher
Program in terms of offering opportunities to live in low-poverty settings.