The United States has faced a significant housing crisis over the past twenty years, leading to a substantial deficit of homes. This shortfall has resulted in rising housing costs, particularly impacting working families who find it increasingly difficult to afford homes near their workplaces.
In response to this pressing issue, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy has collaborated with Novogradac to develop a strategic report. This report outlines design recommendations for a new pilot renter tax credit program aimed at assisting working families in securing affordable rental housing in well-served neighborhoods, particularly those with strong schools and job opportunities.
The proposed program would offer tax credits to property owners who rent to households that include at least one essential worker—such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, or teachers—earning at or below 80% of the area’s median income. By incentivizing landlords to offer lower rents, this initiative seeks to provide much-needed relief to families striving to balance work and housing costs.
According to Novogradac’s analysis, implementing this four-year pilot program with an annual budget of $500 million could potentially benefit around 53,000 renter households, both in urban and rural communities across the nation. This collaborative effort highlights a crucial step toward alleviating the housing burden for working families and supporting community stability.
